What's everybody doing today?

[Amish Heart]

You are a busy lady, Clem. I'm waiting for the phone call that turkeys are in. Hoping today, because they were sent out Tuesday. Our little post office in our town is only open until 1:00.
Husband has a rehab evaluation appt today, so I'll go with him to that. I need to repot a flat of tomato seedlings in the greenhouse, did one flat yesterday. I was surprised when I lifted the flat, a bunch of ants were underneath it, so I dusted the benches in the greenhouse with DE. It looked like they were after something in the seed starter. 13 baby chicks are doing fine, and will be loading the incubator with another 20 eggs today.

 

[Neb]

Rototilled the mini wheat field and seeded it.

Set some of the burn piles on fire.

Did a load of laundry.

Put new tires on the dune buggy, the hard way, as in, by hand, myself with two screwdrivers as tools.

Something I've always 'wanted' to do, just to see if I could. Its a miserable job that way, especially until you figure out the geometry to pry and stretch on, but doable. Good to know its something I can do without a machine.

it was 50 years ago my uncle showed me how to use tie irons and at the end driving over the tire/rim with another to fet the tire onto the rim.

Ben

 

[snappy1]

Already walked, walked and fed dogs.
Set up DH's meds for the next month.
Going to grill chicken thighs and make a pineapple angel food cake.
Easy day!

 

[Double R]

Quiet day so far.
Called the cabinet company to see if there was anything they could do about the lost package of shelves and hardware. Nothing they can do but wait a few more days then send out another order. 2 sets of the shelves came already but the lost package of course had the hardware for them all.
Cleaned mealworm farm. Started giving the chicks mealworms. What a funny thing to watch. So glad we now have our own live mealworms for the chickens. Not the same feeding dehydrated. Working on a black soldier fly farm next.
Still working on finishing up the freezer(s) clean out before we pick up the cow. Got another batch of lung treats on the dehydrator today. Think this will be it for this cow and what was left from the last that I hadn’t made yet.
Sifting and packaging two more batches of bone broth for the dogs so I can start what looks to be the last two batches. Should be good for a while. Nice to finally get caught up in the freezers.
Need to thaw and cut up more steaks and roasts for stew meat that I brought home from the folks. Getting ready to put another 1/2 in their freezer so they wanted to clean out extra from the last couple 1/2’s that they never used. Thinking Chipotle beef will be on the weekend canning session. Nice to have the meat already cut (removed the majority of the fat) weighed and packaged. Just pull, thaw and use. May have enough bones for some beef stock for canning as well. Need to make chicken stock soon for sure. That will clean out some chickens. Then use the meat for canned chicken soup.
Want to get most of this done soon so there’s a break before garden canning.
I guess i’d better get back to the broth and get the dishes done so I can start the next batch.
Y’all have a great day!

 

[Neb]

Brother is still doing real work and it is still cold so...

I used Lowes kitchen designer to produce a prelim design.

I am not worried about making the cabinets match right now since my brother and The Princess will suggest changes.

It is a start.

Ben

 

[LadyLocust]

Brother is still doing real work and it is still cold so...

I used Lowes kitchen designer to produce a prelim design.

View attachment 64048


I am not worried about making the cabinets match right now since my brother and The Princess will suggest changes.

It is a start.

Ben

A question: feel free to totally disregard my input. Is there a reason the range can't be directly across from the fridge? Typically your 3 major appliances work best in a triangle. Just curious.

 

[Neb]

A question: feel free to totally disregard my input. Is there a reason the range can't be directly across from the fridge? Typically your 3 major appliances work best in a triangle. Just curious.

No there was little reason or rhyme beyond

1 big window for a view if the horse farm
2 sink under window for good view and light
3 dishwasher next to sink

Thanks for the question!

Should I center the stove in the wall opposite the fridge?
Maybe a microwave above?

Thanks,

Ben

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Sorry I have been AWOL all but involved in a bit of a huge financial/stock anomaly which we reported higher up with the club we volunteer at which hopefully should be sorted shortly with the investigation .

