Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: December 20 ~ 26, 2020

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ReneeT

Veteran Member
Good Morning, All! Hope everyone is doing well today.

I was up at 0330 to let the doggo out; stayed up and got myself involved in an online story - not sure when I went back to sleep, but woke up with a cold, wet nose in my face telling me that it was time to rise and shine! He's going to have to wait for his long walk of the day until I get some coffee on board... He got a couple of acres where I can see him when he's out to play on his own, but I don't like him out of my sight since he's deer colored. Guess I need to get him an orange vest...

Preps on my way home yesterday were on-sale buy one/get one free packages of batteries, and some not on sale packets of smoked salmon that I had started craving for some reason. I'm going to use one or two of them to make a cheese ball to carry to work tomorrow - Christmas week the the fridge and counters in the break room are filled with goodies, so that will be my contribution.

Christmas will be quiet here with daughter and the grandkids gone; I won't go to MIL's with Hubby for Christmas dinner since his sister has gone insane over Covid. I put the offer out to work Christmas Eve/Day but the younger group must want the double time pay because no one asked me to trade. The grand-dog and I have a nice long walk back to the lake planned; I'm also going to make some cinnamon rolls, but he'll have to be satisfied with the fresh dog treats the local grocery store makes. Maybe I can get a little bit of organizing done on the pantry shelves - and the bookshelves; the bookshelves at work are getting a little skimpy, so it's time to shuffle through mine and see what I can carry in for the shelves (and then move out some of the ones on the shelves at work that no one seems to be interested in.)

Hubby has a doctors' appointment on Monday so the dog and I will accompany him to town; hit the Evil Empire to pick up my 'scripts, maybe Rural King to get the dog that orange vest. I'll pick up daughter some wool socks while we are at Rural King - she is complaining that she is freezing to death out in Montana. I suggested she put a mister (water mister) in her room since the lack of humidity may be making her feel colder.

The dog probably needs a new toy too, so we might need to stop by the feed 'n seed. Maybe look for some Ivermectin paste while we are at both places...

There's no snow in the forecast this week, but temps down to 13-19*F will keep us close to home after Monday for anything other than going to work and back - I had hoped to haul home some composted manure from the sale barn to top off the raised beds on one of my days off this week, but I won't ask the loader to come out in those temps when it isn't necessary.

Well, this is rambling off to nowhere, and the dog is standing at the door with his leash in his mouth so I guess I'd better get ready for a walk! You folks all stay safe out there - or as safe as you can!
 
M

moldy

Veteran Member
Had to laugh....putting a Mr. 'mister' in her room might make her warmer, too!

Puttering around today. Might deliver some goodies to the neighbors or that may wait till tomorrow. Monday is DH and mine only day off together this week, so I will fix a prime rib, potatoes, something green, and creme brulee. Wednesday, my EMT friend is going to try to come out again and help me with computer stuff. Last time we scheduled a day to meet, there was bad weather and he got called into work.

I'm working Christmas eve day and Christmas.
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
When we went to walmart yesterday we went a different way than usual. Since this state is very swampy, the creeks are all full, really full, from the rain we've been having. It rained for several hours yesterday and then just stopped. Its supposed to rain again on Wednesday, it this keeps up there may be some flooding. We are safe from flooding because we are on a hill.

Apparently there have been a lot of people in this community that have tested positive, a couple of men that are huge and have poor health. And another man in his early 50's is in ICU on a ventalator, he also has many health issues. He's the oldest son of a life long friend.

DH went to Lowes this morning to buy concrete and tin to finish the car port he's building for my van.

Hopefully today I can get 02s in all the mylar bags I've been working on and get them stored. Now I just have to figure out where to put them.

ETA: we have not been around any one that has tested positive, actually we don't go around hardly anyone around here.

God is good all the time

Judy
 
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20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Additional..... the fan is a box fan I put in a corner (with good air flow) as many here said it would work well in keeping mosquitos off of me. I tried it this summer and it worked decently. Not perfect, but reduced the mosquitos by 90% so it is a win for me. As we have so many of them each summer it is hard to work as you are holding onto something with one hand trying to keep them from carrying you off and trying to work with the other.

I am much more productive now.

Thanks to whomever gave that bit of advice.
 
