Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: May 22~28, 2022

[SouthernBreeze]

Artichokes are only one of only a handful of veggies I've never tasted. I never knew how to use them, LOL.

I'm not going to be much good for anything, today. I've been up all night with an anxiety attack over going to the dentist tomorrow. I know that may sound crazy stupid to some, but I have an irrational fear of dentists. It doesn't make sense to me, either, but it is what it is. The only way I can have work done without having a panic attack is to be sedated with Valium.

Need to make more coffee..........

 

[nomifyle]

Artichokes are only one of only a handful of veggies I've never tasted. I never knew how to use them, LOL.

I'm not going to be much good for anything, today. I've been up all night with an anxiety attack over going to the dentist tomorrow. I know that may sound crazy stupid to some, but I have an irrational fear of dentists. It doesn't make sense to me, either, but it is what it is. The only way I can have work done without having a panic attack is to be sedated with Valium.

Need to make more coffee..........

praying for you for your dental appointment. For some reason I was never afraid of the dentist.

I'd never eaten artichokes before I moved to New Orleans and it took me a long time before I ever tried them. And now that I'm remembering about the stuffed artichokes I remember eating them plain and they are very tasty. I may be opening that can today,

 

[WanderLore]

SB can you take some diphenhydramine or something to help stay calm? I'm not a fan either. I did have a great dentist but he retired. He was very fast!

 

[John Deere Girl]

Artichokes are only one of only a handful of veggies I've never tasted. I never knew how to use them, LOL.

I'm not going to be much good for anything, today. I've been up all night with an anxiety attack over going to the dentist tomorrow. I know that may sound crazy stupid to some, but I have an irrational fear of dentists. It doesn't make sense to me, either, but it is what it is. The only way I can have work done without having a panic attack is to be sedated with Valium.

Need to make more coffee..........

Praying for you! I feel the same way, and our dentist is really good. I just ask for laughing gas before anything goes in my mouth, and it totally relaxes me. However, I'm a mess a few days before.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Praying for you! I feel the same way, and our dentist is really good. I just ask for laughing gas before anything goes in my mouth, and it totally relaxes me. However, I'm a mess a few days before.

My dentist is really good, too. I've used him for years, and he knows me well. He always uses laughing gas and Valium on me, cause he knows that he can't get my mouth open without it, LOL! I'm usually so out of it by the time he starts the work, that I almost sleep through the whole thing. Still, I have this fear.......Some of the broken teeth are going to have to be cut out.

 

[Cardinal]

I now have 6 freezers and am at the point that I MUST learn to can. I have had an all American pressure canner for years but haven’t used it because I’m terrified I will do it wrong and kill my family. Seriously. But, the time has come to ‘man up’ and make a go of it.

Start with canning either butter, or ghee until you get used to it.
Then work your way up to what scares you the most.
Once you have canned a coupe of batches of whatever, and see that you have a good seal, you will feel more confident.

I took out a small loan and got my car fixed. Needed some stuff done to bearings and whatnot. Got new tires.
It runs amazingly well again. Keeping my car up is my top priority prep.
Sometime soon, I will get around to cleaning up the basement-the rats are gone.
I need to hang grow lights and set up the tables for plants.

Other than that, just marketing my boss' janitorial biz to drum up more work for us both.

 

[John Deere Girl]

Hi everyone, this is my first time on this section of TB, I never knew it existed. I know I will learn from all of you and I definitely have a lot to learn.

I have been buying meat lately. High quality beef at unbelievably low prices, chicken when I can find it and pork roasts. I e been vacuum sealing and freezing it all. I now have 6 freezers and am at the point that I MUST learn to can. I have had an all American pressure canner for years but haven’t used it because I’m terrified I will do it wrong and kill my family. Seriously. But, the time has come to ‘man up’ and make a go of it.

Between all that I’ve started a very large vegetable garden. This is my first garden as well. I’m really enjoying it though.

I highly recommend buying a Ball Blue Book. Just follow the directions, and you will do fine. If pressure canning makes you nervous, you can always can on a propane camp stove outside.

 

[paxsim2]

All this talk of artichokes made me put two cans on the Walmart order. I'll make spinach artichoke dip. Yummy.