Yesterday we picked some sweet corn from our gardens and blanched and froze it for 15 double meal sized portions for the freezer -

Getting really cool here now even though we are in autumn and we have put the slow combustion fireplace on last night as the temperature is getting to between 3 - 5 oc overnight.

We still have some more corn ripening in the gardens and some cherry tomatoes to pick as well. We have planted carrots, beetroot, broad beans and snow pea seeds in the gardens recently and amended the soil in a few garden beds with manure and compost.

Recently we have been trimming our star jasmine and lilac shrubs to get them in some sort of order and shape so they are not hitting sheds etc.

 

[Neb]

Sorry I have been AWOL all but involved in a bit of a huge financial/stock anomaly which we reported higher up with the club we volunteer at which hopefully should be sorted shortly with the investigation .

Yesterday we picked some sweet corn from our gardens and blanched and froze it for 15 double meal sized portions for the freezer -
View attachment 64060

View attachment 64061

View attachment 64062

Getting really cool here now even though we are in autumn and we have put the slow combustion fireplace on last night as the temperature is getting to between 3 - 5 oc overnight.

We still have some more corn ripening in the gardens and some cherry tomatoes to pick as well. We have planted carrots, beetroot, broad beans and snow pea seeds in the gardens recently and amended the soil in a few garden beds with manure and compost.

Recently we have been trimming our star jasmine and lilac shrubs to get them in some sort of order and shape so they are not hitting sheds etc.

@Sewingcreations15 you are messing with our minds. which side of the equator do you live to be harvesting corn now?

Ben

 

[Terri9630]

Made hotel reservations for the kids upcoming surgery. The weekly rate is almost $100 cheaper than just staying for the 4 days we were going to stay. How crazy is that?

 

[Amish Heart]

Glad to see you, Sewing!
She lives down under, Neb.
Turkeys came in....out of 15, 2 of them were DOA. One maybe not make it. Twelve of them look good. We'll be starting up our breeding stock again.

 

[Terri9630]

@Sewingcreations15 you are messing with our minds. which side of the equator do you live to be harvesting corn now?

Ben

She's on the Australian side. One of the youtubers I watch is in Australia and has corn growing all year. Now that's crazy!!

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Neb we live in Australia so technically in autumn here but getting cold quickly but not got frosts here yet but coming soon I think.

 

[Neb]

Made hotel reservations for the kids upcoming surgery. The weekly rate is almost $100 cheaper than just staying for the 4 days we were going to stay. How crazy is that?

No way I can explain that beyond some bean counting scheme.

Now if you could sell the other 3 days you could almost break even.

Ben

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Thank you @Amish Heart good to be back . DH is doing better and has more endurance after brain surgery but still having difficulties with processing information, lateral thinking, English and math skills and his balance is a bit dodgy on slopes. Numbness in his left hand side is getting better but he still has loss of feeling in his hand and foot but it is improving. He was released from stroke rehabilitation as an outpatient and they are pleased with his progress.

@Terri9630 yes in the tropical regions of Australia corn can be grown all year round but not in our area as we get stinking hot summers and frosts in winter being a higher altitude.

 

[Terri9630]

No way I can explain that beyond some bean counting scheme.

Now if you could sell the other 3 days you could almost break even.

Ben

We've decide to go ahead and stay the extra days so we are closer to the hospital in case she has any issues with her heart. We were going to stay at our old house but its 70 miles from the hospital.

 

[Neb]

@Neb we live in Australia so technically in autumn here but getting cold quickly but not got frosts here yet but coming soon I think.

Thanks!

I am feeling less queasy knowing my world is not turned upside down.

What type of corn is that?

The irregular rows resemble my favorite heirloom "Countr Gentleman"

Ben

 

[Sewingcreations15]

@Neb the corn is golden bantam sweet corn an heirloom open pollinated variety that we collect seed from. They produce 2 cobs per plant and seem quite hardy. Second time we have grown this variety and we like them after this crop being planted from saved seeds. Last crop of corn got eaten by a mice plague here so we are very late in harvesting them this year.

