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Amish Heart said:
Not sure what's going on today, but I think husband and I are going out to lunch, and I'd like to pick up the pasta specials at Kroger (49 cents a pkg, American Beauty). Alot of pasta.
Husband asks, "Don't we have pasta?" Silly man.
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I store those one pound packages on end in 5 gallon buckets. I don't really remember how many of those packages fit in a bucket, but it must be around 25, depending upon if it is in a box or a plastic package.
 
Weedygarden said:
I store those one pound packages on end in 5 gallon buckets. I don't really remember how many of those packages fit in a bucket, but it must be around 25, depending upon if it is in a box or a plastic package.
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The Princess does the same.

When covid git she gave the kids a bucket full plus a flat of spaghetti sauce. The kids are still eating from that bucket.

😊

Ben
 
Neb said:
Not sure when I last updated..

My project was to figure out one of the GFCI outlets on the deck would not reset. It feeds a light so I started by inspecting the goofy switch for the light since it was intended for outdoor use.

View attachment 73749

Yup!

Half full of moist dirt would explain why the GFCI trips.

View attachment 73750

Replaced with a proper box intended for use in wet areas.

View attachment 73751

The bad hose bib got repaired exploiting shark bite fitting to avoid having to sweat copper.

View attachment 73752

Please note we had to cut that access hole. There was valve there to shut off the water to the outside hose bib but...

IT WAS BURIED IN THE WALL.

The guy that built the place was a decent carpenter but plumbing and electrical... Not so good.

The next project was to finish off the inside of a cabinet above the ovens. The previous tenant had stored dog food in there and ha noticed mice had got at it. The cabinet was open to the attic area so mice had a highway to to food.

View attachment 73753

Nothing fancy but effective.

View attachment 73754

Now for an audience participation question.

The Princess wants me to purchase all of the appliances for the remodel house to avoid delays. We have to decide if we are going with all stainless or black appliances. To help answer that question I took 2 pictures of a piece of luan with a similar finish to the cabinets we have next to stainless stove top and the second next to black tile.

View attachment 73755

View attachment 73756

Anyone have an opinion which is better...

Stainless

Or

Black

Appliances?

Ben
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I like the black, but I'm generally into keeping things understated and classy. Stainless looks good, but to me it looks like the inside of a butcher shop. Too industrial.
 
Neb said:
The Princess does the same.

When covid git she gave the kids a bucket full plus a flat of spaghetti sauce. The kids are still eating from that bucket.

😊

Ben
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This is a great thing to make one meal plan from. A package of spaghetti, a jar of sauce, and, whatever else a person might want to store or even scrounge up. It could be a salad from the garden, garlic toast, some meat to add to the sauce if it doesn't have some. Some parmesan cheese for the spaghetti. Have this once a week for a year and you would need 52 pounds of spaghetti (give or take, depending on the size of your family), 52 jars of sauce and whatever else you want to add to your preps for this meal. It is an easy plan to make and store. I have some red sauce and I have some Alfredo sauce. I think someone here mentioned packages of dried sauce mix that you can purchase online. The packages of spaghetti do not reach the top of the bucket, and the dried sauce packets could go on top of the packages of spaghetti.
 
Weedygarden said:
This is a great thing to make one meal plan from. A package of spaghetti, a jar of sauce, and, whatever else a person might want to store or even scrounge up. It could be a salad from the garden, garlic toast, some meat to add to the sauce if it doesn't have some. Some parmesan cheese for the spaghetti. Have this once a week for a year and you would need 52 pounds of spaghetti (give or take, depending on the size of your family), 52 jars of sauce and whatever else you want to add to your preps for this meal. It is an easy plan to make and store. I have some red sauce and I have some Alfredo sauce. I think someone here mentioned packages of dried sauce mix that you can purchase online. The packages of spaghetti do not reach the top of the bucket, and the dried sauce packets could go on top of the packages of spaghetti.
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We use Kroger brand, but the same thing.
 
