Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: April 26 - May 2, 2026

[feralferret]

A new week with new challenges.

Apparently several casualties due to severe weather in Texas Saturday night. Watched Ryan Hall all evening. More rounds expected again today and Monday. Prayers for those affected. Praying for continued protection. We have been blessed in that we have dodged several near misses recently.

Looks like an easier week in that I only have one medical appointment this week. I do need to get our raised beds assembled and setup. Hopefully I can get the bags of soil, etc delivered. Son will have to lift them and put them into the raised beds. At least I won't be having to bend over to plant and tend them. Will be getting tomato and pepper plants. Will do cucumbers from seed. Still thinking about whether to do the grow bags of potatoes. All is a bit difficult to do one handed. I will be glad when what is left of my right hand heals up. The bandaging is in the way. It seems really weird feeling two fingers that aren't there any more. The gabapentin helps that.

 

[kyrsyan]

Good morning.

 

[WanderLore]

Good morning all, just having coffee slept in. Going to get grandsons today.

 

[anna43]

From last week's thread on allergies. According to my allergist, when you move to a new area you are often allergy free ... for a year or two and then you develop allergies to the local plants.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Good morning. Sipping coffee, too, and getting ready for home fellowship/ Bible study. The sun is shining, and it's a beautiful morning.

 

[WanderLore]

I am grateful I've never had allergies like that. It's awful. I know plenty that do.

Geesh the weather. Rain, heat, cold, frost. All within the same two days sometimes.

 

[patriotgal]

From last week's thread on allergies. According to my allergist, when you move to a new area you are often allergy free ... for a year or two and then you develop allergies to the local plants.

Moved to Texas once. 4 years allergy free except for the occasions when I had to visit a certain factory. So nice to be allergy free! Des Moines was less allergy.

Off to check on a family member who isn't responding. Hope they have just been busy.

 

[nomifyle]

Finished my first cup of coffee with chocolate, I tend to gulp it instead of sipping.

I don’t turn the tv on much but I’ve got it on listening to to the goings on in dc last night. I saw a quick clip of security just about jerking Vance up and out.

 

[Meemur]

Rainy morning here. I slept in and then started getting ready for the week. If it stops raining, I'll go take my walk. My good news this morning: two of the large trees on my street that I thought were dead are finally starting to bloom. That last cold snap may have been responsible.

My starts all want to go into the ground! Maybe Friday, depending on the weather. We can still get snow in early May.

 

[connie]

Daughter in Ft W got 4.5 inches of rain last night in 30 minutes. She said cars at some intersections completely submerged. Videos she sent were insane.

 

[moldy]

Please send some of that rain our way!! We're supposed to have rain every day this week. I can only hope.

Have a splitting headache - I think I probably have arthritis in my jaw and facial bones due to all the surgical stuff, and every time the barometer drops or shoots up, I struggle. I hate the amount of decongestants (both herbal and OTC) that I have to take to stay halfway human. Making a meatloaf for lunch with potatoes and carrots and debating what kind of cake I want. I may end up making two - one for DH and one for me!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It's been a really lazy day for us. After Bible study was over, Cary and I decided to get out of the house and drove all over and around in the community just to see if anything was going or or has changed. We've decided to do this once a week from now on. It pays to keep an eye on everything going on around you. While out and about, Cary wanted to drive into the outskirts of the little town where we shop, and get a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke. We did that at Jack's. We are now back from our venture.

I plan to make cinnamon rolls for later tonight.

 

[Meemur]

Yes! I love my Sunday drive. It's even nicer in the spring because I can see all the trees in bloom.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Yes! I love my Sunday drive. It's even nicer in the spring because I can see all the trees in bloom.

We do enjoy nature in all it's seasons. Out here in rural country, you can hear for miles. When outside, Cary said he could hear where timber was being harvested. He wanted to see where that was being done. We, also, saw 2 new homes that have been built and a new church. You just never know what's going on, unless you get out and look every now and then. All the fields have been planted, too. Lots of corn this year. Other fields have been planted, but it hasn't come up yet. Don't know what's planted in those, but it's either soybeans or cotton.