Recent floods seems to have gotten rid of the dastardly rodent problem thank goodness.

 

[phideaux]

Sorry I have been AWOL all but involved in a bit of a huge financial/stock anomaly which we reported higher up with the club we volunteer at which hopefully should be sorted shortly with the investigation .

Yesterday we picked some sweet corn from our gardens and blanched and froze it for 15 double meal sized portions for the freezer -
View attachment 64060

View attachment 64061

View attachment 64062

Getting really cool here now even though we are in autumn and we have put the slow combustion fireplace on last night as the temperature is getting to between 3 - 5 oc overnight.

We still have some more corn ripening in the gardens and some cherry tomatoes to pick as well. We have planted carrots, beetroot, broad beans and snow pea seeds in the gardens recently and amended the soil in a few garden beds with manure and compost.

Recently we have been trimming our star jasmine and lilac shrubs to get them in some sort of order and shape so they are not hitting sheds etc.

Sure is good to see you again.
That corn looks so good.

Jim

 

[LadyLocust]

No there was little reason or rhyme beyond

1 big window for a view if the horse farm
2 sink under window for good view and light
3 dishwasher next to sink

Thanks for the question!

Should I center the stove in the wall opposite the fridge?
Maybe a microwave above?

Thanks,

Ben

Probably centered - make your cabinetry easy. Usually vent/fan or microwave w/ fan above. I think standard is 24" between top of stove and bottom of fan. They do make ventless fans which are handy if you don't have a hole in the ceiling.

 

[phideaux]

Finally got the tomatoes bed prepped and the weed screen down and 12 tomatoes set out.
They're beautiful.

That's it for today.
That's about all the Misses and I can do these days.

My maters

My peppers and 1 bucket of onions.
Gonna do another onion bucket .

Also got room for a couple grape tomatoes.

Miss gardening.

Jim

 

[Neb]

@Neb the corn is golden bantam sweet corn an heirloom open pollinated variety that we collect seed from. They produce 2 cobs per plant and seem quite hardy. Second time we have grown this variety and we like them after this crop being planted from saved seeds. Last crop of corn got eaten by a mice plague here so we are very late in harvesting them this year.

Recent floods seems to have gotten rid of the dastardly rodent problem thank goodness.

Excellent. I think I have those in my collection.

Ben

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Went to Doctor's appointment.
They got more blood..
They wanted 10, they got 4.
Came home took 2.5 hour nap.
Left arm is still sore.
Weather is nuts.
Unpredictable.
Nice to see you Sewing.

 

[The Lazy L]

Finished tumbling the 5.56 brass.
Mowed yards.
Started swaging the 5.56 primer pockets.

 

[UrbanHunter]

Today was okay, till the wife woke up sick.... Then she needed some laundry done and the machine gave out on the first load... Pulled the paperwork on the machine, bought it 6 years ago with a 5 year extended warranty So now I have lots of extra to do this coming weekend>

Checked the range schedule planning my calendar and realized that the club president scheduled a range day for mother's day, now for some people that may not be a problem, but here with my wife... it's a problem. Called them about it and they said oh-well... It's easy enough for them, they never show up or have to run the ranges... not happy... For me this is a big deal, either I upset the wife or I fail to fulfill an obligation to be a safety officer on the range days.... can't win.

 

[zannej]

No there was little reason or rhyme beyond

1 big window for a view if the horse farm
2 sink under window for good view and light
3 dishwasher next to sink

Thanks for the question!

Should I center the stove in the wall opposite the fridge?
Maybe a microwave above?

