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I think the old retired guys have decided to let their freak flag fly. I know my husband has grown his out to a 70's level.
Happy Anniversary, Dademoss! Realized it was one of my mom's anniversaries today, too. She was married three times, and this was from the last guy. I was in that wedding, 36 years ago, and was expecting our second child. Was surprised she remembered that today, but he was a real jerk.
 
Stood by while the wife applied for her Social Security over the phone. Wife didn't remember my birth date (which isn't unusual). SS offered to go back 6 months to start the SS and tied the wife (somehow) into my SS so wife would get increase SS without subtracting from mine. Overall the call was pleasant for the wife.

Dealing with the Feds I thought might as well get started on my taxes and the wife's business taxes. 6 hours later I'm done. Filed Fed and State electronically. Fed owes us and we owe State. Went on State's website and paid what was owed.

I'm on a roll (or wanted more punishment) so I did my mom's taxes too. Half hour later she broke even with the Feds and the State owes her $50.

What little brain I had is now fried. I'll walk down to get the mail before taking my mid-morning nap this afternoon.
 
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Back to the remodel work.

Closet for the mater bedroom has been framed out.

20210316_153348.jpg


Moved the door in that room to make better use of the floor space.
20210316_153402.jpg


Framed out the back door. The siding is still there until it comes time to install the door.
20210316_153421.jpg


My brother will be distracted tomorrow so I plan to visit The Ridge and thin out the garlic in the hopes of getting a good crop this year.

Ben
 
Neb said:
Back to the remodel work.

Closet for the mater bedroom has been framed out.

View attachment 61111

Moved the door in that room to make better use of the floor space.
View attachment 61112

Framed out the back door. The siding is still there until it comes time to install the door.
View attachment 61113

My brother will be distracted tomorrow so I plan to visit The Ridge and thin out the garlic in the hopes of getting a good crop this year.

Ben
Click to expand...
Did someone say GARLIC? Now you're talkin' my language :p
 
So a good sized flock of turkeys was out in front of the house just across the drive this morning and again when I returned home. The farmer planted peas this last weekend and they are obliged to rid him of those pesky pea seeds scattered all over his field 😂 I suppose I really shouldn't laugh other than the fact that he's not a very considerate person (a jerk really.) But what makes it funny is it reminded me of the year up the river when I was planting the garden and had bean rows all hoed and was placing the beans only to realize upon standing upright and turning around that the chickens were following me, cleaning up after me - I laughed even then. They were being so quiet like they knew. Usually if I was outside, they would talk to me - nope, notta cackle or cluck. Anyhoo, seeing the turkeys scratching and pecking in the pea rows made me chuckle - at least it's not just me.
 
Did the mom to the dentist thing, took her to eat. Did lots of laundry and more cleaning. Talked to my Florida sister, we'll be picking her up from the airport late afternoon tomorrow. Went over a schedule of things planned while she's here for the week. Our extra truck will be out of the shop tomorrow morning, so it'll be something for her to drive while she's here. So far there's a Friday morning brunch at our place with all the cousins, a Saturday afternoon lunch at our place with her aunt and cousins (she's my half sis), a Sunday evening supper at my cousins, a Monday evening dinner at a nice restaurant I like...and she's going home Tuesday. I guess this all involves alot of cooking and alot of eating.
 
Backlash, very sorry to hear about your dog. It's always a tough decision. You want them to be ready even though you're not but you don't want them to be in pain.

Haertig, your hair is nice and wavy.

Went to the doctor today for my checkup. A1C is 8.5 (not good). Fasting sugars were a bit high so he's put me on Metformin. I injured my rotator cuff so he prescribed anti-inflammatory meds. My brother missed his appointment last week so he came with me to set up a new appointment and doctor gave him some advice on what to do for his hip and also some dietary advice. My brother likes soy milk and doctor warned him that too much is not good for men. My cholesterol has improved greatly and all my other results except sugars were good. So, I need to exercise more and cut back on carbs. I listed some of the foods we eat and he said we should cut out white potatoes (or at least cut back). Also suggested rutabaga instead of potatoes. Brother made stew with rutabagas and it was delicious. Will have to thank the doctor for that. He recommended Almond Milk. Tried it and it has a bitter aftertaste. I won't be getting that again. I hope my brother likes it so i don't have to throw it out. I may force myself to finish it off though.

