Prep Genrl Weekly Prep Thread: September 27 - October 3, 2026

Well, I got bored really quick, so I decided to make 4 dozen peanut butter cookies. I just took the last pan out of the oven. Once they all cool completely, I'll put them in the cookie jar.

I, also, scrounged up enough laundry to make a load. I put them in the dryer, because the logging trucks are still going up and down the road stirring up a dirt fog.

Cary finished up on cutting up stove wood this morning. He filled up the big basket in the laundry room with stove wood, too. It sits beside the wood stove. He still has some splitting and stacking to do from that big limb that fell off the tree across our fence.

Chain saws can be heard all over the neighborhood this morning. Not just Cary's, but there were two other sets going at the same time down the road. I don't know of any trees that are down, unless someone had one or two cut recently.

I'm still working on my shopping lists for tomorrow. I'm adding more to the pantry this time, too. I rearranged all my pasta, yesterday, so I have room for even more of that. More sugar, cream of cheddar soup, another flat of mixed veggies, another 10lbs. of bread flour, and a variety of pickles. More paper products such as paper towels, paper plates, and table napkins. Those go in my storage barn.

Sadie has completely recovered from her surgery. She is one more spoiled little girl!
 
It has been raining off and on all morning. The area is less than an inch from the wettest month in Iowa ever, something like that. Large-scale harvesting has been a nightmare for the farmers. I've been doing OK because my fall garden is on wheels, for the most part.

It's a get gas and light errands day in a bit. I haven't heard anything more from reputable sources about tomorrow's potential trucker strike, but I will finish getting stuff today. Thursday is normally my day to do that. Tomorrow, I will go walking early (new trail) and do house projects. Flood warnings are in effect, so I'll be staying off the lower trails.
 
Meemur said:
It has been raining off and on all morning. The area is less than an inch from the wettest month in Iowa ever, something like that. Large-scale harvesting has been a nightmare for the farmers. I've been doing OK because my fall garden is on wheels, for the most part.

It's a get gas and light errands day in a bit. I haven't heard anything more from reputable sources about tomorrow's potential trucker strike, but I will finish getting stuff today. Thursday is normally my day to do that. Tomorrow, I will go walking early (new trail) and do house projects. Flood warnings are in effect, so I'll be staying off the lower trails.
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Just as expected, they have shortened our number of rain days in our forecast. First, we had good chances of rain for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Now, it's only for Saturday and Sunday, and the chances have decreased for those two days.
 
Well, it warmed up a bit again. I just pulled a nice basket full of peppers - cayenne, poblanos & sweet. Also cut the last blooms of the tansy (it's only it's 2nd year, and got real leggy - planted between valerian plants, also big!) If I've got enough artemisia, to go with, might make another batch of my anti-moth sachet mixture.
 
I probably should get out and pick some sagebrush to make some herbal smudge sticks. I've still got quite a few from last year, but if anything, this year has shown me to stock deep.

Gettting ready to attend a zoom meeting for work, then off to run errands.
 
Anna, if you go anywhere tomorrow that's flood-prone, call ahead or leave time for alternatives. The flood warnings for Iowa are no joke. Many of the little, mostly invisible streams are now quite full and coming up onto the roads. My immediate area is fine and I can get over to the Grimes commercial area (Walmart, Fareway, Aldi) but going east will be problematic, so I will avoid that.
 
Sorry to hear about all those who are suffering with various issues. Good health is truly a blessing.

I have issues but at this point in my life all are manageable i.e. I've learned to be careful and so we co-exist.

Bible study was great today, lots of learning, lots of laughter and good fellowship. Tomorrow I'm planning to go to town to continue my stocking up. I spent time in the basement pantry and found shortages on a few shelves. First, a trip to the bank for some cash then I should be ready to go. I need to write first of the month checks and get them in the mail. I've already added September ledgers so that is done.

I seldom shop at HyVee but this week's ad has several good buys. I need to get some more copper cleaner for my Revere Ware pans and the only place that carries it is HyVee.

