What's everybody doing today?

[Amish Heart]

Thanks for the Stihl recommendation, LL. Husband is looking at that one.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Elderberry syrup. Extra vit C, bone broth soup, salt water gargle, Amish tonic (the ol garlic, ginger, onion stuff)

Already take double Vitamin C, drinking bone broth soup every couple of hours.Will have to make the Amish tonic.
Grimm,
Hope you feel better sooner than later.

 

[snappy1]

How is the new stove/range?

Works great! Used it for all the squash right off. Haven't made any kind of bread or cake yet. Seems to work perfect! Thanks for asking!

 

[Patchouli]

@Grimm they used to call it anti-plague, not sure what they call it now. I get it from wherever, label is Dr. Christopher. It also has garlic, vinegar, and host of other nasty tasting things that helped keep me and hubs flu-free a few different times, when we remembered to take it daily during flu season.
40 Thieves essential oils rubbed on the bottoms of your feet all winter is supposed to do the trick, I know a few people that swear by it.
I've used essential oils in a diffuser once illness has set in but you've got cats and that would not work for the cats!!! Peppermint, rosemary, geranium oils mixed together in a diffuser helped to clear my head. Smells awesome!
For tea drinkers, I usually keep a bunch of teas on hand for epizoodics, whether sore throat, sinus troubles, coughing, bronchitis, etc. Mullein (most people swear it is for breathing but I like it as a lymphatic cleanser), red raspberry leaf, elderberry, throat coat or any other similar name, a little slippery elm powder, peppermint tea, nettle tea, red clover tea (a great blood cleanser), to name a few. It's been a little while since I had all of them on hand.

 

[Neb]

Was going to say as AH did - bone broth! Packed with nourishment & rest which is counter-culture but required if your system is already stressed.

Nyquil and Dayquil work great for me and the flu.

Today we worked on completing the concrete around the inside door and then worked on the sump pump.

Some bricks had fallen into the cistern and goofed up the arrangement we had for the float switch. A nasty wet job but better now than when winter does set in.

Tomorrow I have to run to Lowe's for supplies.

Ben

 

[viking]

2 more palettes of concrete were delivered today and I covered it with plastic sheeting to protect it from the rain that was today's theme. Even if it had not rained my brother had to take a raincheck. A fellow member of the local volunteer fire department had chosen to depart this world last night and his family does not have the means to cover the cremation so my brother stepped forward to cover the final expenses and deal with details.

That left me to entertain myself. I had spotted the house at the end of my street had piles of garbage bags and other household items so I decided to take a closer look and took a walk. I have lived here for about 35 years and only saw the guy that lived there more than twice.

I struck up a conversation and learned that that the son had grown-up there but left the nest before I had joined the neighborhood. I'm going to follow up and see if I can play the "neb-shi#" and see if I can tour the place and do some predumpster-diving or offer them a bit if I find anything useful. Judging from I saw in the yard there may have been some hoarding going on.

Sea Story Time!

Years ago I spotted a pair of fans on the curb in front of a house. So knocked on the door and asked permission to salvage the fans. The elderly gentleman said yes then asked if I wanted a stove. Turns out his niece had just bought him a new stove but he was going into a nursing home. I offered him $50 and after approval by his niece I brought home an almost new stove for The Princess.

Back to today...

I finished of my walk with a quick check of the garden. I noticed this guy...

View attachment 52097

Who is an important part of my pest control program in my garden . I am guessing it is a"he" because I had witnessed a pair of praying mantis doing their thing. The larger (the female) was all green and appeared to be hypnotized by the dance of the smaller one with brown wings like the one in the image above. Every few minutes he would move a little closer to her. I did not stick around to the end (which ends with the female biting his head off). I do find 3-5 egg cases every winter.

Ben, you do have a tendency to digress!

I gathered a bowl of blackberries and raspberries for The Princess before I returned to the shop and finish off the copper harvest from the pile of old fans.

I ended up this collection of hardware.

View attachment 52100

Shafts bearing switches and bushings that will be merged into my stores that my father used to call a hardware store (that he would shop before getting in the car ).