It's cold, relatively speaking, and damp here. My bush beans are up in the vertical garden along with a few flowers. My lavender is lush this year and so is the bee balm. The comfrey is a bit behind but the valerian is coming out strong. My blackberry bushes are covered in blooms.

I'm inside since it's raining so I'll clean the kitchen freezer out some more and do the dishes.

I'm continuing to prep and dh has turned a corner we think. His doctor removed the picc line and changed antibiotic. There's a consensus that the antibiotic was hindering platelet development. We shall see. Take care everyone!

 

[prudentwatcher]

I just got back from a two week Alaska cruise. Risky time to go, but you never know when something is going to happen. We had a great time, though the travel to and from Seattle from Florida was a nightmare. Flying sucks more each time.

Just stopped by Publix for milk and stuff. They have the 12.5 oz cans of Tyson chicken on sale BOGO and I bought 4 cans. Cheaper than Walmart. Also picked up a couple of cans of beans on sale, some banana quick bread that was BOGO, and my favorite tea bags were on sale, so I got another box.

My potatoes and tomatoes (the extent of my garden) are doing great. We are headed to the flea market this weekend to see what we can find. Maybe some berries for the freezer and some fresh veggies for the table.

 

[nomifyle]

egads , I love spinach artichoke dip, I could eat it with a spoon.

 

[briches]

egads , I love spinach artichoke dip, I could eat it with a spoon.

Me too!

I love artichokes on pizza with black olives, mushrooms and feta. Yum!

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

SB,

Good luck with your dental appointment tomorrow.
My best wishes go out to you.

Just remember, don’t bite the thumb off your dentist...

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Holy Smokes - a half barrel would weigh a ton - take one hell of a stout wood frame >>> I'd take something like concrete block stand over wood any day ....

I did it once - the secret is to add perlite into the soil to lighten it up some. And maybe some broken twigs down at the bottom of the container.

I used 2 by 4s to build the frames, and held it together with screws fitted into those metal plates that you can buy at Lowes to strengthen housing structures.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Hi everyone, this is my first time on this section of TB, I never knew it existed. I know I will learn from all of you and I definitely have a lot to learn.

I have been buying meat lately. High quality beef at unbelievably low prices, chicken when I can find it and pork roasts. I e been vacuum sealing and freezing it all. I now have 6 freezers and am at the point that I MUST learn to can. I have had an all American pressure canner for years but haven’t used it because I’m terrified I will do it wrong and kill my family. Seriously. But, the time has come to ‘man up’ and make a go of it.

Between all that I’ve started a very large vegetable garden. This is my first garden as well. I’m really enjoying it though.

Welcome to our world, Ordinary Girl! This is the best part of TB2K, and it sounds like you will fit in quite well.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

First radiation session down. Met with the speech therapist and my trismus is improving. The goal for next week: eating toast without having to squish it flat first!

Still praying for you, Moldy!

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

They are probably an acquired taste, I’ll have to open a can and let you know, in New Orleans it’s popular to stuff them and you tear a leaf off and scrape the contents off with your teeth and oh my how delicious ETA: This is prepared with a whole artichoke.

Ah, yes... the memories...

My Aunt Yvonne, who lived on Magazine Street in New Orleans, married into a family that was authentic Sicilian Italian, and her mother in law taught her how to cook... she could make the BEST stuffed artichoke!

BTW, you know the sno ball machines, Nomifile?

Her brother in law was the guy that invented the first snoball machine, during the depression. It saved their corner market (Ortolano’s Grocery) from the devistation of the depression...

and alot of native New Orleanians from the brutal, tropical heat of the region. Especially in the days before AC became prevalent.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

We've got some possibly severe storms moving into our area, today, tonight, and tomorrow. It is so humid outside right now, I think it could start raining at any moment. We got a huge deluge last evening just as Cary was finishing up mowing most of the yard. He didn't get the back yard, but no one ever sees it but us, anyway. Just the critters. Hopefully, he can finish in the next day or two, especially around the raised beds. I've already encountered one snake, and keeping the grass cut short sure would help me about seeing them!!!! Dang thing scared me senseless! It was just a king snake, but it was still long and scary.......Yes, I screamed. Cary said I probably scared the snake more than it scared me, LOL!

