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Today went well. I am moving forward with the wiring and trying to finish getting a new growing area in the house working. I walked into a branch this morning in the dark, didn't get the eye but hit the socket below the eye hard...

It has been warm and I have been running errands in the mornings (before sunrise) without a jacket no problem. This morning I sat out for 4 hours without a jacket or warm head gear, got chilled and now I have a sore throat, took some cold meds and heading to bed. It goes to show that not thinking about the worst case can cause us to make poor choices. In this time of high risks, we need to be aware of the worst cases and plan accordingly. Then if things aren’t that bad we are that much better off…. Sometimes you can't undo the results of poor choices.
 
This why i do not have house cats.

We have an outdoor/bathroom cat. She's outdoors until the temps drop below freezing. Then she spends the nights in the bathroom. I wouldn't mind her being in the house but our mastiffs think "cat" should be on the dinner menu.
 
I woke up to LIGHT... I don't know how good that night time cold stuff is at fighting off a cold, but it sure makes you sleep like a log... :) I feel fine this morning other than a sore eye.

Well it's a Sunday so there is church and Sunday School. I have lots of chores to do, so it will be a full day.

I plan to keep my head covered today, my ears just don't like getting wet or cold.

Happy Sunday
 
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Laundry detergent is now being kept in a locked case behind the manager's desk the way they use to keep cigarettes back in the day. Go figure.
Wow! I haven't seen that anywhere here!

Quaker has some apple cinnamon rice cakes that are good
They are good! Our Salvation Army thrift store has ben selling the chocolate ones for $1.25. DH loves them so we stocked up at that price. Also got 2 pack cans of Raid wasp spray for $3. We will always need that!

I intend to do a video this morning. Cut up cheese for the pups and make a turkey pot pie with leftover Thanksgiving.

They admitted DH's friend to hospital yesterday.

We have our friend's 125 pound pit bull service dog for the duration. He seems very happy to be here with all the homemade food, treats and love!

My new chest freezer is in the State now, so hoping it will arrive on target, Tuesday!

DH is on his way to retrieve his friend now!
 
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A few weeks ago I "borrowed" some potatoes from the Cupboard and I now have 4 potato plants, 3 reds and 1 russet. The wife is happy at the prospect and has started telling me all the things I need to do to keep the plants happy, she also suggested planning our next shopping list around the type of potatoes that she would like for me to grow... I figure that this first batch should be ready to harvest March/April and if I can start growing more on a rotation schedule we can eliminate one more thing from the shopping list.

Today, I plan to start harvesting lettuce from the outside raised beds, the indoor hydroponic lettuce is still a little small for harvesting. I added soil around the radishes last night as they were getting leggy, I also raised their container so they are closer to the light.

I now have 10 out of 12 containers with new sprouts growing so that should give me a number of transplanting jobs in a few weeks. It's funny, I am doing things now that I would normally be doing in March.... I think I have enough seeds on hand to keep me going for about 3 years with a great variety. I am now only planting a few seeds at a time so one packet could last for 6 months or more....

As I have been cleaning things out I have found a number of containers that can be used for growing, some were stacked here and there, others were sitting empty with lids on them. It's almost like getting extra help. Like someone is saying, well if you're going to do your share here let me help.. ;)

I hope everyone has a great day.

Urban
 
Not sure yet. Daughter and her friend Ian won't be up for awhile, I'm sure. They stay up watching tv or on their phones. Have been making big breakfasts each morning, and then just covering with foil. I think I'll skip the big breakfast this morning. I think just stuff around here. I'm making supper later to bring to cousin's house for tonight. She is exhausted with all her company that just left, and we haven't seen each other for a week. And she wants to see our daughter and her friend before they leave tomorrow.
 
Fixed my breakfast. Rinsed the dishes I used to place them by the sink. Convinced my bladder it was time. Shaved, brushed teeth and washed my face. Made the bed. Dressed in suit and tie. Deceived threat level is low so I choose the compact 45 over the full size 40 for church today. Now I’m in a holding pattern until the wife is ready to go to church. After church we eat at a restaurant of her choice.
 
Just got back from visiting my son Andy in Phoenix. He made a great TNX dinner. Still not quite up to Mom's cooking , but better than his old Dad, that's for sure.
We'd flown on Alaska Airlines non-rev standby there and back and were lucky enough to get all our flights (Boise-Seattle-Phoenix and back) without getting bumped once! On the flight back, the captain called for a doctor, and Dawn told the flight attendant she was a nurse and could she help? The attendant took her back and there was a woman who'd dropped her newly-born baby. Dawn checked her out (baby was fine), calmed the freaked-out mother (it was her first baby) and came on back to the seat. No big deal.
This morning we got an E-mail from Alaska thanking us and giving us a $250 discount on our next flight! What goes around comes around, I guess. But the real reward was when the mom caught us in the terminal after the flight, and there were cries and hugs, even for me!
:heart/flower:heart/flower

Blessed be, all of you, as we all celebrate the Yule season and our blessings!!
 