After dr's apt. we went to see my best friend to see how he was doing. He got someone to haul off the ex-friend's car (tower took it to the ex-friend's house). Some guys came by to help my friend try to locate his sewer line so he can dig it up and put a cleanout in it. There were two potential spots. We dug in both and went to get a different style shovel as well as a metal rod with handles that you use to poke the ground to find pipes. Poked every few inches over several feet but never hit it. Dug down a couple feet and tried again inside the holes. Still no luck. Can't figure out where the damn pipe is. Friend tried pushing a hose through from the cleanout at the back but hit something solid. The equipment to run something through the pipe and use some electronic sensor on the outside to find a pipe is over $1k so that's out. Local plumbers don't have it. My friend does have a metal detector and if it works we can have him scan the ground to make sure there's no metal before he starts, then run a snake out and try to detect it. Either that or we need to find a plumber who has the equipment.

I did some digging and poking (which is harder than it looks). Cooked for mom and then went back to pick my brother up because he was cooking stew for our friend.
 
Got to work and got things started up. Gotta run to the outfitters and pick up our big truck they've been setting up. Then back here with 50 other things to get done. Tonight hoping to take wife to Tractor supply to look at a chicken set up. We want to get a few hens and I just don't have time to build anything till I get my beds finished.
 
Lazy L, while some of the people in govt departments can be rude, the last time my mom had to talk to someone from Social Security, the lady was very nice. The ones at the nearest office are pretty nice too. Took my friend's ex there once to see if she was eligible for any benefits. It took her 3 hours to fill out the digital form. The ladies had to keep resetting something to stop it from timing out but they were incredibly patient.

Ben, the progress looks great! I'm really hoping to get some progress done on my bathroom. Need to order a new tank and hope it comes in quickly and undamaged.

Mom lost her 1099R forms from the military. I told her to google how to get new ones. Not sure if she ever got them or not.

Haven't been able to get back to sleep since the cat fight.

Had a cute moment earlier. Was sitting on the couch & fat fluffy cat climbed on my lap to cuddle. Dog was sitting on the back of the couch and got jealous. She climbed on my shoulder and the cat started rubbing his face on her and she started licking his face. They were cuddling each other for a few minutes before they both wanted my attention.+
 
zannej said:
Backlash, very sorry to hear about your dog. It's always a tough decision. You want them to be ready even though you're not but you don't want them to be in pain.

Haertig, your hair is nice and wavy.

Went to the doctor today for my checkup. A1C is 8.5 (not good). Fasting sugars were a bit high so he's put me on Metformin. I injured my rotator cuff so he prescribed anti-inflammatory meds. My brother missed his appointment last week so he came with me to set up a new appointment and doctor gave him some advice on what to do for his hip and also some dietary advice. My brother likes soy milk and doctor warned him that too much is not good for men. My cholesterol has improved greatly and all my other results except sugars were good. So, I need to exercise more and cut back on carbs. I listed some of the foods we eat and he said we should cut out white potatoes (or at least cut back). Also suggested rutabaga instead of potatoes. Brother made stew with rutabagas and it was delicious. Will have to thank the doctor for that. He recommended Almond Milk. Tried it and it has a bitter aftertaste. I won't be getting that again. I hope my brother likes it so i don't have to throw it out. I may force myself to finish it off though.

