Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: March 8 to March 14, 2026

[SouthernBreeze]

Good news is that Ryan Hall said only one last Arctic blast left and that is this coming week I guess

We usually get our last cold spell around Good Friday. Everyone gets ready to plant their gardens that day, and we'll get that cold spell. Cary and I always wait , until around the first of May to plant ours. It's not unheard of for us to get ice storms in early April.

I sure hope Ryan Hall has it correct this year.

 

[Meemur]

I woke up to wet snow on the ground, and it's still snowing. I think we'll get a little over a half inch before the storm moves on, nothing I have to shovel because it's around 34 degrees.

I've got to go into work this afternoon. The roads here look OK but I leave a few minutes early in case the bridges froze.

 

[Wildwood]

We usually get our last cold spell around Good Friday. Everyone gets ready to plant their gardens that day, and we'll get that cold spell. Cary and I always wait , until around the first of May to plant ours. It's not unheard of for us to get ice storms in early April.

I sure hope Ryan Hall has it correct this year.

I like to wait until the first of May too. The old timers always planted around April 15th...sooner if the seven day forecast didn't have any freezing temps for the week leading up to that date.. I don't personally think they get any jump starts with starts, maybe with direct sewing.

 

[Wildwood]

The last few times I've been sick, my temp has dropped instead of going up. I just wonder what has gone haywire in my system to cause such a thing. I'm a little worse today and my temp has dropped to 96.8 with no meds on board. I do feel achy so I just took tylenol after I took my temp.

When I woke up with a bladder infection last year, my temp was down to 95 point something. That worries me more than high fever. I told my doc about it when I went for a checkup and she didn't seem to find it worrisome.

Have I mentioned that I feel like crap lol and I'm trying to work on getting my seeds started? Usually, if I can take some Tylenol and get my temp down, it helps...hope it works just as well for just aches and pains. I've tried a different thermometer with no change.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The last few times I've been sick, my temp has dropped instead of going up. I just wonder what has gone haywire in my system to cause such a thing. I'm a little worse today and my temp has dropped to 96.8 with no meds on board. I do feel achy so I just took tylenol after I took my temp.

When I woke up with a bladder infection last year, my temp was down to 95 point something. That worries me more than high fever. I told my doc about it when I went for a checkup and she didn't seem to find it worrisome.

Have I mentioned that I feel like crap lol and I'm trying to work on getting my seeds started? Usually, if I can take some Tylenol and get my temp down, it helps...hope it works just as well for just aches and pains. I've tried a different thermometer with no change.

My temp always runs lower than normal. 97.8 most of the time. If my temp goes over 98, I can tell that I have a fever.

Hope you feel better, soon.

 

[summerthyme]

My temp always runs lower than normal. 97.8 most of the time. If my temp goes over 98, I can tell that I have a fever.

Hope you feel better, soon.

That's the way we are...I run closer to 96.8 normally. If I hit 99 degrees, I'm usually down with severe chills, body aches, etc...

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

That's the way we are...I run closer to 96.8 normally. If I hit 99 degrees, I'm usually down with severe chills, body aches, etc...

Summerthyme

If my temp reaches 99, I also begin having chills and body aches. My eyes dry out really bad, too. I can always tell when my temp goes up by the way my eyes feel, even before I check it.

 

[WanderLore]

How's y'all's wind? It's 40mph today with even higher tomorrow. The rain seems to have slacked off. I'm restarting the stove. There are rivers everywhere.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

How's y'all's wind? It's 40mph today with even higher tomorrow. The rain seems to have slacked off. I'm restarting the stove. There are rivers everywhere.

We're still waiting on the storms to arrive. I can see them coming as they are right on the edge of my radar screen moving in our direction. Local weatherman said we may go under a tornado watch, later.

 

[Wildwood]

Mine has always run on the low side too but usually not lower than about 97.0. I took Tylenol for the aches and pains and as soon as it took affect it went back up to 97.8 and that is more like my normal. I've always been about a degree lower and my blood pressure was even worse. The BP ran low until menopause and then it started creeping up.

 

[Wildwood]

How's y'all's wind? It's 40mph today with even higher tomorrow. The rain seems to have slacked off. I'm restarting the stove. There are rivers everywhere.