My dental appointment is at 1 pm, today. I'm going to take a very mild anti-anxiety med, before I go. Just to help calm me a bit. I know he won't do any work, today, just evaluate what all needs to be done, then set me up on a treatment plan. He may even send me to a specialist to have the work done, since 3 of my teeth will have to be cut out. They broke even with the gumline. I don't know if he will want to do that with me awake or not. When I've had root canals and had my wisdom teeth cut out, he sent me to a specialist. I was asleep the whole time. I trust my dentist to know what works best for me. The really bad part about all of this, since Cary has retired, I no longer have dental insurance, so all this work will be paid for out of pocket. This is one of the main reasons we set up an emergency fund.

 

[nomifyle]

When I was gathering up a load of clothes I heard water running. I have a laundry basket in front of the door to the water heater. I opened the door and there was water coming from connections on top of the water heater, not the water heater itself. And o my goodness what a mess. The door is almost completely soaked, No wonder the water bill has been a little higher the last couple of months or so. DH is working on repairing it. There was a crack in one of the connections.

I can still wash clothes in cold water, I've been transitioning to use less hot water for laundry anyway, trying to cut down on the electric bill. Since I've been making that effort I've been doing smaller quicker loads than filling up the washer with clothes, running a longer cycle. So, praise the Lord, I don't have much in the way to wash. And I'm using the dryer less too. I'm doing every thing I can think of to keep that bill down.

Judy

 

[WanderLore]

Oh no Judy.
Hey I always wash in cold water. Only exception is if I happen to be at a laundromat. Which has been years and was due to our septic and well out and being fixed.

 

[WanderLore]

Rain off and on for next three days. So making a nice dinner and cake and resting!
This rain will really make the garden busy!

 

[philkar]

Me too Wanderlore! Love the rain. I am feeling like a permanently exhausted pigeon so the rest is welcomed! Making new potatoes and peas and some corn on the cob. Corn not from my garden but soon very soon I will be picking my own!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Judy, I always wash my laundry in cold water. It's one of the ways it helps us keep our electric bill low.

It's raining and storming, here, right now. It's doing our gardens a world of good, too. Everything is so lush and green. It's also cooled the temps down which is giving everything a relief.

My adventure to the dentist went extremely well. I love my dentist! Like I've said, he knows me well, and to make it easy for me, he wants me to see my oral surgeon (Cary and I have used him before, and he's great) to have all these 5 teeth taken out. I will be put to sleep for the procedure. I couldn't get an appointment to see the surgeon until August, but that just gives us more time to save and build our emergency fund, so we can pay for it out of pocket. We don't use credit cards or payment plans unless it's an extreme emergency. I still have a few teeth that need fillings, and I go back to my dentist June 7th for the first of those. He's already written me a script for Valium, LOL! The best part of all, I'm not going to have to have all my teeth pulled and dentures. I was so afraid that would be the end result. I may end up with another set of partial dentures, after it's all said and done, though. I'll need something to chew with!

Thanks to everyone for all your prayers!

 

[prudentwatcher]

I went to Sam's today. Most people were buying paper products, bottled water and snacks. I bought some OTC meds, tuna, brown sugar, granola, coffee, butane cartridges, 10 lbs of frozen veggies to dehydrate, a big container of nuts, enough meat for another case of pints when I can it, a bunch of berries to make mixed berry jam that my grandkids love, 6lbs of pasta (on sale!) and a few more odds and ends. Expensive trip, but I was trying to fill in a couple of low spots in the pantry.

On the way home, I stopped to top off the tank. $4.63 a gallon. I told the guy across from me that this was getting painful. He shook his head and said "it is getting out of control." Can't say I disagree, though it will only get worse.

 

[ReneeT]

I'm in a mood today - if I were one of those yappy little dogs, I'd probably be biting someone's ankles about now Hopefully, the coffee and ibuprofen will kick in and I'll be a better person soon... (And if not, I have a 2x4" piece of the block of peanut butter fudge I bought at the town wide yard sales a couple of weeks ago that I hid in the freezer that I can try next...)

