What's everybody doing today?

[sonya123]

Peanut, sorry for your loss again, wow, that's terrible

TeeJ; I am on marriage # 3 , so don't worry about it too much, you might find someone better....

Amish : great minds think alike I filled up a cart at Aldi today too!

Got my Yukon back, $800 to change spark plugs, wires, and put a new valve cover on one side with the PCV valve. This is new to me, you used to be able to take them out without having to replace the whole cover but I was told they are now built in ?! Either way, it seems to be running ok for now.

Went shopping and took the goats free ranging when we got back but not very long. There is plenty of grass in the pasture right now after all the rain so they were not all that hungry

Puppy lost a baby tooth

 

[Pearl]

Filled a cart at Aldi today, and have spent some time this afternoon getting it organized. They had Butterball turkeys in, not at a great price, $1.59 lb. Bought two 20 something pounders, and they are defrosting in an icechest. I refuse to pay $4 a lb for awful lunchmeat, so this will be packaged for that, after it's cooked. And for turkey enchiladas, my favorite. A call from the principal today about little granddaughter. She is in school suspension for tomorrow, too. Had an argument with her best friend, who is half black/half white, and a mini activist. Told her best friend that her brothers are half black/half white, and she didn't believe her. The girl punched first, so little granddaughter wrung her neck. The prinicpal acted like it was a racial scuffle till I told him she has two brothers that are half black/half white, and race was not an issue here. I talked to her when she got home about escalating a fight....not a great idea. Meanwhile, both girls have made up and are best friends. Little granddaughter is scheduled to go to a special luncheon tomorrow, and it'll be interesting if they let her go. She was chosen out of the 6th graders for having great character and got an award. So tomorrow she'll be doing her schoolwork in the office at the desk of doom.

At least the kids made up! Let's hope the adults can be adult about the situation!!

 

[Spikedriver]

Did 12 hours at work yesterday and 14 hours today, both days starting at 2am. All 4 switches are in along with 2 track panels and two insulated joints. There are two more insulated joints to put in plus the 25 foot ties that tie both main lines together. The boss gave most of us the choice to come in tomorrow or not. I said no. 9 straight days was enough. Plus the gang that works opposite weeks from us is there, and they got their asses chewed today for not doing anything yesterday. I think that's why the boss gave us the choice not to go - why should we work extra on their days if they're going to screw off?

 

[txcatlady]

I need help. I grabbed 16 pounds of sugar, all they had. When I got home, realized they are rock solid. I hope I can drop on floor and break them up. Anyone have a better idea? Yesterday and today I restocked water. 9 cases and 6 gallons of water to go with 2 I had. Tomorrow butter. Totally out

 

[Peanut]

I bought a brand new 3lb shop hammer. I washed off the oil residue and anything else that might have been on it. I then used one of the big disposable basting/turkey pans to put the sugar in and covered the sugar with a clean towel... then I beat the crap out of it. Hey, it worked. (I needed a new hammer anyway, dad had misplaced my old one)

A quiet day, picked some more peppers and made pepper sauce.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

I need help. I grabbed 16 pounds of sugar, all they had. When I got home, realized they are rock solid. I hope I can drop on floor and break them up. Anyone have a better idea? Yesterday and today I restocked water. 9 cases and 6 gallons of water to go with 2 I had. Tomorrow butter. Totally

Put it in a pillow case (in case the bag breaks) and do the floor slam dunk or smack it with a hammer like Peanut did. He just bought a hammer that he could lend you if you don't have one.

If you end up with hand sized chunks and don't want to smack it anymore, use a cheese grater as/when needed.

Sugar breaks up pretty easy.

 

[Spikedriver]

I need help. I grabbed 16 pounds of sugar, all they had. When I got home, realized they are rock solid. I hope I can drop on floor and break them up. Anyone have a better idea? Yesterday and today I restocked water. 9 cases and 6 gallons of water to go with 2 I had. Tomorrow butter. Totally out

Chew the bag open and take a little bit at a time - like a mouse...

 

[Peanut]

Mine was a 25lb bag in my food storage, hard as a rock. Slamming it on my wood flooring wasn't a consideration and I was worried it'd crack the concrete slab of my porch. I needed a big hammer!!!