Crazy but I need a new thimble, and Walmart does have sizes just one generic which didn't fit. I have several but arthritis has enlarged my right hand, and I need one a size larger. I will try Hobby Lobby which is in the same area as HyVee.

The only other necessary stop is Aldi. A friend is going with me, and we will troll through a couple thrift shops if we have the energy after shopping or maybe do that first.

I want to go to library thrift shop for a couple jigsaw puzzles for winter entertainment and maybe a few books. I usually do 1000-piece puzzles but am thinking of 500 to 750 to make finishing faster. Unless I missed it, Friends of the Library's semi-annual book sale should be soon so will ask about that. I saw in the paper that the library was doing a major remodel which may make stopping there a mistake!

My dd reminded me that street flooding is always a problem in town so I may decide to wait until Friday to go. The shopping area despite millions of dollars of infrastructure still floods. I'm pretty familiar with flooding on the highway having driven it for 25 years and there are two places water will go across the road. It has been raining since supper time but very light. Forecast shows rain ending around 8 a.m. still it might be a good idea to wait a day before going to town.
 
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92 and sunny for our forecast, today. Our chances of getting rain from Polo are slipping fast. I doubt if we see any at all. Cooler weather, though. After the front passes, only in the low 80's for highs. 50's for lows.

Today is a big shopping day. Big, because we have to go to two towns. House insurance to be paid and dry cleaners pick-up in one town. Bank, Walmart, TSC, and wine shop in the other. We make a full circle when we shop in these two towns.
 
Made a run to Costco. Most is put away. Have to divide and freeze ground beef in 2 person portions. After our brutal summer where nothing sounded good to eat I am looking forward to beans soups and casseroles. Still waiting for new crop of sweet potatoes in grocery stores. I individually wrap in newspaper and store in box in garage.
We are supposed to have some real winter weather spells here this year.
 
connie said:
Made a run to Costco. Most is put away. Have to divide and freeze ground beef in 2 person portions. After our brutal summer where nothing sounded good to eat I am looking forward to beans soups and casseroles. Still waiting for new crop of sweet potatoes in grocery stores. I individually wrap in newspaper and store in box in garage.
We are supposed to have some real winter weather spells here this year.
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Yeah, our summer heat has had us eating like a rabbit, almost. Just not too hungry. Mostly salads, fresh fruits, and sandwiches all summer. It's time for Fall/Winter and Fall/Winter foods. I'm actually looking forward to my first batch of taco soup with cornbread, already. It's got to cool down a bit more, though.
 
connie said:
My husband doesn't mind going to grocery store anytime. I go occasionally.
Really just like being home at this stage of life.
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Cary doesn't mind going grocery shopping or the other things we have to do in town, today. What he hates is going with me shopping for clothes and shoes, or a specific item for the house. He always takes a book, stays in the car, and reads. He tells me to take as long as I like.

If it wasn't for all our doctor appointments and grocery shopping, we wouldn't go as much as we do. I try to do my clothing and shoe shopping when me or Cary have a doctor's appointment the same day in Big Town.
 
We're butchering two hogs this morning. In the rain...yuck! We're having a pig roast Saturday, with about 70 people confirmed. We're thankful the weather forecast changed from 100% rain to clear, sunny and 64°!

Once the pigs are chilling, I've got a couple bushels of tomatoes to cut up to freeze. Then its back to more fall cleaning.

My back issues are much better after five chiropractor visits, but it's still touchy. I'm doing my exercises, and trying to quit and take a break when it starts warning I'm near my limits.

Most of the gardening is winding down...no frost in the forecast yet, although Saturday and Monday nights are going to be in the high 30s. I've got three raised beds of fall beets and two of carrots...I want to leave them to grow as long as possible. I need at least a couple dozen jars of each to can, and will put some in the root cellar for fresh eating/roasting.