 

[anna43]

It was supposed to be raining here most of the day and is forecast to rain starting around 9 p.m. through until 4 p.m. tomorrow. So far, we've had zero rain. I should have been out planting the rest of my potatoes today, but I haven't felt good all day which is why I did church on U-tube. After church I took a two-hour nap so am feeling better now. If the rain misses us again, I'll plant tomorrow. I haven't planned anything for supper and have three days dishes to wash so IF I accomplish anything today it will be those two items.

I don't slavishly follow the news but, of course, did read about the new attempt on Trump's life. What sickens me almost more than the attempt, are the horrendous comments from so many people bemoaning him not being killed. I do not like anything about Biden or Obama, but I don't wish them dead. Having lived through the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King I do not see anything good about wanting it to happen to someone else. The ugliness of comments about Kirk's death turned my stomach. Are we now a third world country where we kill those who disagree with us? I've been reading in II Samuel from the Old Testament and killing kings and taking their place is ongoing. Surely by 2026 we should have progressed at least somewhat in human decency.

 

[ginnie6]

Went to Sunday school only yesterday morning as the grands were coming over. Had them most of the afternoon and when they left I was pooped lol. I'm up early this morning to take Charissa to an appt with the prothesis place and to get hooked up for her at home 4 day eeg. I'm helping her clean her freezer out as her room mate moved out and left a bunch of stuff in it, then to get my hair cut. I'm way overdo and it looks awful right now.

We did get a bit of rain over the weekend but not enough. I'd love a good rainy day when I can stay home. Our next chance of rain is Wednesday when i have to go to my sister's.

Dh went ahead and unloaded the mulch for me as ds#1's truck broke down and he called to see if he could borrow vehicle. He's got a bike but doesn't want to drive it everday and in possibly rainy conditions and I'm good with that. I don't know how we managed all those years ago with junk vehicles that we paid as little as possible for and no one having a back up for us to borrow.

 

[Wildwood]

My allergies are back after several years of a partial reprieve. As long as I'm handling a lot of essential and fragrance oils, mine are manageable but I've cut way back and the suffering is rearing it's ugly head again or maybe it's just an extra bad year. I have been outside more than usual as I try to get my garden going in the middle of monsoon season. What I'm experiencing use to be mid May problems but everything seems to be early this year.

I'm struggling with when to plant my tomatoes. I don't want them to drown or get beat down with all the rain but they are ready...none of my other starts are. I hesitate to sew any seeds too, for fear they'll get washed out. I'm getting my rows prepped and tilling in amendments...was going to skip tilling them in this year but if I don't, the amendments will wash away. Thankfully, so far, the rain has been more of an off and on thing but a little too on for my liking.

I think my priority will be getting DH's little garden tilled if it's dry enough. I just don't have it in me to work it by hand. We have one of those really small tillers and a bigger one used mostly for breaking new ground which I will be doing if it ever dries up. The new fence, by design on my part, took in about twenty extra feet on the back side of my garden. I've officially spread out as far as I can on every side and honestly, it's as much as I can handle. Any further on two sides and I'll be on the drive to the back of his shop...pretty sure my long suffering DH will balk at that one lol. His shop is on another side and an old catalpa tree in the front. I love that tree. A neighbor found a tree and rooted it for me over thirty years ago. He did seven or eight cuttings but that one was the only one that survived. My grandparents place had a couple on it that I always felt sentimental about.

Happy Monday...the possibilities for this week are endless. One more cup of coffee and I'll get it started!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

86 for our high, today, but cloudy with a chance of storms this afternoon and over night. I hope we get the rain. Tomorrow is supposed to be stormy, too. Everything is done outside, so it can rain as much as needed. We have the firewood to finishing stacking, but that can be done anytime the rest of the year.

I encountered something so cute this morning as I was making coffee. I have a large 4 ft. wide window over my kitchen sink. As I was was getting water to fill the coffee pot, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye on the window sill outside. It was a little squirrel. It just sat there and watched me. I didn't move. Eventually, it walked along the window sill, stopped to watch me again, then went on up the other side. I see him on the ground just under that window every morning, but this was the first time on the window sill. So cute! We also have a little gray fox who has decided to join our little critter farm here, too. He sits just on the other side of our fence waiting for Cary to bring table scraps that he throws over the fence to him. He's almost tame. Good thing we don't have chickens.