I'm not sure if it was waking up to the rain that was NOT in the forecast (though I should have known something was coming because I could barely bend my knuckles last night), the raccoons knocking down 4 of my 6 hummingbird feeders and carrying off one of them, the invasion of tiny sugar ants swarming my kitchen sink when I walked over to fill the coffee pot this morning, the call from daughter sending me on a search for younger grandson's lost jacket, or the three phone calls from politicians that set me off, but I am already over today Hopefully a trip to the pool with the neighbor, and maybe a stop at the local greenhouse will help...

On the plus side, daughter sent me a video of her slowly driving her car down a (barely) graveled road behind the two youngest boys as they ran down the side of the road - guess there had been a squabble in the car and she wasn't going to listen to it any longer so turned down the first lonely road she saw and told them to get out and run until they were too tired to argue any longer. I showed Hubby and he laughed - said he remembered his Dad using the same technique

Speaking of the boys, I have to pick them and the granddog up this afternoon and bring them out to the farm for an overnight visit - daughter has a couple of appointments tomorrow, then she will pick the boys up as they are heading out on a trip to celebrate being out of school; the granddog will stay with us as usual.

I've decided I want to plant a couple more raised beds of regular potatoes; will probably wait until Friday, and plant the rest of my sweet potatoes at the same time. I think I'm going to start buying a couple of 8' 2x8s every week and have Hubby start building me more raised beds - I think I'd like another row of them in the back garden... My arm muscles should be huge by the time I finish shoveling sale barn compost into them

Well, I need to run in to town to the bank so I can get back home before the neighbor lady picks me up to go to the pool - may take her out to lunch as a thank you... And I've somehow managed to lose the piece of paper that I inventoried my bedding plants on, so I need to go out on the porch and do that so I can have a list made out so I can stop by the neighbor lady's greenhouse; and if she doesn't have what I need, I'll take the list to the Farmer's Market tomorrow morning.

You folks all take care out there - stay safe!

 

[SouthernBreeze]

Another sleepless night last night. Went to bed at 9pm and woke up at 11:30pm. I haven't had any sleep, since then. I just couldn't make myself go back to sleep. I took 2 Aleve, but nothing worked. We had another storm roll through around 3:30am this morning. I had to wade water almost to get to the gardens this morning around daylight. I spotted a baby tomato and several baby bell peppers! Cukes and beans are beginning to run, and the squash has tiny blooms beginning to appear.

I need to dig out more canning jars for the next round of pressure canning. It's a job washing jars by hand, but that's how it's done, here. I'll remember not to fill the jars so full this go around, and tighten the bands tighter. I didn't care for having to clean the grease off the jars, after the process. They are all still sealed good, though. I don't know, yet, what day to set aside for more canning. Too much going on right now. At least the jars will be washed and ready to go. I haven't thawed out any meat, yet.

Saturday, we have to make a trip to Florence, AL. to bring Mom back home from visiting my aunt. Tuesday, my car goes in the shop for repair on the AC. Sunday, is home fellowship. The 1st is shopping day, and on and on......I don't like getting that overwhelmed feeling.

 

[skwentnaflyer]

I think Walmart might be rolling out a change. Had placed a couple of orders to be shipped. I don’t like going to the store, and don’t really care for curbside pickup—feels slightly more discreet to have it shipped. Well, an unmarked car rolled up this morning, a guy hops out and hands me a single jar of molasses. I knew I had ordered it shipped, so my face was probably interesting. He had no idea where the rest of the order would be, so I didn’t press him. Went back inside to check, and it showed one item delivered from store, with a photo of me and the house.

Checked my other orders, and some of them do show “delivery from store “.
I think someone else on here had mentioned this, but I hadn’t encountered it at the time.
Sigh. No more Walmart orders for a while, I don’t want a parade of minimum wage employees at my house.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I think Walmart might be rolling out a change. Had placed a couple of orders to be shipped. I don’t like going to the store, and don’t really care for curbside pickup—feels slightly more discreet to have it shipped. Well, an unmarked car rolled up this morning, a guy hops out and hands me a single jar of molasses. I knew I had ordered it shipped, so my face was probably interesting. He had no idea where the rest of the order would be, so I didn’t press him. Went back inside to check, and it showed one item delivered from store, with a photo of me and the house.