Nuff for now.

Behave!

Ben

Years ago when I was working for the local school district while I was doing the mowing I would come across a lot of praying mantis and I took many home with me and since I retired in 2002 I've seen many egg cases and every once and awhile I'll see mantis flying. At the beginning of mating season they will get aggressive, displaying open wings and outstretched legs, I picked one up when it was like that and it bit me. We fed a grasshopper to one and it ate everything but the wings and the ends of its legs. Praying mantis and lady bugs are great creatures to have around, they do help reduce the bad bugs in your garden.

 

[Tank-Girl]

At the moment sitting on my petunia waiting for my MRE Lite to be delivered.

The delivery guy won't just leave it ..no, I have to sign for it.

This is doing my head in because today is pension day and I'm normally half way through my shopping/ running around by now.

This delivery has thrown a huge monkey wrench into my routine and I don't like it at all.

 

[Spikedriver]

Jim - so glad things are looking up for you and your wife!

Took my daughter to get her learner's permit today. Y'all pray for me..

 

[Grimm]

Thank you, everyone for the remedies. I have some stocking up to do once I feel a tad better.

I am feeling better but still not enough to run errands or leave the couch. I did get some cleaning done in the garage to make room for the new freezer. I got the laundry rack emptied, cleaned and moved. I know that if I left all the moving to K it will not get done in time. Now my laundry area in the garage is tidier and purged of things we should have tossed years ago.

I also dug out my recipe book for my breadmaker. I plan to make bread tomorrow in the machine since I am going to cook a freezer lasagna. Homemade bread is perfect for weekend breakfast toast!

Yesterday I ran to return a pair of Roo's pants that she put holes in. Mamas and Grandmama's, Target has a 1 year guarantee policy on their Cat & Jack clothes with a receipt. If you use their app you don't need to save the receipts even on in-store purchases. I got my refund for the pants and grabbed more preps for the pantry. On the way home I did my normal grocery shopping. I grabbed 50 cans of cat food and 28lbs of litter. The cans are the 'crap in a can' type for 50¢ each and my fat girl loves it!

I mostly got fresh produce and food to freeze for soups/stews. A few pounds of bacon ends that I cut up and vacuum sealed for the freezer as well as some cheap beef for beef and barley soup. I want to have everything I need for cold weather foods without going to the store (except produce like kale).

If I wasn't feeling sick I'd make soup tonight. This weekend I'll load the crockpot for a batch. Not sure what type of soup but I am ready!

 

[LadyLocust]

Thanks for the Stihl recommendation, LL. Husband is looking at that one.

There is another the same size but smaller motor. I figured for the same size, I wanted the extra "umph" - more apt to last a little longer and it's easier to have too much power than not enough.

 

[Bacpacker]

Went to visit mom and dad after work. Took them some supper. Had a nice visit. Mom was doing really good yesterday and over did it. She didn't feel as well today. A little better tonight. She just needs to ease back into things.

 

[Tirediron]

I did the firewood thing, funny thing here where we need good dense hard wood , it doesn't grow. but then our soft hard wood is pretty hard to split, and you have to know how to burn it.

 

[Tirediron]

Oh yeah, I opened my e mail and found a reminder that I haven't been around here for a while, Thanks

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Oh yeah, I opened my e mail and found a reminder that I haven't been around here for a while, Thanks

Nice to see you again Tirediron.

 

[Amish Heart]

Hey LL....is the easy start on that one as easy as they say?

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Put in my final offer on the school today, take it or leave it. They are just diddling around not responding. Hopefully find out tomorrow.

Real estate agents aren't hungry any more. Trying to get one to answer the phone or call back is next to impossible. Many don't work after five or on week ends. Some are fishy; they refuse to show certain places. I think that some properties are being surreptitiously blocked so that realtors can buy them for pennies from desperate sellers.

 

[Neb]

Put in my final offer on the school today, take it or leave it. They are just diddling around not responding. Hopefully find out tomorrow.