Have I ever mentioned just how much Cary and I love nature and being surrounded by it?

 

[anna43]

Finally had a light shower between 4 and 7 this morning with another brief shower forecast for 2 to 4 this afternoon. The sidewalk is damp not "wet". High today to be 62º and then only in the 50s until Saturday when 67º is forecast. I don't like dreary days especially cool, wet and dreary but we need the moisture. I want to turn on every light in the house, but the electric bill does not favor that.

I have a lot I need to accomplish today so guess I'd better not tarry here and get myself moving. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Finally had a light shower between 4 and 7 this morning with another brief shower forecast for 2 to 4 this afternoon. The sidewalk is damp not "wet". High today to be 62º and then only in the 50s until Saturday when 67º is forecast. I don't like dreary days especially cool, wet and dreary but we need the moisture. I want to turn on every light in the house, but the electric bill does not favor that.

I have a lot I need to accomplish today so guess I'd better not tarry here and get myself moving. Hope everyone has a good day.

I got up in a cooking/baking mood this morning. Now that I'm done with my coffee, I'm going to be baking bread and chocolate chip cookies. One load of laundry to fold and put away.

It looks like it could start raining any minute. A dreary day for us, too, Anna.

 

[WanderLore]

Out running my daughter to all her errands. If we get home later I'll try to get some mowing done geez grass is growing like crazy. Hope you all have a good day.

 

[connie]

My allergies have been worse this year too. More wind for us this afternoon. Chance of rain end of week.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I have no allergies, except for bee stings. Anaphylaxis shock from honeybees and yellow jackets. I keep my distance as long as they keep theirs. We hardly ever see honeybees, but yellow jackets in the Fall are troublesome.

 

[Meemur]

Busy day here! I feel as though I've been herding human cats all day long. It's time to reheat some meatloaf and head for an early bedtime.

If you have Sterzing's potato chips in your area, please try them. They are fried in beef tallow. They come from Burlington, IA but Hy-Vee is carrying them. One of the gals brought several bags to work. Yum! I will get a bag or two for the 4th of July cookout.

 

[Wildwood]

It seems like I ran around all day today and didn't get much done...flitting here and there. I woke up before daylight with the sniffles and sneezing...now that I've ended part of my long relationship with Benadryl, my sleep quality sucks but I'm in fear of the dementia issues and since I seem to be always forgetting something, I decided to give it up unless I'm desperately in need. I have too many allergy problems to have the luxury of giving it up altogether but I can skip that half a pill at night...at least most nights.

I realized I needed to wash a few loads of clothes so started that as soon as I was through with coffee. I got in a washing frenzy, washing everything. When that settled down, I decided to start the tomato planting process but I got so hot, I came in and priced a few things for my antique booth, ate a late lunch and then went back out and tilled and fertilized DH's garden. The worst of the rain is almost over so will give up and wait to plant the tomatoes later this week.

The eggs are building up so we had eggs for supper...at that point, I was tired and making stupid mistakes. I ate the ugly omelette that was the result of one of those mistakes. DH got upset with me because I didn't give it to him lol, as if I'm too much of a princess to eat an ugly omelette. I didn't even make biscuits...they ate toast and I couldn't be any further from a princess if I tried.

I've set back five dozen eggs to go in the tomato holes. I'm so excited to get them planted...they are some of the nicest starts I've ever grown with big healthy stems and nice height...not too tall and not too short, just right to bury about half of that stem.

 

[feralferret]

Wound center appointment went well. Dressed the amputation. Stitches looked good. No sign of infection. Foot and legs still looking good.

Even more rain this morning. Dodged the severe last night and this morning although it came rally close again. Areas just north and south of us keep getting hit. Watching Ryan Hall again tonight although it is all passed us now.