Spikedriver said:
I like the black, but I'm generally into keeping things understated and classy. Stainless looks good, but to me it looks like the inside of a butcher shop. Too industrial.
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Let the record reflect that my position is...that my wife's opinion is totally correct on this issue.
 
@Neb, The question I have would be can you get all the appliances you want in your color option? When we did ours the wife wanted White, we learned that they charged extra for white :( . Stainless used to be in fashion and it was less expensive. I would check on availability and any price variance before nailing it down...
 
Today was one of those days that feels like 2, the work morning started early with a 05:00 EU call followed by meetings at 07:00 and 09:00 by noon I was bushed. So I took a long lunch and put my solar panels into the frame I made, ran the wires to where the controller will be, while eating a tuna-fish sandwich. Then back to work completing several sets of paper projects and 3 more calls, last one ended at 17:30. By the time we had dinner it was dark and I feel like the day was just a blur. I went out to get the mail and tripped on half of the battery cables I ordered.

The good news is I am off tomorrow and after I get the shopping done I can focus on getting the big battery box operational. The truck is half loaded for a trip to the land fill, still need to throw in a couple brake rotors and some rotten wood, but I think I can get it to the dump by mid day tomorrow.
 
Hello everyone and sorry I have not been in here for a considerable time but things got a bit hectic with organising things here, trying to get maintenance done on the home since April and to get a tradie that actually turns up, nesting ie buying furniture and other things we need and dealing with fatigue and memory issues with DH which are thankfully getting better.

Firstly good news that we have just had DH's yearly review for his brain aneurysm surgery and we have got the all clear that there is no more aneurysms that have appeared :). I have also been told that there is a strong possibility I have recovered from Graves disease and hyperthyroidism and have been off all medication now for 5 weeks and am feeling pretty good. Awaiting the results from a blood test to see that things haven't gone the other way with hypothyroidism so keep your fingers crossed for me as I really want to be off medications.

I am reading a lot about the shortages of groceries there in the States and the problems with unloading of ship cargo which is not good and as we are all interconnected even here in Australia things are getting hairy to say the least.

We are also experiencing high inflation on goods like sugar up in prices by 27 - 33% in costs for both raw and white sugar, powdered milk has gone up 33% , meat has gone up considerably in costs although I get a lot on specials and markdowns, things like ride on lawn mower blades have gone up 25% in cost if we can source them at all, our solar feed in tariff has gone down by 17% making it less coming off our power bill for energy we produce, clothing has also risen dramatically in costs.

In the supermarkets here in rural Qld we are seeing what I call fronting up with it looking like the shelves are full but there is only say two tins fronted up and nothing behind them so yes many businesses are having trouble getting stock from what I am seeing. We have increased our grocery stockpile considerably with half price specials since I have found as well as markdowns and good prices on meat and have been shopping different places to get good prices. I also found a good wholesale fruit and veg shop in our travels and we have purchased lots of veg and blanched and frozen it.:)

As we are also seeing a lot of shortages on appliances and the like with backlogs on ordering we have also purchased what we needed in the way of those with spares.

With things like mower blades we have stocked up when we found them to make sure we have supplies of them and filters as well and with laptop batteries and cords we also stocked up a spare each as they seem hard to find also. With DH doing the occasional paid mowing job we need mower blades for mowing our property and others as well.

Clothing was a boon as with lock downs in other states in Australia one store had an excess of clothing they couldn't sell so they sent their stock to Qld to liquidate at ridiculously low prices. I got a heap of really good quality cotton and linen long sleeved shirts and cotton long pants for DH for $3.60 ea, got some tops for myself also $3.60 ea and from another store a lot of cotton linen shorts for $4 ea. Usually these all retail for $49.99 for the shirts, likewise for the pants and about $25 - $30 for the tops and up to $39.95 for the linen shorts. We are happy and won't need clothing for some time as we heard there will be a cotton shortage with rolling blackouts in China due to a lack of coal and flooding so their mines cannot mine their coal.

In the gardens we have been trench composting the gardens and creating compost piles in them to build up the levels of the soil and added a lot of well composted grass clippings to them as we have acreage and a mound of grass clippings. Also planted turnips, capsicums and carrot seeds in the gardens which are now sprouting and looking good.