All of our rain has just moved out and the wind is gone too. We don't show anything more for several days but it's overcast and dreary. I'll take it because we are about to be clear and seventies through Monday. I'll say it again, I have never in my whole life experienced a winter this mild and I've lived all over the mid south. I love it.

We use to say "we'll pay for this this summer with all the bugs and stuff we will have." Well I'll take it because we desperately need pollinators over here in western Arkansas.

 

[Wildwood]

I accidentally double posted but I refuse to waste this post.

Even though I'm a little under the weather, I'm working on seed starting. I'm disinfecting all my seed starting trays and I'm doing the same with my solo cups from last year. I got all my stuff together to start those seeds today....finally, when I realized I'd skipped a few steps.

I'm always experimenting and since I had a stack of clear solo cups just like the red ones, I'm picking a few tomatoes and testing to see if the extra light they may get from the clear will make any difference in the plant. I have enough to do about four split trays.

Feeling like I do, I was tempted to trash the unsanitized solo cups and use brand new ones but the waste made me feel guilty so here I am trying to work up enough energy to do another round of bleaching lol.

 

[WanderLore]

Wildwood, I would love it there. This has been a harsh winter here. It's been one things after another constantly. I just spent the last 4 hours getting the stove going. The wind doesn't help.
70s sounds wonderful!

I haven't had good luck over the years potting seeds, I end up direct seeding and buying a few flats from the nursery. It's still too early here though.

 

[Meemur]

My temperature also runs on the low side, but it was virus low this morning. I took some aspirin, so it's back where it should be. I'm still dragging, but I'm feeling better than yesterday.

I'm assuming that I've got something viral. I'll continue with the IVM and my vitamins and just cut back on my activities and see what happens. The only other symptoms are my ears clogging and unclogging and some nasal drainage, but the pollen from the South has also increased, so there's that.

I'm off next week, so I'm trying to kick whatever this is out of my body. I have things that I want to do! I don't want to spend that time in bed or on the couch.

 

[Wildwood]

Wildwood, I would love it there. This has been a harsh winter here. It's been one things after another constantly. I just spent the last 4 hours getting the stove going. The wind doesn't help.
70s sounds wonderful!

I haven't had good luck over the years potting seeds, I end up direct seeding and buying a few flats from the nursery. It's still too early here though.

Seed starting is hit and miss for everyone. Mine may not do that great because I didn't realize how old some of my seeds were and some weren't exactly prime looking seeds. I used some 2022 and 2023 which isn't that bad but I've not had much luck with older seeds the last few years. I wish I had those seed starting mats.

I'll start thirty flats of seeds before I'm done and they are so expensive, I just can't afford to buy them. I know everyone here remembers when every store in town had a small seed display out front and you could get three small plants for $1. Now, in lots of places like here, it's Bonnie's Best or nothing and they can run as high as $5 a plant. We don't have any of the little mom and pop places that sells starts any more. Maybe I need to start a new business.

 

[Wildwood]

My temperature also runs on the low side, but it was virus low this morning. I took some aspirin, so it's back where it should be. I'm still dragging, but I'm feeling better than yesterday.

I'm assuming that I've got something viral. I'll continue with the IVM and my vitamins and just cut back on my activities and see what happens. The only other symptoms are my ears clogging and unclogging and some nasal drainage, but the pollen from the South has also increased, so there's that.

I'm off next week, so I'm trying to kick whatever this is out of my body. I have things that I want to do! I don't want to spend that time in bed or on the couch.

I hope you get to feeling better soon and can enjoy your time off. It sounds a lot like what we've had. DGD was really sick for over a week and my DIL was never that sick and it only lasted a couple days for her. DH had a light case and I don't know what I'm dealing with yet. As I've gotten older, my immune system doesn't seem to be doing as well as it use to. I still consider myself to be pretty healthy for my age.

 

[Meemur]

Yes, everyone around me has "something." I'm grateful that I'm not stuck in the bathroom or in bed.

I hope "it" passes you by!

 

[Wildwood]

I agree about being stuck in the bedroom or bathroom. I rarely get the stomach part unless it's a dedicated stomach virus. I'm afraid I'm not getting the pass as far as the head stuff. If it stays out of my chest, I can deal but I swear I heard a slight crackle in my chest this morning but nothing since, yet. I should probably take some Robitssin before bed. After what we had at Christmas, I'm terrified of pneumonia.

