PRACTICAL PARSIMONY

Gone to Hell in a Handbasket

2012-02-15T11:57:00.003-06:00

My blog experience on Blogger has been deteriorating since Day 1. I can no longer see my side columns. Lots of functions just don't exist for me. Blogger never responds. No one in support responds. Can you see both my side columns? I would quickly change to Wordpress.com, but there is some restriction of ads. I will not give up my one ad. Computer people that I would pay if I could pay do not want me to watch them. If a person does not know my problem and I cannot articulate it, just show, then paid support is worthless. No, none of these guys knows anything about Blogger, but will try to fix it. No thanks. Day 1 problem: Use the little slider on the right to move down to the bottom of my page. You will pass miles of pink page and when you are within a fourth of an inch of the bottom of the slider thing, you will see more blog waaay down there. Useless! I have been told by a person online that some command/code has been replicated 10s of 1000s of times to make that big pink gap. But, the person online refused to help. While I refuse to give up, I cannot spend the 40+ hours I have spent in the last three days to solve this problem. My head hurts from beating it against blogger. It's bloody. And, I need to dishes and laundry, at the very least. Okay, venting done. Maybe the paragraphs will show up and this will not be a huge block of text. Your turn (I cannot even use bold) Any solutions? Anyone else had this problem?

Chocolate Improves Math Skills

2012-02-13T21:10:00.001-06:00

It's not hard to believe. Chocolate makes everything better. Read this to see how it works. There are lots more ways chocolate benefits a person.

Blogger is still not cooperating and no one at Blogger answers questions. So, Wordpress may be the better choice. However, I don't know if I can afford it. At least I could make a link today.

Your turn
Are you getting chocolate for Valentine's Day? If I buy it myself, I will have chocolate.

Just a tiny perk

2012-02-11T15:05:00.007-06:00

Since I have an Office Max reward of $48 for recycling cartridges, I went in to purchase something I needed. There was a sign on the counter: "If I don't ask you if you want paper, you get a Coke free." When the transaction was finished, and he had definitely finished talking to me, AND was leaving the register, I paused and said, "Ummm, you did not offer me paper, do I really get a free Coke?" Man, I am thinking this is waaay too easy. "Yes, get yourself a Coke." He smiled as he left. Depending on the location, the 20 oz Cokes are usually about $1.79. I am still smiling. The Cokes were in the tall refrigerated cases. Only this case was just a case because the refrigeration was not working. I do have ice at home. Your turn I have never had a cashier fail to say or do whatever was needed to avoid giving me the little freebie. Have you? This was a new win, so I was just a bit too happy over only a Coke.

Milk and Cereal Deal

2012-02-11T14:21:00.010-06:00

There will be no pictures. Asterisks take the place of paragraph breaks since Blogger is not playing nicely. I'm not bragging, but... **************** Last week, on Wednesday I took advantage of a coupon in the grocery store ad and bought four boxes of Cheerios for $10 and got a gallon of milk free. Not content to take the deal offered me, I sweetened it a bit. **************** By shopping on Wednesday I got the Senior discount of 5%. I purchased the 4 cereals for $10 and got the milk free. I used two coupons for $1 off two boxes of Cheerios. (-$2) For the senior discount I got $.50 off. Total was $8.35 for all the milk and cereal. **************** Since I had the $10 store gift card from the newspaper deal. I decided to do it again. Only, I did not have the same coupons and would not get the Senior discount on Saturday. **************** Saturday,I purchased the 4 cereals for $10 and got the milk free. I used a coupon for $1 off three boxes of cereal. The total was $9.85 for all the milk and cereal. The $10 store gift card had $0.15 left. **************** This deal came out Wednesday, and already I have worked it twice. Each time I have gotten 3 boxes of Cheerios and 1 box of Golden Grahams. I will have to build an addition add in order to store cereal. I still have not consumed the Special K from a few weeks ago that I purchased with the same deal. Only one of the Golden Grahams did not have a coupon. So, 7 coupons for cereal used makes me happy. Last night, I spent an inordinate amount of time searching for the elusive Golden Graham coupon. I only need one.If I can print one or lay my hands on one, I will take it in for a refund of the coupon price. **************** Seriously, exbf will be a recipient of some of these boxes of cereal. **************** Cost before coupons: $36.62 Cost after coupons: $18.20-$9.85 gift card=$8.35 Bottom line, I saved 73% on milk and cereal. **************** Your turn Has anyone else had the milk and cereal deal in your store? Have you been able to take advantage of it? Did you use coupons from the Internet or inserts? I am not bragging, just excited to spend 73% of what an item is worth. How have you been doing with coupons and sales?