 

[Amish Heart]

I have stored sugar hard as a rock, and I chunk it up with a pick and use it. 4 lb sugar went up to $2.75 at Aldi today. I got 2, I get 2 every week. Dollar Tree had pure cane sugar, 2 lbs for $1.25...better deal, and it was cane sugar. I'm sure Aldi's isn't. Aldi butter went up, too, to $3.98 a lb. Crazy price. The only deal I found was for butternut and acorn squash at 59 cents lb. I bought 5 of each for storing.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

$3.98 for a lb of butter is a crazy price? That's what I paid for it a year ago in Canuck dollars which would have been a little less in Yankee dollars. I bought a hundred lbs. Now it's $7.49 lb. And maybe 4 lbs of it, at most, on the shelf.

I stocked up on squash day before yesterday at $1.49 lb.

I envy your prices. We are reaching the point where increasing stock is no longer doable. It's going to be tough just to feed the chickens and dogs.

 

[TeeJ]

I need help. I grabbed 16 pounds of sugar, all they had. When I got home, realized they are rock solid. I hope I can drop on floor and break them up. Anyone have a better idea? Yesterday and today I restocked water. 9 cases and 6 gallons of water to go with 2 I had. Tomorrow butter. Totally out

I've had good luck putting the sugar in an old flour sack or other oven-safe container and roasting it at 150-200 in the oven until it dries out. It's water that makes it hard so dehydrating it usually fixes that

 

[TeeJ]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, it's amazing how life keeps going . I can remember times in the past I thought I'd be devastated by events but here I am keeping on keeping on with a wonderful family to boot.

A bunch of the younger chickens got out today, and I was pleasantly surprised when the new puppy started hearing them instead of showing any kind of prey drive. He didn't make it any easier to catch them, but all are safely back in their coop and will live to see another day. That's saying something because I've got a pair of huge hawks that have decided to take up residence in my yard and use my bird feeders as their private grocery store. They are so beautiful I don't mind the loss of a couple songbirds now and then

 

[joel]

Filled a cart at Aldi today, and have spent some time this afternoon getting it organized. They had Butterball turkeys in, not at a great price, $1.59 lb. Bought two 20 something pounders, and they are defrosting in an icechest. I refuse to pay $4 a lb for awful lunchmeat, so this will be packaged for that, after it's cooked. And for turkey enchiladas, my favorite. A call from the principal today about little granddaughter. She is in school suspension for tomorrow, too. Had an argument with her best friend, who is half black/half white, and a mini activist. Told her best friend that her brothers are half black/half white, and she didn't believe her. The girl punched first, so little granddaughter wrung her neck. The prinicpal acted like it was a racial scuffle till I told him she has two brothers that are half black/half white, and race was not an issue here. I talked to her when she got home about escalating a fight....not a great idea. Meanwhile, both girls have made up and are best friends. Little granddaughter is scheduled to go to a special luncheon tomorrow, and it'll be interesting if they let her go. She was chosen out of the 6th graders for having great character and got an award. So tomorrow she'll be doing her schoolwork in the office at the desk of doom.

Great job on the turkeys, better meat as well as low cost.
I was in fourth grade & could not understand how two girls could fight hate each other before lunch & be all hugs BFF after lunch!
Guys took a day or two at least & no hugs.

 

[Spikedriver]

It's 0430 and I'm wide awake. Anybody wanna tell me why? The last two days of going to work at 2am are messing with me.

Today, hopefully, I'll go car shopping...

 

[INresponse]