I'll be so glad when DH can work at home. He works with young guys with kids and they are always sick. Our grands are home schooled. I do like for them to catch just enough minor stuff to keep their immune systems working.

 

[nomifyle]

looks like we will get that artic blast in the next few days. We've had rain (which we can use) and under a tornado warning all afternoon, over now.

I've added Bitter Apricot Kernals to my cancer arseanal. They are hell on my teeth so tonight I put them in a coffee grinder, works well, bitter is no kidding, but I guess you do what you can,

I got a little laundry done this week, it does not take much to wear me out and killing my back.

I've gotten bad about if I can's find something I just order another one.

ETA: My friend Melba came over and helped me get a shower, praise the Lord.

 

[Wildwood]

I didn't realize that I'll have to talk to my son about that mini starlink. We were planning on having one when we travel and put the house when on standby while we're gone for the winter.

Something got my hens last fall or last summer when Scott was sick and my poor rooster had just started to crow. I decided no more right now. While my son and I are down south looking around I hope to find a little spot of land I could maybe make a small homestead off grid.
My sister has a really nice high top conversion van. It has a lift in it. But she has hit her son's face on it several times because he's in a wheelchair and there's a problem with loading and unloading that. So she's offering it to me for free! It has to bed in the back and it's low miles new tires everything good on it she has her mechanic go over everything. So I would have this if it works out, instead of having to get the cargo trailer.

That van sounds great. If you wanted to take extra camping stuff, you could pull a small trailer behind it but it would be so much easier not to have to worry about it.

About the seed starting...I sew all my peas, beans, squash, melons and cucumbers directly into the ground too.

 

[Meemur]

I suspect that van will need some work, but it will be a lifesaver in the end, much safer in a storm than trying to camp in a converted trailer.

 

[summerthyme]

Well, I'm up with a 5 year old vomiting every ten minutes. Good grief! We just got done with Norovirus a couple of weeks ago!

Crazy windstorm tonight...I have a feeling we're going to have some damage...trees down on fences, etc. At least the power is on.

Summerthyme

 

[Meemur]

Ginger ale helps me. Hope the vomiting stops soon!

I'm up because I drank the wrong hot tea earlier. I was going for herbal and ended up with breakfast tea.
Oh, well. I don't have to be anywhere first thing.

 

[WanderLore]

Oh dear Summertyme!

Van is in perfect shape. Previous owner was meticulous and my sis too and her mechanic went over every inch above and below! I told her she can change her mind. We'll see.

Getting coffee and catching up on everyone.
I went tomorrow it will be windy today but I guess worse tomorrow. Then snow doesn't look like much. Another week one of the cold temps and then it's supposed to go back up.

 

[WanderLore]

She said she couldn't sell it for what she paid and most people want minivans with the lift, don't want the big Vans anymore.

 

[ginnie6]

I got a lot done in the garden yesterday but theres still so much to do. I did manage to get some beet seeds out before the rain comes today. I'm not sure the seeds are still good but nothing to loose by trying.

Hopefully this afternoon I'm going to buy some easter egger chicks. I'll have to stop and get another feeder and waterer and I need to move mama hen's box out of the little pen. She's got her babies out and about with everyone anyway so I can use the little pen for a brooder.

Today is going to be an inside day other than that. After two days of beautiful hot weather its gone, we're under tornado watch till after lunch today. It was supposed to be raining by now but its not.

I've got a quilt to start quilting on and dishes to do. Plus I'm just tired today. Don't think I slept all that good last night....I slept but just don't feel rested.

 

[Wildwood]

Well I'm up and at em this morning, kind of lol. I've managed to get downstairs and get a cup of coffee. I think my sniffles have peaked today...at least I hope this is the peak.

I may have figured something out last night. I'm not usually prone to have my head colds go to my chest and up til the last few months I rarely get sick enough to test the theory I've come up with. I take benadryl every night before I go to bed to help me sleep but lately I've been weaning myself off of it and I'm down to a half and about two or three times a week but when I get a head cold, I take a full one a couple times a day. I was born with insomnia according to my mother. My daddy suffered with it his whole life too.

When my youngest son was a baby, he was very prone to pneumonia and his pediatrician always cautioned me not to give him antihistamines when he was sick with with anything respiratory. She said it put him at greater risk for developing pneumonia so I stopped the Benadryl as soon as that thought popped into my head yesterday . I gave my DIL the last of my Robitussin when she caught this stuff but I do have some out of date Mucinex. I know a prepper should never be in that position but I do have lifetime supply of Mucinex. The Robitussin I usually get, has other ingredients too.