Saving on Price of Coupons in Paper

2012-02-10T23:33:00.013-06:00

As I came into the grocery store tonight, a young man asked me if I wanted to register for a $100 grocery gift card. Free food? Of course I did? I filled out the ticket stub. He asked me what was my favorite part of the newspaper. Coupons! Then, he started his sales pitch. I listened. There were various options for subscribing to the Birmingham News. All of the deals came with a gift card. Of course, I am always interested in lowering the cost of anything. Today, I did.

At Walmart the Sunday paper costs $2.00 + $0.17 sales tax. So, 26 weeks of Sunday papers cost me $53.42. His deal was three months for $52. Plus, I would receive a $10 gift card to the store where I was shopping.

The savings get even better. How much does it cost to drive the car 9 miles each Sunday for 26 weeks. Let's say it cost me $1/Sunday. That's $53.42 + $26=$79.42. Do I ever buy something I don't need just because I am there in the store? Probably. But, I won't even contemplate that cost.

Another sweet part of the deal--the price for the 3 weekend papers is the same as the price for the Sunday paper. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday papers will be delivered for the same price as the Sunday-only deal. Sweeeet!

I wrote a check for $52, hoping that I will not hurt myself by doing so. I have to look at this long term. The young man gave me the $10 gift card.

Now, my $79.42 expense has been cut to $42, almost a 50% savings on coupon purchases. Actually, with the true cost of gas and unnecessary purchases, I am probably saving more than 50%.

It gets better. I can go to Southern Savers and find out how many and which inserts will be in the paper. However, if I go to a paper box that is 1/2 mile round trip from my house, or go to any paper box, there will be no coupons even though I don't have to pay tax on the paper or drive very far. I called the Birmingham News and they explained why they quit putting inserts in paper boxes--cost! When I buy the paper at the store for $2.17 and drive 9 miles round trip, there will be some of the coupon inserts, not all. Now, I will be assured of getting all the inserts. Insert Snoopy Happy Dance here.

Oh, besides driving, I have to drive on a Sunday when the route to Walmart is very busy. There are few parking spaces and rarely a handicapped space. Plus, I have problems finding an electric cart. If I wait beyond 2pm, there are no papers. Knowing all this before I leave home really stresses me out.

This Sunday will be my last time to drive to get a paper for the coupons. Often, I spend 3 hours there because I see friends and we talk for 30 minutes. Plus, the lines are long. I am looking forward to different Sundays.

I predict my savings with coupons should double since I have cut so many of the expenses of obtaining a paper. Plus, I will get more coupons. I also predict that the last half of this month is going to be tight. The grocery card will be the only thing to help me with groceries now. I don't even want to go online and check my bank balance....shudder. The month is not even half over.

Your turn

Can anyone relate? Do paper boxes in your area NOT carry coupon inserts? Do you have to pay tax when you buy a newspaper in the store? Is your paper offering grocery cards for newspaper subscriptions? Why can't I make a proper link on Blogger now?

This had paragraph divisions when I wrote it.

Free answers for your computer questions

2012-02-10T18:03:00.003-06:00

Join simplycomputers2@yahoogroups.com and get all your computer questions answered for free. These guys give all sorts of good advice on free software, computer fixes. They own their own businesses and are quite knowledgeable. I used this group for advice on what to get when I bought my computer three years ago. Try them. Your turn Have you ever used this Yahoo Group? Do you have another site that will answer questions? If so, can you share with us?

A new hen

2012-02-09T13:38:00.002-06:00

I have added another girl to the "flock," but I cannot add pictures. Stay tuned.

Look at the Sidebar--->

2012-02-07T19:28:00.004-06:00

About a month ago, someone approached me via email about adding a button to the sidebar of my blog. It was called "Daily Deals." Since Charlie loves his "Daily Deals," I decided to put it up. Through all my illness and recovery, the deal sat. Now, I have it posted. This is not exactly the same thing Charlie uses, but it does have some good information. I have looked at some of the information. Click on it and look around. No, I don't get paid by the click! Let me know what you think. Every day there will be a new daily deal. Then, there are sites with coupons. Your turn Don't hold back. What do you think of the button and site?

What Happened?