I harvested a dozen heads of cabbage Tuesday, and I need to get them wrapped and in the root cellar today. We're planning on turning the biggest one (16#) into coleslaw to can, but that can wait until the outside work is done.

Once this party is past, and we're done with harvest, I need to get several big batches of soup made and canned.

And its already October 1st! I need to figure out my Christmas sewing and get my sewing loft cleaned..I don't want it all left to the last minute this year!

I saved a lot of bean seeds this year... pulled the plants, let them dry on a rack, then pulled the dry pods off and put them in feed sacks. Tied them tightly closed, put some music on...and let the little girls have a dance party! Partway through, the 8 year old middle child looked up and said, "grandma, this is the first time anyone has asked me to destroy something on purpose!".

Shortly after, she took her sack of beans and disappeared. I went looking for her a few minutes later...she had hung the sack on a rope in the shop, and was using it as a punching bag! She was flailing away, like most girls "fight", so I taught her how to properly throw a punch...straight from the shoulder, aiming six inches *beyond* her target. She picked it up immediately, and boy, can that kid throw a punch!

I did have to explain to her dad that I had nothing to do with the face...and name!... of her "worst enemy" she drew on the bag for "motivation"!

Looks like it's time for me to start sharpening knives again. It's nice having sufficient help... I run the knife sharpener, go for supplies if needed and occasionally hold a leg or something out of the way for skinning. DS and a couple of his friends are doing the heavy work.

We dont have much trouble sleeping these days!

Summerthyme
 
The trails and low lands are a flooded, muddy mess! I went over to Grimes, got in my walk, shopped at Aldi (needed a few dairy items that I kept forgetting), and walked through Walmart, where there were lots of holes, but they were also stocking, so it's hard to tell how much is really missing.

I've heard nothing else about the trucking strike. I've been picking up odds and ends, so at the moment, I'm not lacking anything critical, knock loudly on wood! But I've got spares of the main show-stoppers, like important light bulbs, saw blades (I've been breaking them a lot lately), and similar items.

On the bright side, the weather forecast is for at least five dry days in a row in the upper 60s during the day. I'm really looking forward to that, and I hope to take a day trip on one of those days. It's nice not to be tired out all of the time! I can do some things like that.
 
Yes, it's a busy time of year. Oct 1st kicked me in the rear and I was on the phone this morning lining stuff up. Got my hip surgeon to write a script for amoxicillin for my dental cleaning next week, texted and got an answer back from the snowplow guy that I am on the list and covered for the winter, called for a septic tank servicing from the local shop, and set up an appointment for the truck for an oil change, replace serpentine belt, and ordered running boards and installation.

Have the wool blankets in the sun on the back deck airing out. Now, back out to get some of the last mowing done, after making a crockpot of cheddar/broccoli/wild rice soup, good for the next couple days. Last project of the day will be again covering the plants outside, because it's going to get cold tonight and I'm not ready to give up my flowers yet!

And yes, Meemur, I'm thankful every day for retirement and being able to manage time and work load as I see fit. It's great isn't it!
 
We have to get on the interstate to get to our first town stop. There were an abundance of truckers out there. No shortage here.

Our Walmart was stocked to the rafters. I have yet to see any shortages here. I have noticed that they have stopped carrying some items. Don't even have a place for them anymore. It's items that we don't buy often, though. Another thing I've noticed is that they are doing away with their store brand and going with name brand items, instead. That makes those items more expensive as if we needed things to be more expensive. I've always shopped store brand when available.

Got it all done, though. I'm tired after putting everything away. Cary is taking a nap with Sadie, and I'm resting, before starting supper. It will be a quick and easy fix, tonight.
 
Got to town and shopped one thrift store, Hobby Lobby for a new thimble and HyVee for food and miscellaneous items. My back got too sore to continue to Aldi so will need to shop again before next month. Hate I have to go again and spend on gas, but when your back says quit and you still have 25 miles to drive and a car to unload, well, you quit.