 

[WanderLore]

Per Judy, I'm gulping my first cup.
Storms and high winds last night into overnight. Ryan hall is such a hoot. I like watching him just for his antics.
More rain again today. I have to see when I go out and do chores if there's any damage.
Very happy that you're all doing well in spite of difficulties.

 

[ginnie6]

I'm home today thankfully! It felt like I ran most of the day yesterday, but I did manage to squeeze a haircut in that I desperately needed. I have a TON of dishes to do today. Ds cleaned his car out...I guess I'm going to make sure he has paper plates from now on so MY dishes hopefully stay in the house. Most of these are going to need to be scrubbed too so no dishwasher. grrrr...
I went to bed at 9:30 last night and didn't get up till 8 this morning. I think I got up once during the night so I was tired!

I also got my beat up hen moved yesterday. Dh's favorite rooster is not the gentlest, I know a GOOD reason to send him to the pot and I'm working on it but he is dh's favorite for some reason. So I moved her to the other pen with the rooster that is usually an angel and even he started picking on her. So for now she's got a large run all to herself until she gets some feathers back. I may let the babies in with her later today, we'll see. They're big enough to be in the flock but I'm still worried about them being picked on since everyone is being so grumpy.

Oh and its raining!! The radar looks like it might rain all morning too. We SO need it. In the meantime I have plenty of rainy day things to do.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The storms went north of us last evening and overnight. Today, we are expecting to be right in the middle of it. We woke up to thunder and dark skies, but no rain, so far. It's still thundering off in the distance. The really bad stuff isn't supposed to get here, until later this afternoon. More storms in our forecast later in the week.

Changing out bedsheets to be washed, and that's about it, today. I want to get those washed and dried in case we lose power later on. We'll probably have sandwiches and chips for supper. I don't plan to cook if there is a possibility of losing power. I have the means to, but it's a hassle to drag out the propane camp stove when we can just have sandwiches, instead. I will get everything out of the fridge, and lay it all on the countertop if the weather turns threatening.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We live underneath an old oak tree canopy/forest. Now that all the leaves are fully on the trees, we just now realized that another 90+ ft, tall, at least 150 year old oak tree, that is at the corner of the wood shed, has died. If it falls, more than likely, it will land right on top of the wood shed and clip the corner of our house. Cary is getting in touch with the crew that took down our other oak tree a few years ago. Sure don't need any dead trees when storms pass through.

 

[Meemur]

Wildwood, I've found steaming with Vicks (or generic Dollar Store brand) or saltwater to be helpful for allergies/sinus crud. I've found that helpful first thing in the morning, maybe right before coffee and then the hot coffee or tea is also soothing.

Not medical advice! But I'm trying to cut down on allergy meds, too. It seems like they've re-formulated them again because the OTC Claritin is giving me this weird frontal headache, which usually means an allergy to a chemical.

In any case, I've got outdoor work to do today. The rain has been keeping the pollen down, so it's not too bad.
My garlic chives are growing like gangbusters! I'm going to harvest some today and dry them. They are wonderful in egg dishes.

 

[WanderLore]

Daughter moved in cabin praise the Lord.

 

[nomifyle]

getting ready to go to town for DH's galstone procedure in the morning. Va puts us up in a hotel the night before. I also made an appointment this afternoon to get fitted for upper arm compression sleeves, hopefully they will help with the nerve pain I get after the lymphic nodes were taken out under my arms.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

getting ready to go to town for DH's galstone procedure in the morning. Va puts us up in a hotel the night before. I also made an appointment this afternoon to get fitted for upper arm compression sleeves, hopefully they will help with the nerve pain I get after the lymphic nodes were taken out under my arms.

Prayers said for your DH that his procedure will go well.

 

[herbgarden]

Also, praying

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We are getting some beneficial rains, but no storms. It has thundered all around us all day, and we have been issued a tornado watch, until 10pm. I'm thinking that the really bad stuff may stay well south of us.

I made it through supper without the power going out. I was planning to make fried egg, cheese, and bacon sandwiches if it had. Instead, I made biscuits with bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and grits.

 

[kyrsyan]

We've been getting much needed rain. Spring has been way too dry so ar this year.

Not discussing work at all.