2012-02-07T04:08:00.003-06:00

My post is half gone and changed. Anyone got an idea about how to get my information back. I hate hate hate this color. Helllllp! No, Blogger never helps at all.

Save money with 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches

2012-02-06T00:13:00.003-06:00

Saving time=saving money, soooo

Many of these tips I have known for years and cannot convince others they are really true. Time is money, you say? Yes, and I say less time spent is more efficient and less nerve-wracking.

#2 is easily my favorite. I showed this to a class of seventh graders who initially did not believe me. Their laptops could be seen on a screen at the front of the room. So, I had a cooperative girl to whom I had already proven this project her laptop onto the screen. We used a familiar term, maybe something like Christopher Columbus, but maybe not that. Whatever the phrase was, she got 8 million hits without quotes--Christopher Columbus. With quotes like this--"Christopher Columbus," she got only 975K hits, quite a difference. The difference is google searched and found everything to do with Columbus, MO and every person with the name of Christopher, plus other streets and trivia when searching without quotes.

By the way, our schools provide the laptops, teachers, laptop backpacks for the students who turn them in at the end of the school year and get them back when school starts (grades 6-12). Yes, the Dells get stepped on, sat on, stolen, lost, and broken. The whole school was wired for wifi, so any student can use their laptop on school grounds. Many students say they are getting the internet for Christmas.

I won't describe the advantages of the other ones I know and use. Try this site and free up some of your time. Make yourself more efficient. Show it to your children, spouse, others.

Your turn
Do you use these shortcuts for efficient searches? Do you think these will benefit you or your family.

Rub-A-Dub Sharpie to the Rescue

2012-02-05T09:36:00.001-06:00

Rub-a-Dub Sharpie Laundry Marker aka money-saver

I really do not like to ruin my clothing, especially newer pieces. The waste, the money--it all annoys me. So, when I saw the huge stain on my pants I wore to the ER, I was annoyed, to put it mildly. I know I felt something wet on my hand, something spilled on me by a tech or a nurse. I did not deliberately pick out my darkest and best pair of black pants to go to the ER. Believe me, just getting on a clean pair of pants that night was a feat. I was not dressing up for any hunky doctor.

The pants are black, but the pants look gray in the picture. Yes, they are the darkest pair of black pants I own. I just cannot photograph them. The main stain is about 3/4 inch long. The white part is really bright orange. Yes, there are some orange, smudgy places, too. Lovely!

The stain is right at my knee, so this barely visible stain is not too bad. Actually, the orange does not show up at all, just in the picture. I just now used the marker on the stain and will do so again. At best, these pants are wearable. Now, they are not my best pants, just the darkest. Darkest usually means "best," but not in this case.

My husband, now ex, would wear out the tips to his dress shirt collars. If they were dark, I would trim the frazzles from the tips and use a Sharpie marker, whatever color the shirt was. Through the years I rescued a blouse given to me with one stain and numerous other items. For forty-two years Sharpies have saved me money.

Your turn
Do you save money by salvaging your "bleached" clothing by using a marker? Do you hate to ruin clothes as much as I do? Do you have a bleach stain coverup tip?

Lovely

2012-02-03T19:44:00.000-06:00

The first daffodil of 2012, blossomed on 2/2/12

Can you believe this weather, inhabitants of the South?

Failure

2012-02-03T09:10:00.000-06:00

The Road to Hell must be paved well with my good intentions. My failed good intentions have cost me cash. Bought and thrown-out food, scavenged and wasted food, gifts of food and other items, bright ideas I had--all are the past but still really bug me. Some of this failures were expensive, at least to me.

rotted and in the compost hole

I brought home 13 pumpkins for pumpkin pie and pumpkin butter and for chicken food. The chickens refused to eat them or the seeds, unlike pumpkins of other years. They were not good tasting to me, so I suppose the chickens had good reason to turn up their beaks. The worst part was my failure to get them off the patio table and allowing them to rot and get all over, necessitating my thoroughly washing the table and exbf having to expend energy and time to remove rotten pumpkins. They would have been so much easier to throw in the compost hole if I had dealt with it earlier.

While I was ill, about 15+ lbs of bananas bought cheap and destined for the dehydrator went bad. Now, I am out of dehydrated bananas! The 15 lbs. were moldy and runny, so there was no salvation, not even baking or freezing. They were not fit for hens. Yes, hens turn up their nose at really rotten food.