I recently asked at work and beginning this week I am full time, doing the same work unloading and stocking freight but staying later to get the 8 hours. I now get home at 4am, just in time for a quick shower, a bedtime snack, and hit the pillow for the night. I plan to use the extra money to pay someone to do the work around here that I can do but that I haven't wanted to do for far too long.
Last Friday the back brakes on my truck started squeaking. The squeak stops when the pedal is pushed and also stops once the pads and rotor warm up a bit, usually within a minute. Sunday I pulled the right rear wheel and the rotor and brake pads were good, the pads are worn but evenly and no where near needing replacement. I put it back together, drove to the corner and back and no squeak. Thought I musta fixed whatever and didn't look any further. When, the last 3 nights after work the squeak has returned, but goes away again once things warm up. I guess this weekend I get to pull apart the drivers rear, I am hoping there is a rock stuck in there somewhere keeping the caliper from completely releasing. The rear brake pads do NOT have the wear indicator metal tab so that isn't it. It goes away when I lightly tap the brakes so it is not the drum brake style parking brake. Maybe it is just the same old issue of poop happening because it belongs to me.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I recently asked at work and beginning this week I am full time, doing the same work unloading and stocking freight but staying later to get the 8 hours. I now get home at 4am, just in time for a quick shower, a bedtime snack, and hit the pillow for the night. I plan to use the extra money to pay someone to do the work around here that I can do but that I haven't wanted to do for far too long.
Last Friday the back brakes on my truck started squeaking. The squeak stops when the pedal is pushed and also stops once the pads and rotor warm up a bit, usually within a minute. Sunday I pulled the right rear wheel and the rotor and brake pads were good, the pads are worn but evenly and no where near needing replacement. I put it back together, drove to the corner and back and no squeak. Thought I musta fixed whatever and didn't look any further. When, the last 3 nights after work the squeak has returned, but goes away again once things warm up. I guess this weekend I get to pull apart the drivers rear, I am hoping there is a rock stuck in there somewhere keeping the caliper from completely releasing. The rear brake pads do NOT have the wear indicator metal tab so that isn't it. It goes away when I lightly tap the brakes so it is not the drum brake style parking brake. Maybe it is just the same old issue of poop happening because it belongs to me.

I have a similar problem on our car, it has been very wet here and the car only gets driven once or twice a week. I found that after a week of sitting the rotors get an un-even thin film of rust that "squeaks" and pulses when I first start driving, but after several stops and starts it goes away. You don't get these problems when you drive it every day, but if you are like me switching between multiple vehicles it may become an annoyance.....

 

[Pearl]

It's 0430 and I'm wide awake. Anybody wanna tell me why? The last two days of going to work at 2am are messing with me.

Today, hopefully, I'll go car shopping...

Good luck!

 

[Wingnut]

Well, it's sprinkling, so I'm enjoying a nice quiet morning here... might be one of those days where I work in the kitchen, making some good food to enjoy while watching a movie later, lol. I've already done the routine morning chores here, so I'm sitting at the dining room table with the kittens and watching the wild birds at the feeder & birdbath outside. On the west side of our home, I mean... we actually have birdbaths & multiple feeders on three sides of the home, but the one to the west is the one I see while sitting at this table. Heaps of doves and smaller songbirds out there right now, despite the light rain. Every morning, they swoop on the fresh birdseed I put out for 'em, that's one of my routine chores, lol. I don't mind, I like seeing the wild birds, beats seeing tweekin' crackerheads in the ghetto, lol...

 

[Pearl]

Ended up with a day off! Was going to take the kitty to get spayed but that got moved to tomorrow! Will work all weekend to make up for being off! So I took Bear to the walking trails and walked a few miles. Home now doing some baking and cooking. Making taco meat for tonight and some to freeze. Dicing up peppers and onions to freeze and making Hubby some brownies and chocolate chip cookies! Heading outside soon to do some measuring for a new holding pen I'm making for the donkey. Will make it easier to get a hold of him on his stubborn days! Planning on a nap and pool time for the hot afternoon!

 

[Peanut]

...Making taco meat for tonight and some to freeze...

How to you do that? Freeze it I mean... Do you brown it with spices added? What spices, a mix?

I like tacos but end up making everything from scratch so it's an ordeal with a trashed kitchen, just for a few tacos.

I'd like to prep and freeze as much as I can in advance... unsure of the steps.

Maybe put some taco recipes in the recipe section?

 

[montanabill]

As far as sugar getting into a solid lump...When my brown sugar I use on my oatmeal gets solid in it's two quart jar with a screw on lid I toss in a slice of fresh (store bought) bread for a day or two. The sugar softens right up.
I bought some 7/16 wafer board ($15.50 instead of $63.00) so today I start on my 13 chickens new winter home. Looking at carpet and drapery samples now.

 

[Pearl]

How to you do that? Freeze it I mean... Do you brown it with spices added? What spices, a mix?

I like tacos but end up making everything from scratch so it's an ordeal with a trashed kitchen, just for a few tacos.

I'd like to prep and freeze as much as I can in advance... unsure of the steps.

Maybe put some taco recipes in the recipe section?