I started to write a check for my Target credit card, and I could not get the numbers to add up then I realized there was no list of items purchased and an interest charge. I figured out quickly that I'd not received a bill last month so called the company. Every recorded voice wanted IMMEDIATE payment, and it took me ages to get to a human. I explained I had not received a bill last month which is why I hadn't paid and I needed a list of charges so I could match them ... found out they'd charged me $30 for not paying plus interest. I told the guy that ticked me off since I had not received a bill and he could look at my record to see I'd always paid and paid on time. He decided to waive the fees if I paid by the 22nd. Then he wanted me to make an immediate payment, and I told him I would mail a check today. He said I could go into Target today to pay the bill. I told him there wasn't a Target in my town. (I'm glad I hadn't gone to Target while I was in town to pay, or I'd not gotten the extra fees removed.) After checking my account and discovering I always paid by check he finally let it go.

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE the way credit card companies treat their customers? I saw abuse clients suffered and spent way too much time on the phone with these jerks in the 25 years of doing bankruptcies. One example, client had a $500 dollar limit on card, after charging maybe $250 to $300 she missed a few payments and before she knew it the missed payment charges and interest took her balance over $500, so they added an over balance fee each month as well which led to bankruptcy. By the time the bankruptcy was filed the balance owed was over $1,000. The worst part was she had been called repeatedly by the credit card company to get her to sign up for a card AND her income was so low she should never have qualified for the card. Predatory 100% of the way beginning to end.
 
It's been a busy week. We took the pup Dolly to the vet. He says she is around 5 months old from looking at her teeth. She got her rabies shot and another puppy shot. He said he thinks she is a shepherd mix, which we were seeing that too as she grew. We will get a dog DNA test to find out. She is a smart girl so it doesn't matter her breed. I am not sure if we will get her fixed, or just put her up when she is in heat. I kind of regret getting Athena fixed. We didn't for years. Just watched her and we never had puppies. But now she has gained a lot of weight. She was just all muscle and quite a dog. She is more of a couch potato now. We love her still and she just became a bit different.

I went to see Dr Jeff. I was due in July for a 6 month check up. But didn't go till yesterday. The nurse asked if I had anxiety or if I was depressed. I told them no. They have to ask. They of course want me to do several screenings, which I declined all. I am not very trusting of the medical community. Though I do like Dr Jeff. He doesn't push to much. I was a bit surprised that they didn't offer any vaccines, though there was a sign on the door that the flu vaccine was available there.

For almost 2 weeks, the neighbors hog trap has been here. He said he was going to get it last weekend, but didn't. He works away from home and is only home weekends. Yesterday we had a pig in it. We put it down. But there are many more out there. Then last night I got the armadillo that has been digging up the yard. It was in the raised flower bed when I got it.

We are getting much needed rain. The rain woke me up several times during the night. We have at least an inch and it's still raining.

Time to get off here and do something productive. Have a blessed weekend everyone.
 
As of this morning's forecast, all of our rain chances have been dropped to less than 50%. We were so hoping we would get the much needed rain from Polo. Only a 17% chance for today. We were forecast to have a lot of rain all weekend. Now, not so much.

2 loads of laundry to get done. I have pasta that needs to be taken out of the freezer and put into new canisters I bought, yesterday. They have screw top lids. I've never had bugs get into anything I've put in those type of canisters, and I have a lot of pasta/rice. I bought more, yesterday. Bread flour needs to be put in gallon freezer storage bags and in the freezer it will go. A few more items I need to deal with in the pantry. It's all shelf stable items.

During the night while sound asleep, Sadie jumped up in the bed with us and was whining. Cary made her get down, but it took her a minute to settle back down. When we got up this morning, we saw what had got her all excited during the night. A mouse had got in her water bowl and had drowned. She was trying to tell us to wake up, and come look. She is such a sweet girl. She follows Cary everywhere he goes, but when I'm in the kitchen, she is with me.
 
It's a banner day here: sunny and mid-60s, more of a typical September day, even thought it's now October.