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prudentwatcher

Veteran Member
Went to the grocery store today, won't go again until after Christmas. Got the milk, bread, etc, and some rice and beans for storage, as well as a few extra cans of soup to stash away. Also bought 40 lbs of wood pellet that are usually used for smoking meat. I plan to use them for my rocket stove. Have seen videos on how to do it. They burn hot and long and make a nice compact fuel. They were also on sale for a good price. Our Walmart quit carrying them a couple of years ago, and HD and Lowe's don't carry them locally, though you can order them. Just trying to think of extra ways to provide cooking sources and fuel.
 
Cag3db1rd

Cag3db1rd

Paranoid Pagan
I have taken to grabbing a 100 pack of tea lights and a jug of lamp oil whenever I am at wm. The tea lights work in my flower pot heater, and yes, they do work to raise the temp in a room a few degrees.
I have mostly been focusing on stocking up on canned meat and veggies since hubby and I have diet restrictions. However, gf canned soup seems to be the big deal for my son.
I am going up to the BOL to insulate the walls and ceiling this week. I also need to install a U post with wooden blocks on top for various small solar panels to be attached to, like for the set of lights over the work table. It is also important that I clear all brush and leaves away from my area because fire season is a thing out there. I will be building a fire wood stand out of cement blocks and U posts so my stash won't be on the ground. Snakes are a thing up there, and after having to kill 2 already, a random pile of firewood on the ground kind of scares me. We have strategically placed packets of mothballs already. There is a lot of work to be done up there, but I am slowly picking away at it. I only hope I can get it all done before we need the place.
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
20Gauge said:
We are going to try and make some lemon jam this week.

Not sure how it will work as we don't eat much sugar and so far the recipes we have seen so far are more sugar than lemon.
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My thinking is that jellies and jams are always mostly sugar or they taste blah. I have jellies and jams on hand but since neither of us eat bread very often it last a long time. Good thing we have refrigeration because it would mold and we'd never finish a jar.

God is good all the time

Judy
 
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summerthyme

Administrator
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20Gauge said:
We are going to try and make some lemon jam this week.

Not sure how it will work as we don't eat much sugar and so far the recipes we have seen so far are more sugar than lemon.
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You need to find some calcium-acid set pectin (brand name Pomona). Regular or even "light" SureJel requires a LOT of sugar. The Pomona pectin can be used with token amounts of sugar or even artificial sweeteners. Although jam, by definition, is essentially "fruit pulp preserved by the addition of large amounts of sugar"!

Summerthyme
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
nomifyle said:
My thinking is that jellies and jams are always mostly sugar or they taste blah. I have jellies and jams on hand but since neither of us eat bread very often it last a long time. Good thing we have refrigeration because it would mold and we'd never finish a jar.

God is good all the time

Judy
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We have a couple of "homemade" jars we got from travels. We do not use much either, but I figured it would be fun and good experience. It would allow us another food source if needed.
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
summerthyme said:
You need to find some calcium-acid set pectin (brand name Pomona). Regular or even "light" SureJel requires a LOT of sugar. The Pomona pectin can be used with token amounts of sugar or even artificial sweeteners. Although jam, by definition, is essentially "fruit pulp preserved by the addition of large amounts of sugar"!

Summerthyme
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The method we saw used the pulp and seeds to make the pectin. Not sure if that was what we were going to do. Not sure what type of pectin we have on the shelf. I will have to look later.
 
O

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
I cleaned out our tiny excuse for a freezer and fridge. Ham and frozen turkeys are on sale. I intend to pack as many as I can into the refrigerated storage. The goal is to can them up come January and February if I can find the canning supplies.
 
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moldy

Veteran Member
Slept really poorly last night and I'm having a hard time getting my poop in a group today. I have managed to hem one pair of dress pants and am working on some scrubs. The pains of being vertically(but not horizonally) challenged!
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
moldy said:
Slept really poorly last night and I'm having a hard time getting my poop in a group today. I have managed to hem one pair of dress pants and am working on some scrubs. The pains of being vertically(but not horizonally) challenged!
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Question:

Why do you need your "poop in a group"? It flushed down the bowl no matter what!
 
blackguard

blackguard

Veteran Member
Went grocery shopping over the weekend as well as spending some quality time at the range. Just finished up work for the year (state college job) so now have twelve days off in a row. Plan to do another shopping trip, clean up and organize the shop (recently had to do a major repair and stuff isn't put away!) going to try to get some window screens made up for the coming year. Also plan to visit the storage locker and go through it. Get my inventory sheets updated, it will be a little early for the quarterly "what the hell do I have" review but have the time so why not. Tomorrow however I'm going to take the day and just relax. Have a great week everyone and stay safe.
 
