Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: June 10 ~ 16, 2018

[ReneeT]

Whew - sure was glad to get home from work! Drove through some fast moving thunderstorms and pretty serious rain on my way home from work this evening; one of the ponds at work was overflowing it's banks, and I had to deke this way and that as I went through town to avoid flooded streets. Hubby said the gardens had standing water in them, but it was too dark to see by the time I got home.

Cousins were down today and dropped off two old motorcycles and a 3 wheeler for Hubby to play with; they pared down the canning jar mountain on the shed porch by loading up half a pickup truck bed full, bless their hearts!! I'll be glad to go out tomorrow and see what is left; and hopefully get them organized in a smaller pile. I need to run some more of those jars through the dishwasher and get them boxed up and ready to use as I have had several ladies at work and a few people that daughter knows ask me about holding another canning class soon. The grandson's babysitter came out and picked some pie cherries from one of our trees - Hubby said he didn't see any missing but she had several containers full so there must be a bunch of them!

I don't think I'll be doing much work outside tomorrow as the rain is supposed to continue; maybe Hubby and I will do some work down in the storeroom instead - though I wouldn't doubt but that he'll be heading to town to pump water out of his Mama's basement as much rain as their town got. If I get up earlier than him, I'll peruse the ads from the Sunday papers to see if there is anything worth stocking up on.

Reckon I'd better finish up this post if I'm going to want to stay awake long to find out what all happened on the forum today

Take care all; wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

 

[moldy]

First half of the camping trip went pretty well. I worked today and .... well, it was busy and rough. The rest of the camping trip is Monday thru Wed. I have Wed and Thursday off, so I'll be recovering and doing homework and home stuff.

 

[ReneeT]

Moldy, I swear that the same co-worker asked me FIVE times yesterday "Are you SURE it's not a full moon....?" Glad the camping trip went well; and have high hopes for the second one

0.5" of rain in the rain gauge when I got home from work last night; 3.75" when I went out on the porch to fill the hummingbird feeders a bit ago. Neighbor lady wants to go up to the pool to exercise this morning and is picking me up; we may be taking the big truck as I'm betting on flooded roads. It's a nice switch up from 90+ degrees and dry, so I'm not complaining - at all!

 

[ReneeT]

We have gotten over 9 inches of rain since my last post; my gardens still have some standing water in them - sure glad I got them tilled this past Friday or it would be a mess for sure! The neighbor teen watched them while I did the tilling, and is working out very well as far as keeping an eye on them, and at keeping them occupied by doing things like making them pick up and sort their toys into the correct bins and clean their room while I am outside working! I may go broke buying water balloons as they have had epic battles both days she has been here I did pick up a couple extra of those siphon style water squirters and they have been getting a great workout. She has also been teaching the boys tactics of water squirter battles - how to use the porch rails/crotch of a tree as a rest for better aim; and trajectory - water squirted straight out goes farther, but that you can also use the arc of the water to hit your target, etc... They also like the same cartoons, and she is happy to fix them snacks while I am occupied outside - I think I picked a winner!!

The littlest boy was up half the night with nausea/vomiting/diarrhea so both he and I are moving slow this morning. He has kept his breakfast down so far and I'm finally able to sit down with my coffee for a bit of peace and quiet before I have to take all the bedding, etc... I rinsed out during the night downstairs to get it started washing - at least we have a clear day for drying everything on the clothesline. We are going to need to make a quick run into town for a few groceries; then after lunch we will pick up the neighbor girl again to run 'em around the yard for me until we're all worn out enough to take a nap. Library books need to be returned to the library; we will do that on our way to take the boys home early this evening; this is daughter's late night, so I will have to feed 'em before I take them home so that they don't bug her and her clients while she is working.

Pretty soon, the boys are going to plant some cherry pits and lemon seeds - their idea. I doubt that they grow; or that if they do grow, that they ever produce anything worthwhile, but it is something that they want to do and I have plenty of soil and empty 6-pack planting containers to keep them busy while I fuss around with laundry.

Back to work Thursday and Friday; daughter and boys will be here Saturday and we will take Papaw out to dinner for Father's Day; they will spend Sunday with her Dad, Step Mom, and Step siblings so both Papaw and I will be getting a break - we'll likely spend it doing yard work

Coffee cup is empty; gonna refill it, then get to work on that laundry; maybe I'll fianlly have a chance to look at this week's ads in between loads to see if there is anything worthwhile that I can pick up on my way home from work the next two days

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

 

[moldy]

Thank you so much for the prayers and good thoughts. I made it thru without seeing a single snake or needing bail money!!! Double win! It was interesting - our instructors demonstrated making fire with a bow drill (and how to make one), had everyone whittle a wooden spoon, showed how to make ash cakes, and taught us how to make cordage. Daily hikes from 2-5 miles (killed my feet, but I'll live), learned how to identify more plants, and how to make flower essences. All in all, not too bad...... just a LOT of time with my classmates. I got home this morning, showered and went back to bed and slept until noon.

Now the fun starts. I'm seeing a lot that I have let go in the last few months - so many things..... I plan on making peach cobbler and something else for dinner, checking the cows, and doing some cleaning and homework today and tomorrow.

 

[Just a Nurse 2]

Got some planting done.... maters, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, watermelon, raspberry canes. Hoping the deer n rabbits don’t eat it before I get the fencing up around it

 

[moldy]

Planning on doing homework and house work this weekend. It's supposed to rain most of the weekend anyway, so that will be fine. I need to go to safeway again - they are having a pretty good sale with a lot of things I can freeze dry. If I get caught up on homework, I really need to organize my pantry.

 

[ReneeT]

'Bout did myself in this morning, unloading and putting down mulch - temp 94*F, heat index 99-101*F - but I needed to get the trailer out of the yard so that we can mow tomorrow. Kept myself hydrated, alternating lemon water with home made sports drink, plus kept a wet hanky under my hat and a wet flour sack dishtowel with a few ice cubes rolled up in it around my neck. Managed a nice long soak in a tepid tub afterwards, so had no ill effects. I worry about this July/August type heat we have having; thank Heavens for the recent rain or the crops would really be hurting. Pretty sure we'd all be hanging out in the basement if we didn't have air conditioning!!

I just can not seem to get a handle on getting and keeping the boys' closet organized; have decided to cut down the number of clothes that I keep on hand for them, and drop them down from two closet rods to one; and raising the one up. That will allow me to hang their shorts on those 4 & 6 tier hangers I found down in the storeroom the other day, thus leaving me more room in their dressers. Drawers that easily held a dozen pair of shorts for little boys don't hold but a few folded pair for lanky/long-legged 7 year olds! I also found some tiered slacks hangers where the arms swing out so you can drape the pants over them; those should work pretty well for their longer britches come fall.

Daughter, the boys and I took Hubby and Co-worker Buddy out to supper for Father's Day this evening, then hit Aldi and Dollar General on the way home. I've got my feet propped up and am trying to keep my eyes open for another half hour - hoping if I put the boys to bed a little later than normal, they will sleep a little later in the morning as well (Ha - fat chance lol!) They are planning to spend tomorrow down on the river with daughter's dad, step-mom and step-sibs, so Hubby and I should be able to get the mowing done and get inside before we melt! No other plans for the rest of the weekend unless I'm able to sneak out early enough in the morning to get some hoeing done in the garden before we start mowing. Wonder if the tomatoes will set any fruit in this heat - but the peppers sure don't seem phased!!

Better go run these boys into some jammies and plant the idea of bed time in their heads....

Take care all; have a blessed weekend!