Thanks,

Ben

I'm on board with LadyLocust and moving the range. At first I was thinking you could switch it with the dishwasher, but it's probably best to put it across from the fridge. I don't like microwaves above the range though. It can be difficult for shorter people to reach. My sister has to use a stepstool in her house to use her microwave. I had trouble reaching it. It's not really friendly for aging-in-place either. I have mine on a counter, but I would rather have mine inside a cabinet.
I would also like to suggest seeing if you have any Barton's Home Outlet (aka Surplus Warehouse) stores in your area. Their unfinished oak cabinets are much better than what Lowes had to offer. Lowes' cabinets have particle board/mdf on the sides & broke easily. These have plywood but it's much more solid (I know bc we got a cabinet at Lowes and then got the rest at Surplus Warehouse). They even do military discounts there if you present your card.
These are the ones we got for my friend's house: https://www.homeoutlet.com/product/unfinished-oak-cabinets
They did need some sanding and of course stain or paint. The base corner cabinet was superior to the ones from Lowes as well. Lowes had ones with curved sides so it was harder to square them up. The base corner from Surplus Warehouse does have to be bumped more forward so it lines up with other cabinets (so the back won't be against the wall). One of the nice things about the store (at least the one near me) is that you can ask them to pull them out & you can set them up together the way you would want them to go in your kitchen (just sort of lay them out in person).
They used to have a microwave cabinet. It was sort of like a Johnny Cabinet where it has doors up top and a big open shelf large enough for a microwave. We grabbed one off the shelf when we were getting cabinets for my friend. It does stick out more than other cabinets though. It allows you to place a countertop microwave on the shelf and if you wanted, you could lower the cabinet down so it could leave counter/prep space and be able to reach the microwave.
It's not recommended to have anything lower than 30" above the range's cooking surface. So, you could get a non-vented air-circulating vent hood with filters that mounts under a cabinet.
Not sure how much you want to spend, but while googling, I found this: Oven Cabinet 33" x 84" Unfinished Alder
It looks pretty neat, but not sure if you would have room for it. You could probably add a shelf to put a microwave on and have prep space below- assuming it's not too deep for your kitchen.
(Did I mention I love looking at different cabinet styles?)

Made hotel reservations for the kids upcoming surgery. The weekly rate is almost $100 cheaper than just staying for the 4 days we were going to stay. How crazy is that?

I hope it all goes well!

Mom was awakened by the cardinals again. She woke me up & wanted me to take her to the FedEx store to send a package from Amazon back (it was the wrong product). Halfway there she remembered she was supposed to get some sort of bar code & print it out but she hadn't received the text or e-mail (I think they tried to text but our landline # is listed instead of her cellphone) so we had me turn around. Then she changed her mind and wanted me to go to the post office. So I got mail and then popped in to Tractor Supply to get some cattle cubes in 50lb sacks. There must have been some problem with the bag-printing bc the bags were pure white with nothing but the tag with barcodes to identify the product. Employee wouldn't let me put them on the cart myself but once I checked out I was able to load them by lifting with my left arm. Got home, cut a bag open, and set it out for the cows. They came over and mosquitoes followed. Buggers bit me on the face.
I got mom to request the code via e-mail. She got the code but couldn't figure out how to fwd the e-mail to me. I went in and saved the file as a screenshot & walked her through ow to send it to me. I cropped it and printed it for her (she's connected directly through ethernet cable to the new router but our printer is wirelessly connected to our old router- not sure how to connect it to the new one). I was able to connect wirelessly through the old router to the printer to tell it to print. I happened to notice it was for UPS rather than FedEx.
So, we will make that trip tomorrow. I've requested that we stop at a craft store so I can peruse fabric.
My back is doing better now that I've been taking Magnesium.

 

[Neb]