We were suppose to finally go get my fencing for my garden tomorrow...so dissappointed, just like a little kid lol.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We didn't get any of the storms that were predicted for us to get last evening. The nasty stuff stayed south of us. We did get a lot of rain and thunder, though. It's a shock to our system this morning after being so warm. We had to turn on our little propane heater last night, once the storms passed, and the cold front moved in. 50's with sunny skies, today.

Nothing other than household chores for today.

 

[Hfcomms]

Winter storm warning tonight and another big storm late this weekend….sigh. I feel like a slacker. In the army if you had some downtime and were not improving your fighting position you are doing it wrong. Same with preparing, there is always something you can do or needs to be done even as we age. Can’t fight the weather too much, lick your wounds and wait for the thaw.

 

[Wildwood]

Well, I'm up with a 5 year old vomiting every ten minutes. Good grief! We just got done with Norovirus a couple of weeks ago!

Crazy windstorm tonight...I have a feeling we're going to have some damage...trees down on fences, etc. At least the power is on.

Summerthyme

I hope the 5 year old is better...and the weather too. There's nothing more miserable than a sick child when there's nothing you can do to make it better for them. I hope it skips the rest of you.

 

[patriotgal]

Cold 36 deg this morning with a couple of 21 deg nights on the way. Should be 68 right after.

Painting today, followed by taxes. I start back to work next Tuesday so the weekend will be about refilling the pantry. Had a lot of now empty jars to put away last night.

My mobility is better tho I still wear knee brace when I leave the house. Can't bend it much yet but it bends a bit more every day. Have found Arnica gel to be my best friend. Never realized it is a pain reliever. Spent a night away and really appreciated the bars in the bathroom.

 

[Wildwood]

I decided to jump back on the kombucha bandwagon again a couple months ago and looked everywhere for some plain kombucha tea without all the ginger in it...I detest ginger in kombucha. I have started a Scoby with it before but they've done something to it and it didn't work last time I tried.

The closest Whole Foods is two hours away and I'm not driving four hours to get what I need so I decided to check out Amazon. I was able to get a nice healthy Scoby in plenty of tea and it did the job. I'd ordered one from Kombucha Kamp a few years back and it was never quite right.

I was a good girl and did not drink any of the first batch and instead used the new Scooby and the original to get two batches going because two is one and one is none. I'm about to break into it today and see if it can help me fight this virus I've managed to get. I like it at the sweet fizzy stage.

 

[Wildwood]

Cold 36 deg this morning with a couple of 21 deg nights on the way. Should be 68 right after.

Painting today, followed by taxes. I start back to work next Tuesday so the weekend will be about refilling the pantry. Had a lot of now empty jars to put away last night.

My mobility is better tho I still wear knee brace when I leave the house. Can't bend it much yet but it bends a bit more every day. Have found Arnica gel to be my best friend. Never realized it is a pain reliever. Spent a night away and really appreciated the bars in the bathroom.

I'm glad to hear you are on the mend. At this age, it seems to take a little longer to bounce back.

I don't think I mentioned it here but I took a fall a week or two ago. My shoe sole, made with that grippy rubber, had a malfunction and came loose at the toe. I was in my usual walking too fast mode and it put me on the floor in a bad way. I didn't tell DH because I didn't feel like the lecture he's always giving me to slow down. He was in bed asleep. To be fair, I felt guilty and fessed up a few days later.

My head hit the door to my work room. Had that door not been closed, it would have thrown me down three steps head first. I can't even imagine. I had three new pairs of shoes upstairs in my closet and a fourth pair that I was about to turn into my new work shoes. They'd been my good going to town shoes until I bought the three pairs. I'd put those old ones on to do some garden work and forgot to take them off. They are history now. I did save the nice stretchy laces and the insoles.

Edited to add: My first response was to thank the Lord for sparing me catastrophic damage. I was left with a huge ugly bruise on the under side of my arm where I reached out to break my fall and a little spot close to it that almost tore the skin. It was definitely a nudge to be more careful in my senior years.

 

[Meemur]

I'm much better this morning! I even got in a short walk. I'm still not 100% but no low grade fever this morning, either. It's also in upper 30s with a light wind, so any pollen is gone. The 60 mph winds will be in later.