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Marseydoats

Veteran Member
I don't know how dh & I have lived in this house for 22 years and not realized that our toilets have different sized "guts." So I guess that would count as a pretty major prep failure. He didn't notice until he had mine apart last night and had to jerry rig it. The parts we had fit his, so they're not wasted. Having company, so it had to be fixed.
So off I go to WM this morning. I was planning a trip anyway since we have freezing rain coming in and dh is out of ice cream. The store was busy, but not as mobbed as I though it would be. Divided between people buying last minute cheap gifts and groceries. Most of the people in this county are older and know to stay in when the weather gets bad. These mtn. roads are horrible and they flood. Weather wasn't supposed to come in until after lunch and in the hour I was in the store it got darker and the fog set in. I thought pea soup fog was an exaggeration until we moved here. Was glad to get home and unloaded.
The store had everything I wanted except Breathe Right strips. I bought the generic ones last time and they tear the skin off my nose. All the holiday candy was wiped out and they already had Valentines stuff out. Paper towels were picked over but they still had some. Plenty of toilet paper. I did really have to hunt to find the cat's preferred flavors of food.
Mid-Atlantic area...
 
nomifyle

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
no shopping and no ordering for now. Don't need anything and really don't want any thing. Its a cold (47) to us sunny day. I can see our eight goats huddled together in the sun and the dog running around. I've tried to get the dog to come inside but she absolutely refuses.

I'm continuing to organized all the preps I've had stacked in the living room for over a year. I've tried and tried to get that done but then I would get overwhelmed. I tried a different way, rather than put all of one thing in a five gallon bucket lined with mylar and sealed with o2s. First of all those buckets are seriously heavy and really not practical for us. What I'm doing now is putting several (as many as I can fit) one gallon mylars in a bucket and now some stackable totes. I've got mixed bags in on container and I label the top of the lids and also label the edges of the lids. That way I can see what is in what without moving anything around.

I've pretty much run out of room in my pantry so now I storing cases of vacuum sealed jars in the she shed. I enclosed the case with a plastic bag, suck the air out and twist tie the bag, storing them on a shelf. I'm also sprinkling every thing with bay leaves, even the buckets and totes, and of course inside the mylars. A one pound bag of bays leaves goes a very long way.

Merry Christmas, God is good all the time

Judy
 
aviax2

aviax2

Veteran Member
I’ve done absolutely nothing prep wise this week. Since daughter and son in law are off work DH and I haven’t had the kids this week and we’ve been busy remembering where gifts are stashed, gathering them up and getting them wrapped. DH put the tree up Monday with lights and Tues put on a very few ornaments at the top and middle, none in reach of the baby lol. He’s more of a Christmas person than I am and this year it’s a bit of a struggle for me.

We will have our family Christmas tonight and poor DH waited until the last minute almost to put some items together for granddaughter. He’s been working the past several hours putting her Little Tykes Ladybug Car together that’s been here since the last of September! I still need to get the gift cards put in stockings and wrap a few wine bottles and we will be ready. I hope.

Merry Christmas to all of you.
 
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SouthernBreeze

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I've done no prepping this week either. First I twisted my back while playing with our fur baby, and it left the sciatic nerve in my left leg inflamed again. Then, Sunday afternoon, I twisted my right knee that has left it all swollen and inflamed. I've almost been unable to get up and walk. I'm still hobbling around trying to get housework done before tomorrow.

I've already begun to cook for tomorrow's Christmas Day meal. More to do this afternoon that can go into the fridge overnight. I just pulled my Butter Pecan cake out of the oven to cool. Butter cream frosting with pecans as the finishing touch.

Merry Christmas to everyone!
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
We tried to make lemon jelly day before yesterday and I burned it, so we tried again last night. This time we had success. I was able to can two of the three jars we made. I am going to can the 3rd jar once again.

Granted I am not a big jelly fan but we have a cart full of lemons... see picture.