Four heads of celery languished. Eventually, they were not even fit for hens. Six quarts of blueberries Charlie gave me went to the hens and a quarter pound of cherries I bought when they were $2.99/lb. My hens were delighted to get both of these, along with some plum tomatoes. I buy few cherries or plum tomatoes because of the cost, but I had bought both when I felt like I could afford the little treat.

All of the above can be attributed in full or in part to my being ill. I was feeling horrid on Christmas Day and now realize all had been getting worse for about three weeks until the eventual catastrophic gastrointestinal failure. Other things were beyond my control.

At Thanksgiving, I did not have enough eggs for the chocolate pound cake, so I bought eggs. At Christmas I did not have enough eggs for another chocolate pound cake, so again I bought eggs. These should have been consumed or scrambled/boiled and fed to hens. Nope, still have store-bought eggs here, eggs I do not want to scramble because I am spoiled with fresh eggs. It remains to see how many of these are good.

My friend gave me a pretty apple gourd that he decided he would pick early. Naturally, it should have been left on the vine to prevent rotting. Nope, it rotted. He does not know it should not be picked when pretty, just left to mold on the ground. It is in the compost.

My plans for a salad garden in the glass enclosure (turtle home?) never came to fruition. Why? I don't know.

The worst failure has been the fact that the hens laid no eggs for a week at a time. They are having to use all their food as energy to stay warm, not lay eggs. Remember, since my successful chicken defense effort, they have only a Rubbermaid box in which to live and no shelter from the wind during the day. They do not get to sleep inside a warm house. For a solid 48 hours, they were on their own last week, no food, no water. They did have apple on which they munched, left from a dozen or so I had put in their pen. Plus, the water did not run out in their waterer. But, I knew none of this from my position in the house.

And I broke a thumbnail off to the quick as I staggered into a door!

Even with all the apparent failure scattered in my wake, I still managed to dehydrate many jars of fruit and vegetables. Since none of it was designated for long-term storage, it has been mostly eaten. If I do start dehydrating for long-term storage, I need to have used it to determine if it is prone to molding and how I like it.

I have choices: learn from the failures or keep making mistakes. I was too ill to get up to deal with food, plus I did not need to be contaminating food for storage. I must never have marathon dehydrating plans in order not to waste food. Also, I must recognize when food should go to the hens instead of holding out for a miracle recovery of my health. That is a big lesson to learn. But, who expects health problems?

Now, I know I cannot be the only person who has had failures, whether because of health, ambitious plans, or things beyond control.

Now, I cannot afford plum tomatoes or cherries. Finding financial equilibrium will be difficult!

I have had four hours sleep in the last 36 hours, so I am a little morose.
Your turn
Have you had failure, large or small, due to health problems or just bad judgment on your part or on the part of others? Was it as hard to come to terms with your failures as it was for me? Has downright procrastination been a part of the problem? Did you make plans so grandiose that your time, skill, or talents were not up to the challenge?

Original Non-stick Cookware

2012-02-01T20:30:00.004-06:00

scrambled eggs in 8" cast iron skillet

Some people say that cast iron is too hard to clean. That is one of the beauties of cast iron--it is easy to clean. Several good cast iron skillets and pots will last three or more generations. I cooked scrambled eggs in this skillet (above) 24 hours before I took this picture. As you can see in the picture below, little egg is left in the pan. Yes, I even scrambled with a spoon. So, there was no flat edge to scrape the pan.

Cast iron has been in use for 2000 years, so this is not a new-to-the-last-century innovation. It is a proven type of cookware.

clean skillet

I took the spoon and flicked out what egg was left. The morsels were not even stuck on. Then, I used a cloth to flick out the rest of the morsels. How much easier can that be?

After I saw the picture on the laptop screen, I went back to see what was in the pan the--red stuff. There is nothing evident. ???

Besides being NOT harmful like aluminum cookware and Teflon, cast iron adds iron to your intake of food. So, cast iron has a positive benefit to your health. Don't be fooled, the new and improved Teflon is still harmful.

If cast iron does not need a full seasoning, I can just put a bit of oil in the skillet, heat it and trust it will be okay until I have time to fully season it. This one is due.

If you are buying used, buy what you can. Taiwanese cast iron is light, but better than no cast iron and much better than Teflon. No matter the brand or where it is made, the cast iron will be better than Teflon or aluminum. If you are buying new, buy Lodge but not from Walmart. Lodge is one of the brands that are MADE IN AMERICA, right in Tennessee, just north of me. Old Lodge is better than new lodge.