I wheeled all of the lettuce into the sun (most of it is in containers on wheels or on the garden wagon), worked on a local trail for bit, mostly cutting the smaller downed limbs, and helped cook donated burgers from a local bike club at the trail head, free to the workers and anyone who stopped by.

Someone brought a small plow and was removing the mud. Several portions still have water over them, but that's going down rapidly. There's an event going on this weekend, so they're trying to get the trails cleaned off. They won't be totally clear, but they're much better than they were. That was a lot of rain last month, and the rain from last storm had nowhere to drain.

This afternoon's project is making apple sauce and continuing to dry apples for apple chips. It's getting cool enough to consider baking bread, again.
 
Beautiful day here after all the gloomy, rainy weather. Pray it stays this way for several weeks so farmers can harvest. There will be crop losses due to all the rain so late in the season and in this area from ponds in the fields. My grass got mowed today and it looks so much better.

I'm trying to be more "social" instead of home alone 99% of the time. I had a friend over, and we played Scrabble and had a lot of laughs. We're in agreement that playing games is a fun activity not a dog eat dog to win or slavishly following rules. Both also agree we hate cheaters. There are two other ladies we're hoping to join us in the future.

According to the current weather report it is supposed to stay sunny for the next week. Goals, get windows washed and garden cleared off. I'm going to have to find someone to come and do windows so I can stay off ladders. Problem is finding someone who doesn't charge an arm and leg.

Meemur, heard on the radio that the Des Moines River in Fort Dodge only went up 1 foot so hopefully it will drop quickly in your area. Nothing said about the Raccoon River.

I haven't turned my heat on yet and last night had to get up for another blanket. Arthritis insists on being warm to sleep! My blankets are all old and ratty and I think it's time to consider investing an at least one new one. On the other hand, they keep me warm and I can't see them in the dark. :lkick:
 
The Raccoon River is also flooded, Anna, plus all the little creeks around the area were swollen/over the roads in places. It's much better this evening. The South Skunk River also flooded.

I've come to appreciate how many little streams are around the area. They are just invisible until we have rains like this.

On the other hand, today's dry and sunny day helped out a lot. The next 6 - 7 days should also be dry and sunny, so I will take full advantage of them.
 
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85 and humid for today's forecast. We almost got rain late yesterday afternoon. I was watching it move across north Mississippi on local radar. The rain made it to Tupelo then disappeared. Never made it to us. No rain for today, either. 19% chance.

I haven't a clue as to what I'll be doing today. I didn't sleep well last night due to continually waking up feeling panicky all night long. I guess it's just stress build-up. I can't shake the feeling that something bad is coming, and it hits me worse at night while trying to sleep. I had a bad case of it all day yesterday.
 
We got over 2 inches of rain. It ended a little after lunch yesterday. I don't know if our burn ban has been lifted or not. I forgot to look at the fire station as I came home yesterday. We picked my truck up at the shop yesterday. It's an hour each way, but he is the best diesel mechanic around.

We did some errands while out. We went a bit out of our way to go to the store that has raw milk. I love it. They also had apples from the orchard a couple of states north. We bought some of those. Next we went to Hubby's favorite restaurant that is usually off our normal path. Then cut through the back way to the mechanic. Since we ate too much at lunch, we just had an apple for supper and I had milk with mine.

I washed Jean's and overalls before we left. I hung them in the house before we left. Today I need to do more laundry. It is good weather today to hang it out on the line.

I looked at my bloodwork on line. Things look ok if I am understanding it correctly. My thyroid numbers are normal still. I had a liver enzyme that is slightly elevated. That could be from my ivemectin use, which I didn't disclose to them. I am stopping the ivemectin and may add a milk thistle supplement for awhile. I was only taking a pencil eraser size dose for 3 days, then skip 4 or more days before starting again. The 2 items that were elevated besides my triglycerides at 170 and cholesterol at 229, said it could be caused by inflammation. I don't know if hay hauling could cause that or not, but I was sore and my hand is still stiff.