Reseasoned the new to me cast iron skillet. K wanted a bigger one for bacon. I found one and it needed to be cleaned so I opted to reseason it. Now we have 5 in different sizes. K thinks that is too many but I use every one of them.

K wants to put up the tree today but I never liked setting up the tree. Even as a kid I hated having to fluff the branches. I will run out to go shopping when he wants to start. I have an order to pick up at Target and I want to take advantage of some deals that start today.

I am making beef barley soup tonight. Next weekend we will have some of the leftover soup I have in the freezer.
 
Took a short hike and found a quite old single-bit axe head. Guess now I will have to make a handle for it.

My youngest son had his first of two 10-hour blacksmithing classes yesterday. He said it was great. During the class he started making his own tongs and punches. The instructor was impressed with his ability to keep going and told him because he was moving along faster than most, he would add a couple things to the class. He really had fun and learned a lot on the one long day. Next Saturday is the second and final class.
 
Kitchen remodel is done! I’m really proud of the way it finished no more dark blah kitchen. We cooked our first meal in it tonight.
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Txlady, out of curiosity, which satellite company did you go with? Viasat or Hughesnet? Or something else?

Hashbrown, the shiny black plate covers look great! For my friend's kitchen we got a shiny black switch with stainless steel cover to match the appliances. I'm really tempted to replace all of my house's switches with rocker switches instead of toggle.

We've had litterboxes inside for when cats can't get outside on their own or when the weather is too nasty for them to go out.

My uncle just turned 80 years old. He and his wife live in a retirement community. She's disabled now so he has to do all the cooking and cleaning but the place they live provides meals for them if they want. They got reservations to have the Thanksgiving dinner. He is a master gardener so he has his own gardening club called The Funny Farm. He said he planted turnips, kale, & mustard greens. He also loves butterflies and likes to plant flowers that attract them. He was happy to hear that my brother is going in to teaching. His mother (my grandmother) was a teacher. My uncle used to teach ROTC. His daughter is about to get her teaching certificate. My dad taught Immigration Law at FLETC. I've worked as a tutor, so I guess teaching is something that runs in the family.

Went to Tractor Supply & saw to 30/50 pressure switches. One had a little lever to turn it on and off. My original switch had that so I got that and got the one without just in case (good thing). Picked up my friend, who despite being half blind, was willing to help. I had to chase a spider away before he would set foot in the shed (he's terrified of spiders). Tried the lever switch first. No dice. Wouldn't stay on. Put in the other one and it worked fine. Returned the one that wouldn't work. Clerk asked if I wanted an exchange & I said "No, I bought an extra one just in case". Then I got a 32 piece tool kit for $10 on a whim. It's a magnetic screwdriver thing with multiple heads, a magnet stick, etc. Came with it's own case. I might let my friend borrow it. Thought about getting him one, but since he got a traumatic brain injury, he's stopped taking care of his tools. Loses them or spills them & lets them rust. He's lost or accidentally broken a few of mine so I made sure to put them all in carrying cases & track them down after use (I have some tools over at his house bc he needs to use them from time to time). We still need to finish the trim & put hardware on his cabinets but life has been kicking him in the balls. Speaking of which, he managed to hit his balls on the pressure gauge when he was trying to squat over the pump to put the switch on.

Found out that the source of the wiring for the well shed wasn't where I thought it was. The junction box I replaced turns out to be for a defunct wire. No power to it. I had him use my little detector thingy & he found which wires were hot. So, at some point I will have to use that tool to trace the origins of the wires that run the pump to figure out WTHeck is going on with the power. LOL. There are so many extra wires in there that need to be removed. I'd really love to build a new shed though.

Went to the grocery store later and stocked up on stuff on Mom's list. The shrimp alfredo was available again so I bought a bunch of it. Some stuff they still didn't have. Got her some oranges, cereal, oatmeal, rice cakes, etc. Quaker has some apple cinnamon rice cakes that are good.

I made dinner, cleaned up a dead rat the size of my foot (cats caught it) and cleaned up the hallway a bit. Changed the HVAC filter finally-- I kept forgetting. My brother took the old trash bag out & I put a new one in (I couldn't lift the old one).
Hughes is only internet available out here. I don't stream movies and I am only one online. Maybe different when my family is here. Right now it is sufficient for my needs which is good as there is a two year contract.
 
Finished a week long house-dog-cat sitting job early afternoon.