You may find a piece of cast iron marked on the bottom with Griswold or Erie. Buy it unless it is cracked. Some cast iron pieces are not marked. I will buy any cast iron at the right price. It goes straight to an antique shop sometimes. Right now, my gas grill is full of skillets!

Campers and Preppers are probably already familiar with the Lodge brand and with the use of cast iron. No, this is not back-packing cookware.

My mother had her grandmother's ( b. ca 1850) cast iron skillet. No one knows if it was handed down to her. When our house burned to the ground when I was four, the skillet cracked. My mother still owned the skillet when she died.

Your turn

Do you use cast iron? If you don't, why not? If you do, how long have you been using it? Tell me your experiences, good or bad.

Dream Lover

2012-01-30T22:47:00.002-06:00

rerun of Fancy standing on the back of one of my swings

When exbf was here this last Tuesday, he said that one of the girls came and squatted and he petted her. I reminded him that hens present themselves to the food provider and protector in exchange for the food and protection. She was presenting herself to someone who would give her Big Chicken Love. He laughed.

Actually, if you shake the hen by roughly pushing down and back and forth, she thinks you did the deed and shakes herself, ruffling her feathers. He laughed again.

Sunday, I called and awoke him from a nap. He said that he dreamed about the girls last night. He either refers to them by name or collectively as "the girls."

In his dream he was sitting down and each of the girls came one at a time and squatted before him. He roughly patted each of them. Then, each hen relaxed, sort of settled down, sat a bit, and walked away, leaving an egg for him. In his dream, he was so amazed that each had come to him and laid an egg. He was amazed at his own dream.

I laughed lots. It was a funny dream.

Keywords that found my blog today:"pratical pasimony" [sic] and "save the twinkie." Now, tell me, when have I ever used Twinkie in this blog? hmmmm?

Your turn
Do you ever dream of your chickens? Dog? Cat? Llama?

Groupon Coupons for Health Care

2012-01-30T12:27:00.000-06:00

Would you use Groupon or Living Social for health care ? (video with sound) I would but have never seen one. Have you? Would you use a coupon for health care?

Small economies--heat and surveys

2012-01-29T18:40:00.000-06:00

small card and small surveys

I have been in a financial bind. I don't need to waste energy and my money trying to stay warm. Today, I needed milk and wanted to buy a paper for the coupons. I had no money. This little card had $6 on it. It bought my milk and the newspaper. While the first of the month won't see my finances in better shape, I will have temporary relief. Being ill will cost me for a long time.

Tuck it in

The other day, the temperature outdoors was 74F, and I was chilled, necessitating the heater use. After about a week of feeling puny AND cold, I had had enough of wasting money during warm weather. I was wearing a t-shirt, sweatshirt, pants, socks and shoes. None of this made sense. Finally, I analyzed the problem. My trunk was cold; specifically, above my waist was feeling breezes. Solution: I tucked my t-shirt into my pants. It's not a good look, but it was warm. Plus, I could turn off the heater!

I also figured out I was running a degree of temperature, so there was the reason I felt cold. It had taken a long time for all this to sink in. Yes, I was very ill.

Survey money

Some people are disdainful of getting $3 for 10 minutes work. That figures out to $18/hour. Yes, I have made more than that, holding down a full time job. That is behind me, so there is not much use in thinking about it. The survey is guaranteed because qualifying questions have been finished. When the money survey arrives, there is no frustration at being disqualified.

Pinecone Research is a good way to keep a few dollars on the card for just such an occasion. Today, I had $6 on the card and bought a gallon of milk and a Sunday paper. It works for me. Luckily, I am not wanting much to eat since this is it. Plus, there are things that appeal to me that are in my house, like Jello.

Even if you think $3 is too small for you to even bother, what do you get paid for surfing the Internet if you don't have anything else to do? I get at least 2 surveys each month, often more. But, at the minimum, I make $72/yr. My intentions are to save it for Christmas, but that rarely happens. Things happen. Maybe this year....

Your turn

Have you ever put on more clothing, tucked in your shirt, put on socks and shoes and saved heating energy and money? Did you even realize that tucking in a t-shirt will keep you warmer? Do you know people who wear shorts in the winter and go barefoot, using the heat source in the house instead of putting on clothing? Do you know people who use Pinecone to make a few dollars here and there?

He asked me to take my clothes off....

2012-01-29T02:35:00.002-06:00

...and I did.