Real estate agents aren't hungry any more. Trying to get one to answer the phone or call back is next to impossible. Many don't work after five or on week eends. Some are fishy; they refuse to show certain places. I think that some properties are being surreptitiously blocked so that realtors can buy them for pennies from desperate sellers.

Keep on them.

Years ago I had the opportunity to purchase a school at the bottom of my hill where 3 generations of my family attended, had 12 classrooms and commanded the entire valley if I deployed 2 50 cal machine guns on the roof. It would give me the option to house a small army against all but a formal military battalion.

But they wanted my entire life's savings. I let it go and a small company brought it as their corporate head quarters. They failed to attend to the sprinkler system that froze and flooded the place. Insurance payed them off to level the place.

It was sad to see it go.

But the site is still useful to me since it is still vacant and can still control transit through the Valley.

Be that as it may.
May God bless you and your endevors!

Ben

 

[LadyLocust]

Hey LL....is the easy start on that one as easy as they say?

Actually I didn’t start it. It seemed easy like our weed eater- has a throttle and get it from choke to run. Ended up swapping it for the non easy start because Hubby prefers a nut to tighten the chain & bar rather than the “quick-tight” on the easy start version. (Sorry)

 

[Peanut]

To heck with the post-op rules. I really needed a shower, feeling better now. I was careful though, didn't even wash off the marks they drew above my eye. Funny, sort of looks like an "L" on my forehead... hard to tell in a mirror though.

I need to take some eggs to sell in town tomorrow, we'll see.

 

[zannej]

Jim, I'm so glad to hear your wife is feeling better.

I had a lazy day of catching up on sleep. I wish the thyroid meds would kick in faster but I know it takes time. I hate being so exhausted all the time. I racked out most of the day & got up to make dinner. I had finished and was getting a bowl for my mother when she asked if we had hamburger meat. She hadn't heard me in the kitchen cooking & swearing at cats for knocking things down.

Put food away and napped for the rest of the night. Now I'm awake & still somewhat tired but can't get rested. I'll probably get up and clean in a bit. Mom started complaining about the pile of empty water bottles she created. My brother has refused to pick them up (even though trash is the one chore he promised her he'd do in exchange for her paying for everything for him). So, I'm going to have to pick it up as it's now over 3' high. For now I'm cuddling with Predicaten

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today is a half day of working around the house.

Son will be coming home and we will have to isolate him (N95s for everyone!). It's hard on his mom to not get hugs and things, but this time even his attitude about it has changed (He is much more cautious and serious, where before it was "what ever"). He gave me a lot of very specific instructions to limit exposure while he is here. He is mainly coming home to pick up some of his stuff that he needs now, we will do some fun meals while he is here. I am having to set up a extra table in a different room so we can see each other while we eat but we are in different rooms... I am thankful that our house is made with 2 access pathways (one from the dining room and one from the basement/living room) into the kitchen so we can control our exposure.

This afternoon, I plan to go for a nice long walk and hang out with my "friends ". If I get lucky I will bring one of them home for supper....
Then again it doesn't matter much as long as I can get out in the woods for a while...

 

[snappy1]

Good morning! Will walk at some point and walk dogs.
Thawing chicken to make roaster of dog food this evening.
Will slice sweet potatoes and carrots for dog food sometime today.
Going to visit with father-in-law later this morning
And take half feral cat--who finally went into the live trap--to it's new owners! So glad this will be done!
This evening will make the dog food in roaster and slow cooker to cook overnight.

Will PC it tomorrow and that is done for the next couple of months.
Never even looked at my closet yesterday--maybe today or tomorrow.