Checked my other orders, and some of them do show “delivery from store “.
I think someone else on here had mentioned this, but I hadn’t encountered it at the time.
Sigh. No more Walmart orders for a while, I don’t want a parade of minimum wage employees at my house.

Never has happened to us. All our Walmart online orders come FedEx. Strange. If an unmarked vehicle pulls into our driveway, they would be met with great suspicion. I don't think I would like that, either.

 

[hd5574]

I think Walmart might be rolling out a change. Had placed a couple of orders to be shipped. I don’t like going to the store, and don’t really care for curbside pickup—feels slightly more discreet to have it shipped. Well, an unmarked car rolled up this morning, a guy hops out and hands me a single jar of molasses. I knew I had ordered it shipped, so my face was probably interesting. He had no idea where the rest of the order would be, so I didn’t press him. Went back inside to check, and it showed one item delivered from store, with a photo of me and the house.

Checked my other orders, and some of them do show “delivery from store “.
I think someone else on here had mentioned this, but I hadn’t encountered it at the time.
Sigh. No more Walmart orders for a while, I don’t want a parade of minimum wage employees at my house.

I ordered 12 small cans of veggies from walmart....they arrived just loose in a large sealed bag from a guy in a car.
By the grace of God none of the cans were dented...
Not it seems that more things are being delivered this way.
It was always fedex before.

Just also hate the new Prime trucks and drivers. ..who can't drive...have large ruts, now muddy, in my grass by the driveway ...glad I am coming to end of ordering from them.

Fedex, UPS and USPS...have never left the ruts...but prime drivers appear to be a special class of dumb..had one trying to deliver 2 packages to me that would not scan. .I was getting only one package...the two were for a different address..finally found my package.
Just like everything else delivery is getting worse.

 

[hiwall]

I think Walmart might be rolling out a change. Had placed a couple of orders to be shipped. I don’t like going to the store, and don’t really care for curbside pickup—feels slightly more discreet to have it shipped. Well, an unmarked car rolled up this morning, a guy hops out and hands me a single jar of molasses. I knew I had ordered it shipped, so my face was probably interesting. He had no idea where the rest of the order would be, so I didn’t press him. Went back inside to check, and it showed one item delivered from store, with a photo of me and the house.

Checked my other orders, and some of them do show “delivery from store “.
I think someone else on here had mentioned this, but I hadn’t encountered it at the time.
Sigh. No more Walmart orders for a while, I don’t want a parade of minimum wage employees at my house.

I order from them a lot. Stuff is shipped by FedEx. I don't think they would hand deliver here when the closest store is about 75 miles away.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

I order from them a lot. Stuff is shipped by FedEx. I don't think they would hand deliver here when the closest store is about 75 miles away.

We're not that far away, but I can't see them doing that way out here in the rural parts. In town, maybe.

 

[nomifyle]

I'm winding down my ordering too. If, for the most part, I don't have it by now I'll do without. I'm down to once a month shopping in town. I did just order the stuff recommended for poison ivy. When I get that I always have to get a shot. I do have some prednisone left from when we had covid. But I don't like taking it. We only took about a day's worth when we had covid and stopped.

So the wife of the man that DH cut all the lumber for said on FB the he is not going over there anymore. Apparently she has quite a reputation for being a user. Oh well, DH did it as an act of of being a christian. I guess no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[hd5574]

We're not that far away, but I can't see them doing that way out here in the rural parts. In town, maybe.

SB...I am very rural ..zoned ag..and they are doing it here. hope it doesn't happen to you...I think all these places are trying to increase their profit .

We don't do self check out either...figure that the cashiers are there because they need a job. DH says to get him to self check out they need to pay him with a huge discount...to work for them for free..he says no way.

 

[skwentnaflyer]

Lovely. Went back and checked on my orders and it looks like they are planning to deliver from store on other items. I think I will cancel those if I can. Don’t want my stuff sitting out if I’m not home, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to inquire about a delivery time.