I'm on board with LadyLocust and moving the range. At first I was thinking you could switch it with the dishwasher, but it's probably best to put it across from the fridge. I don't like microwaves above the range though. It can be difficult for shorter people to reach. My sister has to use a stepstool in her house to use her microwave. I had trouble reaching it. It's not really friendly for aging-in-place either. I have mine on a counter, but I would rather have mine inside a cabinet.
I would also like to suggest seeing if you have any Barton's Home Outlet (aka Surplus Warehouse) stores in your area. Their unfinished oak cabinets are much better than what Lowes had to offer. Lowes' cabinets have particle board/mdf on the sides & broke easily. These have plywood but it's much more solid (I know bc we got a cabinet at Lowes and then got the rest at Surplus Warehouse). They even do military discounts there if you present your card.
These are the ones we got for my friend's house: https://www.homeoutlet.com/product/unfinished-oak-cabinets
They did need some sanding and of course stain or paint. The base corner cabinet was superior to the ones from Lowes as well. Lowes had ones with curved sides so it was harder to square them up. The base corner from Surplus Warehouse does have to be bumped more forward so it lines up with other cabinets (so the back won't be against the wall). One of the nice things about the store (at least the one near me) is that you can ask them to pull them out & you can set them up together the way you would want them to go in your kitchen (just sort of lay them out in person).
They used to have a microwave cabinet. It was sort of like a Johnny Cabinet where it has doors up top and a big open shelf large enough for a microwave. We grabbed one off the shelf when we were getting cabinets for my friend. It does stick out more than other cabinets though. It allows you to place a countertop microwave on the shelf and if you wanted, you could lower the cabinet down so it could leave counter/prep space and be able to reach the microwave.
It's not recommended to have anything lower than 30" above the range's cooking surface. So, you could get a non-vented air-circulating vent hood with filters that mounts under a cabinet.
Not sure how much you want to spend, but while googling, I found this: Oven Cabinet 33" x 84" Unfinished Alder
It looks pretty neat, but not sure if you would have room for it. You could probably add a shelf to put a microwave on and have prep space below- assuming it's not too deep for your kitchen.
(Did I mention I love looking at different cabinet styles?)


I hope it all goes well!

Mom was awakened by the cardinals again. She woke me up & wanted me to take her to the FedEx store to send a package from Amazon back (it was the wrong product). Halfway there she remembered she was supposed to get some sort of bar code & print it out but she hadn't received the text or e-mail (I think they tried to text but our landline # is listed instead of her cellphone) so we had me turn around. Then she changed her mind and wanted me to go to the post office. So I got mail and then popped in to Tractor Supply to get some cattle cubes in 50lb sacks. There must have been some problem with the bag-printing bc the bags were pure white with nothing but the tag with barcodes to identify the product. Employee wouldn't let me put them on the cart myself but once I checked out I was able to load them by lifting with my left arm. Got home, cut a bag open, and set it out for the cows. They came over and mosquitoes followed. Buggers bit me on the face.
I got mom to request the code via e-mail. She got the code but couldn't figure out how to fwd the e-mail to me. I went in and saved the file as a screenshot & walked her through ow to send it to me. I cropped it and printed it for her (she's connected directly through ethernet cable to the new router but our printer is wirelessly connected to our old router- not sure how to connect it to the new one). I was able to connect wirelessly through the old router to the printer to tell it to print. I happened to notice it was for UPS rather than FedEx.
So, we will make that trip tomorrow. I've requested that we stop at a craft store so I can peruse fabric.
My back is doing better now that I've been taking Magnesium.

Thanks for the feedback Zane.

I should revisit tomorrow with feedback from @ThePrincess .

Ben

 

[Neb]

Thanks for the feedback Zane.

I should revisit tomorrow with feedback from @ThePrincess .

Ben

@Firepolice271 please comment.

Ben

 

[Amish Heart]

I like the dishwasher to the right of the sink because I'm right handed.

 

[INresponse]

Still working on drywall install. Upstairs is about 80% done, just need to cut and piece around the windows, insulate the wall between the great room and bedroom, for sound suppression. The bedroom is the back third of the upstairs and a pair of walk in closets are on the wall that butts up to the great room, to also help suppress sound and keep the room quieter, so I will use the larger cutoffs to drywall the inside of closets. Started the drywall downstairs in the kitchen/living room area. 1/3 of the vaulted ceiling is done, and about a third of the walls. Need some insulation up top of the tall wall that butts up to the great room, also for sound suppression, before I can put the drywall there.
I have found that I can do 2 or 3 days of drywall before my back and shoulders need a break. Soooo, today I watered in the yard and planted some garlic and ivy and other ground covers. Probably 2 more weeks before it is safe to switch back to the automatic drip system. Maybe, because 2 years ago we had snow the end of May but I am hopeful this will be a mild spring.