I hope the wee one is better, Summer.

WW, good luck with the Kombacha! I've seen the finished product at Whole Foods, but I haven't convinced myself to try it, yet. Let us know if it helps you.

I was supposed to check in with the physical therapist this morning, but that visit got canceled. On the plus side, I've been keeping up with my steps, plus walking up and down more actual stair steps. I think I'm ready for the next level of fall recovery, which is being able to get off the floor without going to my knees, but I'd rather have someone else in the room when I try that.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

My mobility is better tho I still wear knee brace when I leave the house. Can't bend it much yet but it bends a bit more every day. Have found Arnica gel to be my best friend. Never realized it is a pain reliever. Spent a night away and really appreciated the bars in the bathroom.

I have a bad knee that nothing has seemed to help. It's going on a year, now. Rheumatologist said it was a sprain, but it won't heal. I finally broke down and bought Arnica gel to see if that would help, and also, a knee brace. Lord knows, I've tried everything else. I've been using both for the past few days, and I'm hoping this does the trick.

 

[Wildwood]

I'm much better this morning! I even got in a short walk. I'm still not 100% but no low grade fever this morning, either. It's also in upper 30s with a light wind, so any pollen is gone. The 60 mph winds will be in later.

I hope the wee one is better, Summer.

WW, good luck with the Kombacha! I've seen the finished product at Whole Foods, but I haven't convinced myself to try it, yet. Let us know if it helps you.

I was supposed to check in with the physical therapist this morning, but that visit got canceled. On the plus side, I've been keeping up with my steps, plus walking up and down more actual stair steps. I think I'm ready for the next level of fall recovery, which is being able to get off the floor without going to my knees, but I'd rather have someone else in the room when I try that.

I'm so glad you are better.

Getting up off the floor was a challenge but I'd watched some YouTube videos and practiced a technique they taught a few years back. I did have to scoot away from the spot I was in because it wasn't big enough and also had to put a little pressure on my knees but it just took a second once I was on my knees to stand up. Having to put that pressure on my knees was the most painful part but adrenaline helped. Funny thing about my knees is if I have a cushion under them, it doesn't hurt at all but direct contact with a hard wood floor did.

 

[summerthyme]

I have a bad knee that nothing has seemed to help. It's going on a year, now. Rheumatologist said it was a sprain, but it won't heal. I finally broke down and bought Arnica gel to see if that would help, and also, a knee brace. Lord knows, I've tried everything else. I've been using both for the past few days, and I'm hoping this does the trick.

The arnica should be useful for pain. BUT...a YEAR? Have you had an MRI done? A "sprain" is actually torn ligaments (a "strain" is when ligaments are stretched, but not torn) Bad sprains can take longer than a simple fracture to heal, but knees are complex joints. You could have something else going on...torn or ragged cartilage, etc

I'd say its past time for an orthopedic consult!

Summerthyme

 

[SouthernBreeze]

The arnica should be useful for pain. BUT...a YEAR? Have you had an MRI done? A "sprain" is actually torn ligaments (a "strain" is when ligaments are stretched, but not torn) Bad sprains can take longer than a simple fracture to heal, but knees are complex joints. You could have something else going on...torn or ragged cartilage, etc

I'd say its past time for an orthopedic consult!

Summerthyme

Yes, it's past time to delve further into it. My last visit with my rheumatologist , he suggested an orthopedic to check it out. I refused at that time, but I know something is going on other than a sprain or strain. It doesn't swell, turn red, or have fever in it. I've had x-rays done with no evidence of anything wrong. It might take an MRI to find out the cause.

 

[Meemur]

It's a quality of life issue, SB. I hate visiting doctors, too, but it's better to address stuff now than later, I've learned.

Keeping you (and Cary) in prayer!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

It's a quality of life issue, SB. I hate visiting doctors, too, but it's better to address stuff now than later, I've learned.

Keeping you (and Cary) in prayer!

I have an upcoming appointment with my rheumatologist in early May. I'm sure, after all this time with no healing, he will insist I see an orthopedic doctor if he doesn't order more tests, himself. We have a great Orthopedic clinic in Tupelo that comes highly recommended, so if he insists that I see a specialist, I will this time. That has been my plan for a while now. I'm just looking for some relief in the meantime.