As it was the wife's day off, we did go out to do a few things. One of the items planned was to get her a new induction pot for the hot plate we have. (Stove got blasted by lighting a few years ago and no longer works quite right). I was simply amazed at how little there actually was in the stores (Bed Bath and Beyond). I knew they were light on stock, but basically all they had was one set of induction pots and pans ( her Christmas gift) and a few misc pots or pans in general. The whole darn store was like that.

I know I have seen it a bit when shopping at Lowes or Home Depot where they are missing items like circuit breakers or have light stock, but this was stupid. It really is getting bad.

The wife now wants to stock up even more.

Last two things:

I learned that I can reuse store jars if I hot pack them and then can them for the set time. Kind of neat to say the least.

We just got our O2 absorbers and will try them for the first time this weekend.
 

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aviax2

aviax2

Veteran Member
20Gauge said:
We tried to make lemon jelly day before yesterday and I burned it, so we tried again last night. This time we had success. I was able to can two of the three jars we made. I am going to can the 3rd jar once again.

Granted I am not a big jelly fan but we have a cart full of lemons... see picture.

As it was the wife's day off, we did go out to do a few things. One of the items planned was to get her a new induction pot for the hot plate we have. (Stove got blasted by lighting a few years ago and no longer works quite right). I was simply amazed at how little there actually was in the stores (Bed Bath and Beyond). I knew they were light on stock, but basically all they had was one set of induction pots and pans ( her Christmas gift) and a few misc pots or pans in general. The whole darn store was like that.

I know I have seen it a bit when shopping at Lowes or Home Depot where they are missing items like circuit breakers or have light stock, but this was stupid. It really is getting bad.

The wife now wants to stock up even more.

Last two things:

I learned that I can reuse store jars if I hot pack them and then can them for the set time. Kind of neat to say the least.

We just got our O2 absorbers and will try them for the first time this weekend.
Click to expand...
Do you like lemon curd? Might be a way to use up some of your lemons. I make it sometimes as a topping for cheesecake or to stir into homemade plain yogurt. When I have extras lemons I juice them and freeze in amounts I need to make the curd.
 
aviax2

aviax2

Veteran Member
SouthernBreeze said:
I've done no prepping this week either. First I twisted my back while playing with our fur baby, and it left the sciatic nerve in my left leg inflamed again. Then, Sunday afternoon, I twisted my right knee that has left it all swollen and inflamed. I've almost been unable to get up and walk. I'm still hobbling around trying to get housework done before tomorrow.

I've already begun to cook for tomorrow's Christmas Day meal. More to do this afternoon that can go into the fridge overnight. I just pulled my Butter Pecan cake out of the oven to cool. Butter cream frosting with pecans as the finishing touch.

Merry Christmas to everyone!
Click to expand...
I sure hope your injuries heal up quickly.
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
aviax2 said:
Do you like lemon curd? Might be a way to use up some of your lemons. I make it sometimes as a topping for cheesecake or to stir into homemade plain yogurt. When I have extras lemons I juice them and freeze in amounts I need to make the curd.
Click to expand...
Being a guy anything with the letters "curd" is not liked. No matter how good it may taste.
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
We just squeezed a gallon of lemon juice out of 32 lemons.

Frankly that was more than I really expect.

Yeah!

Now to try a few other recipes for using lemons in jam.
 
briches

briches

Veteran Member
Very little prepping here this past week although each time I go to the store (usually weekly), I tend to get a few items to add (even if it’s just $5 worth). Our food lion has chunky soups for $1.00 can (bought four). I’d have bought more, but already have a lot of soup!

Slow and steady .....
 
R

ReneeT

Veteran Member
Re: reusing store jars. I've gotten a lot of them at auction, and in the boxes of jars my friend gives/sells to me really cheap. I did some experimenting with beans since they were cheap - no problems pressure canning in these jars. I had a couple break in a water bath canner with apples in them - I was using pint size jars and they tended to move around in the rack quite a bit. I had no problems with them not sealing or staying sealed. I would still hold them back for last use, but if I needed them, I'd use them.
 
R

ReneeT

Veteran Member
I just got called to pick up an extra shift - one of those 'Help me Obi Wan, you are our only hope' things :rolleyes: so will likely be tired and more scatter brained than usual in the morning - if someone could please start this thread tomorrow morning, I would sure appreciate it! Thanks!
 
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