Well, Hubby is up. We will have coffee together while he does his foot therapy and discuss our day. Have a blessed day everyone.
 
It's a lovely day here, low 70s and sunny. I worked a little in the community garden, helping clean and feed several of the spent beds and did a little shopping at the farm stands. I also had some meat to pick up, plus I rode my bike a little: there's still some water and a lot of mud around.

I saw several pheasants and lots of geese. There are still a few butterflies around, mostly the little yellow ones. There's a lot more color in the tops of trees. It's starting to feel more like October.

S.B., I agree! There's a disturbance in the Force. I'm trying not to dwell on it, but I'm glad that I didn't plan any major road trips, although I think short day trips are still fine.
 
Meemur said:
S.B., I agree! There's a disturbance in the Force. I'm trying not to dwell on it, but I'm glad that I didn't plan any major road trips, although I think short day trips are still fine.
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Yes, for the day trips! I've been wanting to go over to Huntsville, AL on a day trip. There is a fantastic German restaurant there, a Buccee's, and the Space Center. All can be done in a day from here, depending on how long you stay at the Space Center.
 
I have done absolutely nothing today, except playing with Sadie outside and cooking a big supper. I just finished cleaning all the dishes and kitchen.

Sadie loves for me and Cary to chase her around the yard. She is so playful and funny. All three of us sure got our exercise in for the day! She gets so wound up that she takes a running go to lunge at me. I have to brace to keep her from knocking me down.

Since I didn't have anything else to do, I cooked. I pan fried 2 ham steaks, made oven roasted garlic potatoes, collard greens cooked low in bacon grease, and made cornbread. Cary is still working on the peanut butter cookies for dessert I made a few days ago. I'm craving ice cream, but know that I shouldn't have it. I've gone all summer without any. I might have to give in a little bit, LOL. I talked to Mom, earlier, and she was eating a slice of homemade apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream. I told Cary about it, and he said that sounded sooooo good. I think it was a hint.
 
Beautiful day here. I picked tomatoes and peppers. The bugs are so bad that every tomato had at least one bug bite. Stink bugs are horrible. I'm going to start clearing off the garden Monday.

I started trimming the Privet hedge and got 3/4 done before cutting the electric cord. First time I've done that, but it's been cut many times before by others. I'm not sure I trust my electrical talents enough to patch it back together or not. I may call dd's boyfriend to fix it for me the first of the week.

I washed sheets and whites this morning and was planning to hang sheets out, but it was way too windy. No need to put them on the line to be beaten to threads. I still need to make the bed which I probably should have done before the hedge since my neck and shoulder are hurting from holding the hedge trimmer high. I could finish bit by bit with the hedge trimmers and loppers but that will take a lot of shoulder action that I'm not sure I can manage. I have no instructions on maintenance of the hedge trimmer, so I sprayed the blades with WD-40 before I started. I almost forgot to reset the ground fault after I cut the extension cord.

Another round with Kinetic since my phone wasn't working again. Every time they say fiber to me, I yell STOP, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT FIBER UNTIL YOU HAVE IT AVAILABLE TO ME. I spoke with 3 or 4 people before it was sort of fixed. The static is still on the line, but it is muted so you can talk now. I so wish they would get fiber installed on my street so I could switch and be rid of the copper which isn't well maintained as they want it gone. Had two more calls the last week about switching and they got the yell too!!

I didn't eat lunch so guess I should go warm up some spaghetti and meatballs for supper. Too tired to cook anything. I really would love to take a shower and go to bed but won't because then I'd be wide awake at 3 a.m.
 
We’ve had a couple of fall like days. So nice.
Woke at 2 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. Finally had coffee at 4. Did nap later.
Laundry and gathering bit of stuff to donate or toss. Trying to be more minimal every year.
Have some dishes and glasses I no longer use that I will pass onto daughters that want it. They have taken over holiday hosting. It’s been very interesting as I age to see how I lose my attachments to things.
 
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