After dr's apt. we went to see my best friend to see how he was doing. He got someone to haul off the ex-friend's car (tower took it to the ex-friend's house). Some guys came by to help my friend try to locate his sewer line so he can dig it up and put a cleanout in it. There were two potential spots. We dug in both and went to get a different style shovel as well as a metal rod with handles that you use to poke the ground to find pipes. Poked every few inches over several feet but never hit it. Dug down a couple feet and tried again inside the holes. Still no luck. Can't figure out where the damn pipe is. Friend tried pushing a hose through from the cleanout at the back but hit something solid. The equipment to run something through the pipe and use some electronic sensor on the outside to find a pipe is over $1k so that's out. Local plumbers don't have it. My friend does have a metal detector and if it works we can have him scan the ground to make sure there's no metal before he starts, then run a snake out and try to detect it. Either that or we need to find a plumber who has the equipment.

I did some digging and poking (which is harder than it looks). Cooked for mom and then went back to pick my brother up because he was cooking stew for our friend.
Click to expand...

Hope med gets the sugar at safe numbers.
 
Bacpacker said:
Got to work and got things started up. Gotta run to the outfitters and pick up our big truck they've been setting up. Then back here with 50 other things to get done. Tonight hoping to take wife to Tractor supply to look at a chicken set up. We want to get a few hens and I just don't have time to build anything till I get my beds finished.
Click to expand...

I've been talking to one of my daughters last couple days about chickens. She has never had them and wants to get hens for eggs. She wants 7. Feed store will have the Barred Rocks [ which I suggested] next week. We just put ours in a box inside under red heat light till ready to be put out. While we built shelter and pen outside. But that was over 20 yr ago. We finally built a broader with welded wire after several years of keeping them inside. Snake got a few ,still don't know how the snake got through the tight fitting doors. That will always be a mystery.Any how good luck with hens,they are fun and give good nutrious food.
 
I have not ventured outside yet this morning...trash cans are blown over, patio furniture upturned, woke up at 2:15 AM to hubby shaking me and telling me to get ready to go to the cellar...he got dressed and I listened to the reports on the weather radio...they did not say tornado or go to shelter, so I opted to stay in the house and he went to the cellar...LOL....and very shortly after, the winds hit...I have never heard such loud wailing noises, the birdhouses were shaking on the porch, chairs going over, and then the hail hit..WOW....I was so glad I called Katy Bug last night and told her we could have hail and rain and to park her car under our sheds..I thought the windows were going to break...after the squall went through...radio said 70 MPH winds....I opened the door to find cats all over the porch..seems that birds got knocked down from the trees and they were feasting...sad, sad, sad...so today we will pick up the furniture, straighten up the trash cans, and go on with life...I do not like that kind of storm.....hubby said it was the first time he managed to get to the shelter without getting wet...LOL...I called Katy Bug and she was okay, no broken windows, and she had safely put her car under the shed...she listens to Grandma....LOL...hubby said 1/2 inch of rain in the gauge...had to buy alfalfa for Hombre today...been paying $16 for a square bale, price has gone up today to $17.25....guess costing more for gas to bring it in to the store....cannot win.
 
Meerkat said:
I've been talking to one of my daughters last couple days about chickens. She has never had them and wants to get hens for eggs. She wants 7. Feed store will have the Barred Rocks [ which I suggested] next week. We just put ours in a box inside under red heat light till ready to be put out. While we built shelter and pen outside. But that was over 20 yr ago. We finally built a broader with welded wire after several years of keeping them inside. Snake got a few ,still don't know how the snake got through the tight fitting doors. That will always be a mystery.Any how good luck with hens,they are fun and give good nutrious food.
Click to expand...

We sell all the eggs we don't need and could sell more for $4 a dozen at the farmers market. Chickens are awesome. But why just Barred Rocks? I would get different breeds so you get different colored eggs :) I like the green ones
 
zannej said:
Backlash, very sorry to hear about your dog. It's always a tough decision. You want them to be ready even though you're not but you don't want them to be in pain.

Haertig, your hair is nice and wavy.