 

[SouthernBreeze]

SB...I am very rural ..zoned ag..and they are doing it here. hope it doesn't happen to you...I think all these places are trying to increase their profit .

We don't do self check out either...figure that the cashiers are there because they need a job. DH says to get him to self check out they need to pay him with a huge discount...to work for them for free..he says no way.

Gosh. That's going to make me think twice, before ordering anything from Walmart anymore. I can tolerate FedEx dropping in from time to time, but not a personal vehicle/driver. We know the driver of our FedEx truck, so it makes a difference. All of our Sam's orders come by FedEx as well. We can always track our order online to know what day to expect delivery to make sure we're at home.

I/we never have used those self checkout thingies. People of Walmart get paid to do that job, and we won't do it for free. Plus, we always pay in cash.

 

[John Deere Girl]

We live pretty rural, and while most of my orders from Walmart are delivered by Fed Ex, occasionally someone who is in a car or mini van delivers a package. It's the two different gentlemen, and they are nice.

 

[nomifyle]

We got to know our Fedx driver and I have the UPS driver's phone number and he said to call him if there were any issues.

I don't want strangers coming up here at all. although since the theft of the small amount of gas, we are not locking everything up. That is except DH's workshop where he has all of his tools. I gently remind him of things.

My main concentration right now is to get the preps we have organized, that could take me the rest of my life, LOL

 

[ReneeT]

I've not ordered from Walmart but my co-worker Buddy does. I drive past the local one 6 times a week on my way to or from work, so just stop in. I like to see what the stock on hand looks like... Amazon purchases usually come by mail or UPS - but half the time the stuff is for daughter or the grands, so I just have it sent to her house instead.

Well, an hour in the pool, followed by a visit to Eddie's Taco Truck (chicken quesadillas for Hubby and myself; steak tacos for the lovely neighbor who drives me to the pool a few times a week) brightened my day so I am now safe to be around other humans lol!

Now if the thunderstorm that is supposed to hit anytime would just blow over, my day would be wonderful I use weatherunderground.com for my weather forecasts, and usually it's pretty good, but today the little current forecast blurb at the top says "thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall; some may be severe", but the hourly forecast below the blurb shows cloudy the rest of the day with maybe some rain at 8pm. The wind is out of the southeast at the moment, and that usually does bring in some rain.... I'd like to go get another load of composted manure, but don't want the manure or myself to get soaked. The 10 day forecast shows no rain for 8 days starting Saturday, so I may just wait until next Wednesday to go get it...

Bad storms were originally forecast for tomorrow morning so the Farmer's Market had a possibility of being cancelled as it is open air, but now it's looking like it might be clear, or maybe light rain. The lady who was going to bring me elderberry starts called me to tell me she wouldn't be there: we set up a different day/place to meet so I'm not even going to bother driving over there.

Well, I opened my mouth.... pouring rain. Glad I didn't hitch up the trailer Rainy weather is good napping weather at least, so that's what I think I'm going to do!

Wishing you all a great rest of the day!

 

[nomifyle]

DH got the connections to the hot water heater repaired. It took two or three tries because it kept springing a leak. So now I have hot water again. While it was down I washed a load that I usually use hot for in cold. He gets his jeans really dirty, but they came clean in cold water, using tide pods.

Its cooler again this morning, but the heat will be back. Gotta enjoy it while it lasts. Its only 77 here in my office by my computer. The central air has not been on "yet". Its got to be really hot for me to turn it on. It will be interesting to see what the electric bill will be this month, the meter gets read on June 5.

The garden is looking good, the rain the other day really helped. Although we didn't get enough to refill a couple of the icb totes, and that's not good.

 

[moldy]

First week of radiation done. So far, so good.

 

[paxsim2]

I did a pickup order today and had the rest shipped it came by FedEx. There's another one due tomorrow. Now I'm working on another.
Bought a 40 volt mower today, I can no longer mow with our gas mower. I can't put gas in it or pull start it. We have friends that have one that like this model. I am buying another battery for it. We have almost a half acre which I mow with a riding mower the new one is for trimming more or less.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.