I brown 2-4 lbs of ground beef and add McCormick Taco Seasoning to taste (yep, I cheat) and a little chili powder. I vacuum seal it in in different portions. Today I left enough in the fridge for tonight and leftovers, about 1 1/2 lbs and vac sealed two 1lb bags and one 1/2lb bag. In the freezer they went! Then tonight I'll set up a taco bar. Sauted peppers and onions, green chili's, grated cheese, picante, avocado, sour cream, and lettuce. I'm using Old ElPaso Stand and Stuff shells, not making my own, did enough kitchen work!!

 

[Bacpacker]

Drove my dad and mom to have dads cataract surgery this morning. Wasn't there much over an hour, stopped and got them something to eat and back to their house. Same drive tomorrow for his follow up with the dr. 2 weeks he has the other eye done. Dr told him if it went well he may get to ditch wearing glasses.
Otherwise gonna try and work from home some tonight and tomorrow when I get back.

 

[Amish Heart]

Trying to talk husband into cataract surgery, he's not seeing well at all.
Went bin shopping and found some very good deals today. Just picked a couple of buckets of peppers for my favorite cousin's daughter...she texted and needs to can more. I think I canned enough. Hey Peanut...I use on online taco seasoning recipe..there's a bunch of them. I fill a mason jar. I make it myself because I leave out the salt because of husband's diet. Not hard at all.

 

[Bacpacker]

Trying to talk husband into cataract surgery, he's not seeing well at all.
Went bin shopping and found some very good deals today. Just picked a couple of buckets of peppers for my favorite cousin's daughter...she texted and needs to can more. I think I canned enough. Hey Peanut...I use on online taco seasoning recipe..there's a bunch of them. I fill a mason jar. I make it myself because I leave out the salt because of husband's diet. Not hard at all.

Just find a good Dr., surgery is very effective

 

[Neb]

Back on The Ridge today. Cleared branches that were encroaching on the pathway. The pumpkins are holding their own.

Only found one pumpkin. About 5-6 inxhes across.

I was disappointed to find a deer had managed to get the plastic tube protecting the trunk of an apple tree that was planted last winter.

Completely girdled. It is a goner. I have a spare growing in the backyard nursery to replace it. Bother.

Scouted out a descent place for a new grove of chestnut, persimmons, and paw paw trees. The side by side should make the work easier than hauling trees up the hill by hand.

Ben

 

[joel]

Back on The Ridge today. Cleared branches that were encroaching on the pathway. The pumpkins are holding their own.

View attachment 95454

Only found one pumpkin. About 5-6 inxhes across.

View attachment 95455

I was disappointed to find a deer had managed to get the plastic tube protecting the trunk of an apple tree that was planted last winter.

View attachment 95456

Completely girdled. It is a goner. I have a spare growing in the backyard nursery to replace it. Bother.

Scouted out a descent place for a new grove of chestnut, persimmons, and paw paw trees. The side by side should make the work easier than hauling trees up the hill by hand.

Ben

The deer killed four dwarf apple for me, I should have fence them in with four post & six foot dog wire(2X4 wire).

 

[zannej]

I slept most of the day yesterday. Felt like garbage and every time I got up I was completely uncoordinated. Managed to make Mom's dinner (after dropping the box on the floor). I felt dizzy & generally cruddy.
Feeling better today but my left ankle was being hateful when I went to get groceries. Had to keep stopping and slapping it and trying to get it to cooperate. Grabbed some cow feed, fed the cows, put away groceries, wiped down the counters, cooked rice & sauteed mushrooms while cleaning the living room. Hooray for being able to walk away while stuff is cooking (no gas fire stuff in the house). Trying again to clean stains off my vinyl floor. I'm thinking of trying Barkeeper's Friend and letting it sit longer, but I want to test it out on some vinyl scraps first to see how it affects the vinyl. There's something else but I can't remember. Not as dizzy today but still somewhat out of it.

Kitties have been fed & I'm about to take a nap.

Tried to post earlier but the site (and the related sites) were all down.

 

[Mel]

I don't feel so good. Just had round 2 of the Shingles vaccine and I had a reaction to it. Did some watering, put some peppers in the dehydrator, went to fuel one of our SUVs and made a run to Neighborhood Market for some medication and supplies because Mom was sicker than me.

 

[Spikedriver]

I was having coffee this morning, sitting in my recliner with my shirt off, and I spilled the whole damn cup on my left side. As a result I now have a mild scalding burn on my belly and waist, and my chair smells like coffee even though I washed it...

Tomorrow is for car shopping again. The Camry I went to look at today had been smoked in so it was a deal breaker...