Went to the doctor today for my checkup. A1C is 8.5 (not good). Fasting sugars were a bit high so he's put me on Metformin. I injured my rotator cuff so he prescribed anti-inflammatory meds. My brother missed his appointment last week so he came with me to set up a new appointment and doctor gave him some advice on what to do for his hip and also some dietary advice. My brother likes soy milk and doctor warned him that too much is not good for men. My cholesterol has improved greatly and all my other results except sugars were good. So, I need to exercise more and cut back on carbs. I listed some of the foods we eat and he said we should cut out white potatoes (or at least cut back). Also suggested rutabaga instead of potatoes. Brother made stew with rutabagas and it was delicious.
Click to expand...

I love rutabagas but the way I cook them is probably not that healthy....I boil the rutabagas and some potatoes together, and then mash them, add bacon pieces, onion and butter. It goes well with sausage. This is a very German dish.

I finally went to the doctor also to get my heart checked once again and mostly to get my anxiety meds refilled. All my blood numbers were fine except my colesterol was slightly high also, but I had just eaten a meat and potatoe pie before the appointment. I also have an appointment with a cardiologist since my EKG is never normal ( wasn't 6 years ago when I had all this checked last time). It's probably my usual panic attacks and anxiety but I am old now and maybe really have a heart problem. I hate this so much they are going to make me take a covid test first. I hope they don't give it to me instead!!!
 
sonya123 said:
We sell all the eggs we don't need and could sell more for $4 a dozen at the farmers market. Chickens are awesome. But why just Barred Rocks? I would get different breeds so you get different colored eggs :) I like the green ones
Click to expand...

Sonya at our age we keep it practical,lol. Barred rocks are dual purpose birds,plus fair natured, lay nice size brown eggs. Seem to stay healthy.We don't buy vaccinated peeps or use medicated starter so we like heirloom and if we decide to use for meat too we can if we get a rooster. We've had all kinds of chickens over the years and like BRs the best.
 
Ok last post and then I better go check on the goats again.

We are in the middle of having goat kids. Lambs are a little late this year because we got our ram a little late. So far we have 7 kids, and 2 more does look like they will have theirs soon.

I am on the last day of a week long diet, lost 5 pounds. Not too bad. If I do this once a month I will be back to somewhat good weight in 4 months.

Hope everyone stays safe in the weather coming tomorrow. We are right on the edge of the worst but it does say "severe thunderstorms possible" and we did actually have a small tornado a few years ago at the bottom of our mountain. Very weird that was , it just broke some trees but was scary.
 
phideaux said:
Reading y'all's posts,

Watching Andy and Barney.

Watching it rain .
Getting settled in for some rough weather later today.

Staying home today.

Tomorrow will be busy, labs in am, then VA evaluation in afternoon.

Y'all have a blessed day.

Jim
Click to expand...

You have a blessed day too ,and our storms are coming in tomorrow. Plus teeth cleaning so interesting day here in N Florida tomorrow.
 
Meerkat said:
Sonya at our age we keep it practical,lol. Barred rocks are dual purpose birds,plus fair natured, lay nice size brown eggs. Seem to stay healthy.We don't buy vaccinated peeps or use medicated starter so we like heirloom and if we decide to use for meat too we can if we get a rooster. We've had all kinds of chickens over the years and like BRs the best.
Click to expand...

We have a few barred rocks too but I honestly don't like the taste of them. They are great for eggs, but the roosters imo don't taste all that great. Even under a year old ours tasted tough and gamy. Last year we got Cornish cross for eating, and they taste awesome. Plus they are big in about 2 months. But we do use medicated feed for the chicks at first. And meat birds can be hard to keep alive. We had an entire batch eaten by rats last year
 
sonya123 said:
We have a few barred rocks too but I honestly don't like the taste of them. They are great for eggs, but the roosters imo don't taste all that great. Even under a year old ours tasted tough and gamy. Last year we got Cornish cross for eating, and they taste awesome. Plus they are big in about 2 months. But we do use medicated feed for the chicks at first. And meat birds can be hard to keep alive. We had an entire batch eaten by rats last year
Click to expand...