Nesting in the home we have purchased 2 x 3 dr and 2 x 2 dr sliding door wardrobes for the bedroom, built them from flat packs and now have heaps of room for all our clothing. Much better than hanging portable garment racks :). We also found an extendable antique replica 2.4 x 1 metre dining table for the grand total of $60 and restored the top with varnish and it looks brand new. It is currently sitting in our combined lounge room dining room and we are so happy to get a table at such as low price since new they are anywhere from $2500 - $10 000 for a solid wood extendable dining table.

We also purchased a carpet shampooer and shampooed all the carpets and rugs in our home so we will no longer have to pay for this service either. Both of us are all for reducing our dependence on any paid services that we can as they are going up in price all the time.

I have been looking for a tradie to replace two stumps under our home and level it, to do some structural work on the tank stand sheds that were sagging with posts collapsing, fix some cupboard doors and do a wetback system to divert water from half way down our home to the back rain water tanks as the gutters do not have enough fall and the water is lying. Pleased to say after hunting since April for someone to do all these jobs I have got a fantastic quote from a local tradie who can come out to do them all without a 6 month waiting list and who will actually turn up. Just emailed him to start work for which we will pay cash for.

We are looking into off grid battery backup systems for our solar system at the moment as word has it that our feed in tariffs may disappear altogether so we want to be more energy independent in the home.

Dh had also been feeling exhausted as they were adjusting his medication for PTSD and he was rather not with it and was suffering memory loss and not taking in much at all. As his carer I pared back to basics to look after him and as a result not had much time to go online. Pleased to say now his medication level is at the right levels he is far more with it and more logical.

Thanks @LadyLocust for emailing to check up on us.
 
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Mo's Taxi Service ran today.
Picked up woman with pneumonia for walk in the park at 0900 hours.
She made 2 complete laps.
Took her back home.
Went home to set up coffee pot for later in the day.
1100 hours picked up elderly lady from PT at the hospital.
Took her to her bank.
Then took her to small smelly shop(gift shop type place).
While she Christmas shopped I looked around.
Took her home, she has no house key.
So off I go walking around the house looking for open door or window.
Yep, found unlocked door opened it, got her inside.
Went back to my car, got her packages placed them on her kitchen table.
She was so upset about the house key.
I told her I could get inside, no problem.....
I told her it probably did her good to go on an adventure with somebody outside her immediate family.
Went back home to have lunch, Dad called he needed some things picked up from Wal*Mart.
So off I go, get his Pepsi and copy paper back to him.
Went to put away his new package copy paper, moved something in the cabinet....hmmm.. found 6 other packages of copy paper.
Just put his new package under one of the old packages, never said a word.
Next time I need copy paper, I know where I can get some.
Checked on printers for him, his quit.
Prices range $40-$220.
So we will discuss them tomorrow.
Finally got to eat bologna,sliced garden fresh tomatoes, spicy mustard sandwich.
All in all good day.
 
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Sewingcreations15 said:
@UrbanHunter we are doing well here in Queensland. Apart from massive price rises on lots of things and fuel prices are up 90% on E10 since lock downs last year and rising.

How are the grocery supplies going there in the supermarkets as I saw a lot of empty store shelves on the news.
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Happy to see you Sewingcreations 15.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
Thank you @MoBookworm1957 and good to see you all too. How has your rehab been and are you doing a lot better it does sound like you are more mobile and good that you are looking after your Dad.

How are food supplies and other needed supplies going there are they a little hairy too.
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Some things are getting hard to get get,
But for most part, I don't eat much these days.
Slowly building back up my supplies.
My dad is ill, and no he won't get better.
Walking, helps me deal with my Dad's illness.
Have dropped another 10 pounds this month.
Dropped another pant size too.
Down to size 10.
 
Peanut said:
@LadyLocust Tincture, internal... I also got 2 more ounces of eucalyptus and a bottle of Tea tree oil at the store. Neither of which grow around here.