 

[Amish Heart]

Going to take my car in for new tires this morning, and husband wants to go to the Amish restaurant for breakfast this morning. Heading out after I make some warm rice for the chickens. It's in the 20's here this morning. Will be going into the big town today for fresh fruit and vegetables. Twins have marching band tonight for the football game. There is an Amish fundraiser meal tonight for the medical fund, and the menu looks mouthwatering, but husband is afraid it'll be a super spreader event, so looks like we'll pass. It's indoors at the Menno church down the road, and probably about 400 people.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Not doing much.
Strawberry has not been walked by the dog walker this morning.
But she has been outside several times.
But she didn't get to fiddle fart around.
Dog walker will be by after work to walk her this afternoon instead of this morning.
20ish* this morning, dog walker's car didn't want to start.
Been snoozing off and on all day.
Feel better today than yesterday,but not by much.
Listening to silence pretty much.
Internet has been screwy all day.
Working crochet projects in between naps.
Sipping second pot of coffee.

 

[Grimm]

Feeling much better today. Just a drippy nose and no other symptoms. I am still taking the syrup and drinking the elderberry tea Once my nose stops dripping I'll ease off the tea.

Our new freezer was delivered this morning and it is set up cooling down so it will be ready to load this weekend. It is bigger than I thought. I could fit a full grown adult in it! If things came down to it I'd eat long pork...!

The bread maker is being put to good use too. I am making a loaf of honey wheat for toast this weekend. I need to get more flour. With the new freezer I have room for loads more! I'll start moving the non meat items over to the new freezer later.

K has to work tomorrow so I'll wait to go to Costco til we can all go together. We may need 2 carts. But I can run to Walmart and Target for other preps. Canned and dry cat food are top on my list this weekend. Not to mention smoked sausage and fire roasted tomatoes.

 

[Neb]

I ran to Lowe's for supplies for LLC#1 as well as some chip board that I will cut down to be a foundation for a pair of twin beads. The Princess and the girls have been setting up a spare bedroom in a Ravenclaw them inspired by Harry Potter. We have the bed frames from when I was a youth but no box spings. I will delay cutting 4X8 sheets until tomorrow so the girls can help out and maybe learn something at the same time.

I will do some more Lego sorting this afternoon while waiting for The Princess to finish up work. We have a long standing date night on Fridays where we catch up, get on the same page, and solve all of the world's problems.



Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

New Mexico gov putting the state on "shelter in place" lockdown starting Monday thru Nov 30th. Our son and daughter are not real pleased. Glad I am not there, but sorry they are.
Our contractor, my cousin Dan, came by and spray painted our add on bedroom and bathroom on the ground. Next is the guy coming to dig the basement.

 

[The Lazy L]

Got home late last night from visiting family (600 mile trip).

This morning took the Car in for a schedule oil change and tire rotation.

Visited with mom. She's sleeping off on on for about 12 hours a day. The rest of the time she isn't quite sure where she is.

Hardware Store for misc wiring items to make a wiring pigtail for a Nest smoke detector. Original pigtail got lost in a move (not mine) and I've been unable to find a Nest contact for a replacement.

Check tires and fluids on the mule before mounting the snowplow. Move the mule form my shop to the house garage for the winter. Easier for me to get to when driveways will need the snow removed. Will will have a fit because she's be slowly taking over the garage since I sold my truck. The deal we made when I had the house built, the garage and one room in the basement is mine.

Feed wife's cats and clean out the litter box for her. She's still visiting with family. I get to drive back later to pick her up to bring her home (1,200 mile round trip).

Walk out to the mailbox for the mail.

Flip on the TV for a college football game, sip on some Root Beer until I fall a sleep.

 

[Tirediron]

thawing the oil water mixture in the transmission of my log skidder out, Did the baby tractor a couple of weeks ago, before things froze.

 

[Tank-Girl]

I wonder how many people quietly giggled to themselves when they read that installing the stair tread was only going to take 10 mins?

Nope.
Not even close.
The slots/ rebates were too narrow for the tread and I don't have a lot of tools to do the job of reducing the width of the tread so it'd fit.
Time for some rough and ready bush carpentry.
I used a bow saw to deeply score the tread and then I used a flat headed screw driver and a hammer to chisel it down to depth.
It then took a good 20 mins to hammer the tread completely into the slots/ rebates.
I cheated death by bouncing and jumping on the tread to see if it's let go.
Nope. I'm still alive with no more war wounds or trips to the ED.
I'm going to lay on the couch for a while with a cool drink.