I drove to a local nursery to look at their end of season seeds. It is a big place that does all kinds of plant stuff. I got a very small Christmas cactus. The large ones were $29.99. In a couple years, this one will be large enough. In my research, the pink Thanksgiving cactus is often called a Christmas cactus. They had several varieties of these cactus, white, orange, pink and red, and they had them all labeled as Christmas cactus. The red one is technically the Christmas cactus. I wonder how they get them all to bloom at the same time? My Thanksgiving cactus are about finished blooming now.

I asked an employee if they had seeds, which they usually do even at this time of year. They are putting together their displays of seeds for next year, Seed Savers and Peppers of the World. Found Moon & Stars Watermelon seeds, one of the best watermelon's I've ever had. I also found Hatch green chili's in mild, medium and hot. I decided not to get hot seeds. Heat gives me the hiccups. I also bought a package of Shishito pepper seeds, all the rage this year, 10 seeds for $2.49.
 
Kitchen remodel is done! I’m really proud of the way it finished no more dark blah kitchen. We cooked our first meal in it tonight. View attachment 54217View attachment 54218View attachment 54219View attachment 54220View attachment 54221View attachment 54222
I have to confess you may have turned me.

I did our kitchen 30 years ago or more with Builder Square Oak fronted cabinets that The Princess finished with honey mapke. It was and still looks great but.... The Princess is determined to improve the lighting.

Our second LLC is finished very similar to what you have done.

Skip to about 1:50 in this video to see.



I may just follow your example when it comes time for me to redo ours.

Nice work on your part. I tip my hat to you.

Ben
 
Just hooked up my Reolink wireless wifi security cameras to my phone.

Possibly one of the most frustrating things I've done in a long time.
I had to put them down and walk away from them and go outside and chop wood.
Came back inside had a cold drink...had another go.....went out side to chop more wood.
Wash, rinse repeat.......a LOT of times.

I finally managed to get them connected and my kindling pile is pretty darn spectacular.
 
We had some friends come and get the rest of the bedroom set so we could get more of the garage cleaned up. I could even get to the Christmas decorations 😁🎄. Hubby cleaned his “stuff” too and filled the back of the pickup so will go to the dump tomorrow. There is so much more room! I listed a vintage hutch on CL so hopefully it will sell and clear out that much more space. It feels good to get things cleaned up and in order.
@Grimm 5 is not too many 😉.
 
Made dinner and brought it to my favorite cousins. We haven't seen each other in over a week, and that's just too long. Daughter's "Ian" friend even had a good time. She has had so much company...with 8 kids, many grandkids, some greats, their homes were full with 50 plus for supper each night.
Just heard a cousin was rushed to the hospital today with covid problems, and was admitted. I really hope he'll be ok. We'll have an early morning tomorrow, daughter and friend Ian will need to get to the airport.
 
Wife says it's easier for her if I put the lights on the Christmas tree. Since we are not hosting anyone for Christmas I think all the house decorations are illogical but to make the wife happy...

Untie the knots from the strings of lights. Plug them in to make sure they work. Wrap them around the tree. Wrapped the garland around the tree too.

Haul the decoration storage boxes back down stairs to stack them under the steps.

45 LC bullets are scheduled to be delivered today. Finish loading 45 LC for the 2021 season.

Change the ammo reloader from 45 large primer to 300 Blackout small primer. First attempt at reloading 300 BO. Get the tool head setup except for the power measure. Plan is to hand measure the powder loads at .1 grain increments. Hand deliver the test loads to the oldest son after Christmas. Son will chronograph the test loads and let me know which one load meets his specs before I start mass producing.

Ordered a Annealeez annealer for the 5.56 brass and perhaps 300 Blackout too.
 
Took daughter and her friend to the airport early this morning. Husband went to a foot dr appt, and will have an allergy shot later today. So...may work on the big old wood barn some more today and get caught up with laundry. Our Amish neighbor had her baby at the birthing center down the road, but something was not right, and the baby is in a hospital in Wichita. Hope they both are ok. They have a girl, and this one's a boy.
 
Went to church with wife yesterday , first time in months. Just haven't been healthy enough.
Pastor has requested everyone to wear masks in and out, not once seated, at a distance of course. No socializing after service as we always did, but got to see all our friends.

Called Southwest Oasis grill and ordered lunch , it was ready for pickup when we arrived.

Spent rest of day resting. Built a nice fire in stove , kept the house nice and warm overnite. Was 30 deg when I got up today.

Home care coming at 11 am , the we're going for lunch somewhere ( eat in car) , all restaurants are closed for inside dining.
Then stop at WM for grocery pickup .

Unload and put away , is the worst part.

HA , I just looked out window...seen A snowflake , the white icy falling from sky type. Hope we get a foot.

Jim
 
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