Need to make tinctures tomorrow, goldenrod for one... hopefully I can get motivated.
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Thank you! Good to know.
 
@MoBookworm1957 good to hear you are going well on your rehab and that supplies aren't too bad there and you are building up stocks gradually as we are :). You have lost so much weight well done.

I am sorry to hear about your Dad but I am glad you are there to support him and yes it no doubt would be stressful for you, hugs.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
Hello everyone and sorry I have not been in here for a considerable time but things got a bit hectic with organising things here, trying to get maintenance done on the home since April and to get a tradie that actually turns up, nesting ie buying furniture and other things we need and dealing with fatigue and memory issues with DH which are thankfully getting better.

Firstly good news that we have just had DH's yearly review for his brain aneurysm surgery and we have got the all clear that there is no more aneurysms that have appeared :). I have also been told that there is a strong possibility I have recovered from Graves disease and hyperthyroidism and have been off all medication now for 5 weeks and am feeling pretty good. Awaiting the results from a blood test to see that things haven't gone the other way with hypothyroidism so keep your fingers crossed for me as I really want to be off medications.

I am reading a lot about the shortages of groceries there in the States and the problems with unloading of ship cargo which is not good and as we are all interconnected even here in Australia things are getting hairy to say the least.

We are also experiencing high inflation on goods like sugar up in prices by 27 - 33% in costs for both raw and white sugar, powdered milk has gone up 33% , meat has gone up considerably in costs although I get a lot on specials and markdowns, things like ride on lawn mower blades have gone up 25% in cost if we can source them at all, our solar feed in tariff has gone down by 17% making it less coming off our power bill for energy we produce, clothing has also risen dramatically in costs.

In the supermarkets here in rural Qld we are seeing what I call fronting up with it looking like the shelves are full but there is only say two tins fronted up and nothing behind them so yes many businesses are having trouble getting stock from what I am seeing. We have increased our grocery stockpile considerably with half price specials since I have found as well as markdowns and good prices on meat and have been shopping different places to get good prices. I also found a good wholesale fruit and veg shop in our travels and we have purchased lots of veg and blanched and frozen it.:)

As we are also seeing a lot of shortages on appliances and the like with backlogs on ordering we have also purchased what we needed in the way of those with spares.

With things like mower blades we have stocked up when we found them to make sure we have supplies of them and filters as well and with laptop batteries and cords we also stocked up a spare each as they seem hard to find also. With DH doing the occasional paid mowing job we need mower blades for mowing our property and others as well.

Clothing was a boon as with lock downs in other states in Australia one store had an excess of clothing they couldn't sell so they sent their stock to Qld to liquidate at ridiculously low prices. I got a heap of really good quality cotton and linen long sleeved shirts and cotton long pants for DH for $3.60 ea, got some tops for myself also $3.60 ea and from another store a lot of cotton linen shorts for $4 ea. Usually these all retail for $49.99 for the shirts, likewise for the pants and about $25 - $30 for the tops and up to $39.95 for the linen shorts. We are happy and won't need clothing for some time as we heard there will be a cotton shortage with rolling blackouts in China due to a lack of coal and flooding so their mines cannot mine their coal.

In the gardens we have been trench composting the gardens and creating compost piles in them to build up the levels of the soil and added a lot of well composted grass clippings to them as we have acreage and a mound of grass clippings. Also planted turnips, capsicums and carrot seeds in the gardens which are now sprouting and looking good.

Nesting in the home we have purchased 2 x 3 dr and 2 x 2 dr sliding door wardrobes for the bedroom, built them from flat packs and now have heaps of room for all our clothing. Much better than hanging portable garment racks :). We also found an extendable antique replica 2.4 x 1 metre dining table for the grand total of $60 and restored the top with varnish and it looks brand new. It is currently sitting in our combined lounge room dining room and we are so happy to get a table at such as low price since new they are anywhere from $2500 - $10 000 for a solid wood extendable dining table.