Had to come off thyroid and adrenal supplements for three days to do the thyroid test. Holy cow was yesterday hard. My whole body was not happy and I wasn't sure I got large enough samples for the test. But that has been sent in. Hopefully I'll know by next week.

Mortgage popped up in my CU app amd I kept my promise to myself. First payment made. No waiting an extra month.

Right now, I'm beat. So I ordered dinner and I'm chilling out. Plan on reading brain candy and relaxing for the evening. I expect it will take another day or two before my body fully bounces back from the supplement drop.

Oh! Color samples arrived. And that was absolutely no help. So I'm going to call Sherwin Williams tomorrow. First check is to see if any of the options are not available in the direct to metal paint. Then to order sample sizes of the ones can be done in DTM. Then I'll paint some pieces of wood and see which I like. Right now the toss up is Hunt Green and Evergreen. But the other shades aren't completely ruled out.

 

[223shootersc]

Got some much needed rain!

 

[anna43]

Oh! Color samples arrived. And that was absolutely no help. So I'm going to call Sherwin Williams tomorrow. First check is to see if any of the options are not available in the direct to metal paint. Then to order sample sizes of the ones can be done in DTM. Then I'll paint some pieces of wood and see which I like. Right now the toss up is Hunt Green and Evergreen. But the other shades aren't completely ruled out.

One good thing about paint, if you decide you don't like your choice, it can be fixed with a new can of paint.

The first house we owned, we painted a color that turned out looking pink. I don't recall what it was supposed to be, but we hated it. It took a few years before we could afford to repaint, and the new color was a shade of green. We lived in a neighborhood of ranch houses all exactly alike so I guess the pink might have been different enough to stand out!! My current house was originally Colonial Blue paint from Sears and repainted with it several times. Sears is gone so two years ago when I had it painted, I chose a color as near as I could find to the original ... and while it looks much the same, I like it much better.

Another not so productive day here. I wrote checks for bills, went to post office to mail them, to bank to renew a CD and to the library to return overdue books. Bible study in the afternoon and then stayed and visited for an hour.

Rain in the forecast for a shower tonight so no working outside again tomorrow. I just hope I remember to cut asparagus before it gets too old. I'd like to get a couple more packages into the freezer. One of the ladies at the senior apartment complex wants rhubarb and I told her to help herself.

Temps are forecast to dip to freezing Friday, so I'll need to cover the tub of impatience that is planted. I got rid of the blankets I used to have so will need to find something else to use. I think if I put a tomato cage in the center of the tub and drape a blanket (or whatever) over and put bricks around the bottom it should work without blowing away or crushing the plants.

 

[Wildwood]

DH stayed home from work today and I slept until ten this morning! That felt good after the last few mornings. The result though, is I felt lazy until this afternoon when DH declared the rain gone and I started in planting those tomatoes. I plant them in sets of three and just had my first set planted when a surprise rainstorm blew through. Looks like tomorrow will be the day lol. Everything was too drenched at that point.

@nomifyle you and DH are in my prayers...so wonderful that the VA pays for that room. I think as we get older, we need that when we have to travel for medical appointments. My neighbors are traveling to the capital for a very serious visit and they are leaving tomorrow, getting a room and going the rest of the way the next day. They are a little overwhelmed and need that extra day to get away and break up the trip. They will either come home with very good news or very bad.

@SouthernBreeze we are under a huge pecan tree that is closing in on a hundred years old. There is a limb extending out over our roof and it's not the healthiest. We had someone look at it and since they believed it was what they call a Champion tree here in AR and cutting the limb might be too much to cut off of the tree at one time, we need an expert...pretty sure that kind of expert is not in my budget. I've never seen a pecan tree that big.

@Meemur thanks, I'll give it a try. Years ago, May was my worst month and I'm just hoping we are getting the usuall May stuff early but we haven't seen the clouds of pollen swirling around yet so probably the worst is yet to come.

@anna43 impatience are my favorite flowers but my efforts to grow from seed is hit and miss so I usually just buy them already started. I have to go to the city for the ones I like but I'll be getting them soon. I do a wheelbarrow full of them every year.