We try to keep it natural as much as we can,but will go the other if it gets complecated,lol. So far haven't eaten any of our birds. We don't have resource to feed them if feed stor closed for whatever reason. So we just have 3 hens now that one ran off. She has run off before and came back.
I think you people who raise your own meat are awesome.Hubby family use to when he was younger but we haven't. He knows how to clean and prepare.
 
Dr appt yesterday, started my BP meds. Trash, get a few groceries and fill the feeders for birds and chickens before the rough weather forecast for tomorrow. DW first china flu shot is tonight, I'll drive her over, she really hates needles.
 
Made it up to The Ridge to thin out the garlic as planned.
Each of those clumps is about 10-15 garlic plants.

20210317_133535.jpg


I thinned out 2/3 of the huegelculture and left the rest in its narural state with hope that they will someday squeeze out weeds.

Bumner picture is too large!

I also planted 5 types of pumpkins. Wildlife has previously devestated the fruits but I hope they well good ground cover to help inhibit the Multiflora rose.

Tomorrow more of the remodel work.

Ben
 
Neb said:
Agreed.

But in the context above I believe the antifreeze was used for over winter storage and not operation.

From your posts I suspect you span the gap between my father and myself. Do you remember Bomarc missile systems? He was a Ram engine tech.

Ben
Click to expand...
Yep, I do remember, I also remember the first sattelite I saw going overhead while I was filling a can with stove oil for the oil heater in a small mobile home my dad lived in, that was shortly after Sputnik when the U.S.A. started sending them up and now I'm using one for this internet. I remember seeing F-102's with operation dates on their vertical stabilizers and thinking how far ahead of times the military was, the SR-71, I think the service start date was 1958 on that one, it's amazing how fast we went from prop planes to jets. Remember the Comet, British plane but Boing figured out why they were crashing, at that time Boeing had some of the best aircraft testing equipment in the world, what happened? Now the 737 Max are all grounded. Seems to me that the Bomarc was made by Boeing.
 
Neb said:
Made it up to The Ridge to thin out the garlic as planned.
Each of those clumps is about 10-15 garlic plants.

View attachment 61196

I thinned out 2/3 of the huegelculture and left the rest in its narural state with hope that they will someday squeeze out weeds.

Bumner picture is too large!

I also planted 5 types of pumpkins. Wildlife has previously devestated the fruits but I hope they well good ground cover to help inhibit the Multiflora rose.

Tomorrow more of the remodel work.

Ben
Click to expand...
I have a patch of elephant garlic in the lower field, about 10X30 feet that's been there for at least 20 years, I really need to dig up as much as I can and plant it elsewhere, the clumps are just too tight to produce cloves. The best garlic is growing just below a maple tree on a short bank just above the septic tank, it's sandy there and garlic has started from old dried out cloves I threw over the bank, some of the garlic heads are around 1 pound. Elephant garlic doesn't taste all that good when it's raw, but dried out in a dehydrator and ground up it makes excellent garlic powder, also when the flower heads start to come up they are like asparagus when steamed or lightly boiled.
 
viking said:
I have a patch of elephant garlic in the lower field, about 10X30 feet that's been there for at least 20 years, I really need to dig up as much as I can and plant it elsewhere, the clumps are just too tight to produce cloves. The best garlic is growing just below a maple tree on a short bank just above the septic tank, it's sandy there and garlic has started from old dried out cloves I threw over the bank, some of the garlic heads are around 1 pound. Elephant garlic doesn't taste all that good when it's raw, but dried out in a dehydrator and ground up it makes excellent garlic powder, also when the flower heads start to come up they are like asparagus when steamed or lightly boiled.
Click to expand...
Thanks!

Didn't know about the scapes aside from cuuting them off to get bigger bulbs.

Gonna have try that

Ben
 
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