We also purchased a carpet shampooer and shampooed all the carpets and rugs in our home so we will no longer have to pay for this service either. Both of us are all for reducing our dependence on any paid services that we can as they are going up in price all the time.

I have been looking for a tradie to replace two stumps under our home and level it, to do some structural work on the tank stand sheds that were sagging with posts collapsing, fix some cupboard doors and do a wetback system to divert water from half way down our home to the back rain water tanks as the gutters do not have enough fall and the water is lying. Pleased to say after hunting since April for someone to do all these jobs I have got a fantastic quote from a local tradie who can come out to do them all without a 6 month waiting list and who will actually turn up. Just emailed him to start work for which we will pay cash for.

We are looking into off grid battery backup systems for our solar system at the moment as word has it that our feed in tariffs may disappear altogether so we want to be more energy independent in the home.

Dh had also been feeling exhausted as they were adjusting his medication for PTSD and he was rather not with it and was suffering memory loss and not taking in much at all. As his carer I pared back to basics to look after him and as a result not had much time to go online. Pleased to say now his medication level is at the right levels he is far more with it and more logical.

Thanks @LadyLocust for emailing to check up on us.
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So glad you are okay! Happy also to hear that you are off meds and Hubby is improving - what a relief that must be. Crazy times for sure. Thank you for taking the time to keep us up to date 💖
 
Thank you @Peanut doing well but I just pare back on things when DH is not doing well :). DH is still having loss of feeling in his left hand and leg, co ordination issues on slopes and processing information he is hearing and making sense of it. He is a lot better than he was so we are working on his hands as he is learning to play guitar and muscle memory to operate his hand and leg better.

He is doing well and we are doing more gardening work but in smaller stints and been cutting, splitting and stacking firewood so he is gradually learning to do more with little feeling.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
@LadyLocust yes doing well here and hope you are there too :). How is the buying a home house hunting going ?.

Our property price here in the country has doubled since we purchased it and not sure if you are experiencing the huge housing price increases there ?.
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Actually, the prices are beginning to come back down a little in the areas where we have been looking. Haven't found the perfect place yet but for some strange reason, I'm pretty at peace w/ it - just have a feeling Someone ;) has that planned for us. We just have to do our part and look and be patient.
A sorta funny but drastic one was a property I was looking at today was listed for $1,450,000 this past spring - is now relisted for $450,000 - quite a price change so hoping there is a buying opportunity before things really go nuts.
 
It's about time, Sewing! Glad to hear from you, and it sounds like you've been super busy! There's still groceries out there, but shortages seem to vary depending on where you live. I stocked up on some sales today and did ok, but prices around us have jumped and have not come down. I really don't expect them to. Glad your husband is doing better and hope he continues to do so.
 
@LadyLocust good to hear the property prices are coming back down to a more realistic price and I am sure that like us something will appear that is just perfect for you :). That is some reduction on the listing price of just that one home you mentioned :eek:.

I felt that calm feeling right before we found our perfect home too so keeping fingers crossed for you to find the perfect property.
 
Thank you @Amish Heart :). Good that you are still getting the sales there and supplies aren't too bad there and like you I don't think that prices will come down either and will continue to spiral.

Areas here are different in stocks such as Victoria and NSW with empty shelves and us here with small stocks but still able to get what we need and have on our grocery shopping list.

How is your hubby going and yourself ?.
 
Sewingcreations15 said:
@UrbanHunter we are doing well here in Queensland. Apart from massive price rises on lots of things and fuel prices are up 90% on E10 since lock downs last year and rising.

How are the grocery supplies going there in the supermarkets as I saw a lot of empty store shelves on the news.
Click to expand...
Things are as good as can be expected here, supplies are better than a year ago but we are also seeing price increases, I bought ground beef today just under $6/pound, that would be about $13/kg. Gasoline is up from $2/gal to just under $4/gallon (that would be up to $1/liter, still not bad from a Global perspective).
Got a notice that our electricity went up 10% this month and natural gas prices are expected to double. But the government is telling us that inflation is not bad because they stopped measuring it using things we would actually be buying like food, gasoline, and energy......
 
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