No, no, no, not for Dr. Phil. But, I would have...lol.
Wednesday, the 26th, I realized I was freezing when it was 74 F outdoors. I kept a heater on even as I despaired of not being able to afford the heat. I had 102 F temperature. Not only that, but the not-so-economical diarrhea and vomiting were still plaguing me, just not as often.

At 7 pm Thursday night, I made a 50 mile drive, one way to an ER. Charlie agreed to drive me to the hospital when I arrived at his house, so was waiting for me. It was raining and I almost had a wreck as I pulled out of the gas station to leave town. It was a hairy drive in the dark, the rain, and in a feverish condition.

I finally made it to his house, 1.5 hours on the back roads to get there. He dropped me off and parked the car. He left me in the ER while he ran back and got my Schweppes Ginger Ale. I was called to triage before he returned.

The triage nurse was really nice, taking all my info. I had with me a Tupperware glass with two lids, a lid on a lid. It held ginger ale. When Charlie and I pulled out of his driveway, the lid popped off, sounding like a gunshot. "What WAS that?"

I explained, showed him, and then tried to mop the ginger ale from the inside of his car. He was not really concerned, but I hate to have blasted the interior with sugar drops. So, while with the triage nurse, the top blasted off again. Now, it is the middle of the night, downtown, in a hospital with some unsavory characters waiting with loved ones. Three policeman are in the ER. "OH , $%*T! What WAS that?" Sheepishly and apologetically I retrieve the lid and show her, apologizing. "$%*T! Excuse me, I am sorry, but that scared me!" Yeah, both of us and I knew what it was. Seriously, the pop could have been gunfire.

From triage, I was shown a room...aha...fast, lucky me. THEN, the male nurse asked me to remove my clothing above the waist and put on a hospital gown. SHOCK! I have not been to a doctor in four or five years who has wanted me to remove a stitch except the ob/gyn. I told the female nurse that my confidence was restored now. We both howled over that silliness to cover up my nervousness.

Another nurse came in said excitedly, "Am I too late? I need a urine sample." Almost too late, but I obliged her.

Immediately, the nurse put in an IV, the kind with two places for fluids or drawing blood. She offhandedly mentioned something about my being admitted. See my wrinkly dehydrated fingers? I got plenty of fluid that did not come right back up. They put something in the IV to control nausea. Thanks!

Then, miracle of miracles, Lino handed me the remote above, and explained it. The red button is a call button. The last few ER visits I made, I was left alone for hours at a time with no way of getting help or finding out if I had been abandoned, forgotten, or if the Rapture had occurred. Lino is a nice male nurse. He said he was born in the hospital. I kidded around, asking him if he like it there too much to leave, to move on. Lino was very agreeable. Lino is an Italian name and not short for anything. Pronounced- LEE no.

Then, she pointed out that the TV controls were on the front and the sound control on the side. I fairly shrieked and acted like I was not ill. Hallelujah! TV! That contraption on the wall made my stay more palatable. I watch Dr. Phil and Law & Order and the Bob Newhart Show. Fun times in the ER! I know I could watch this on my laptop. However, having the screen at a distance really helped my viewing pleasure.

In the same breath as all this, she told me the phone was on the wall and I could dial '9' and any local number. Please, someone tell me if you have a phone in each ER room.

Finally, someone said my friend wanted to come back. So, Charlie came and sat with me. Then, since we had been there since 9 pm, he said he was going home at midnight, to call him when I was ready to leave. I was not happy at being abandoned! But, the TV took my mind off the fact he left me alone.

A bit later, a nurse brought in two Sierra Mist cans and put 1.5 cans in a huge Styrofoam cup and put about a small container of something for the contrast the doctor ordered. Yes, the doctor was afraid I had cancer since I had uterine bleeding, a copious amount when I was throwing up and having uncontrolled diarrhea.

He said I could have all the time I needed to drink this concoction poured over ice. But, I had to let them know as soon as I finished it because they had to time the CT scan for when all the contrast stuff was in my system. I did sip and sometimes more than sipped and toddled off to pee often, unhooking the IV and taking it with me. I notified them when I finished to liquid, and they started timing the occurrence of the CT scan. I think all the contrast liquid pooled on the bottom. The last few sucks of the straw yielded me some nasty, bitter stuff.

There was a face, okay two faces, on the CT machine as I went in. They were gray. One turned green and the mouth was open. That meant I could breathe. The other was red and had a closed mouth and bulging cheeks--hold your breath. Then, right beneath those faces, about 6 inches from my face was a little window that had written underneath it a warning--Do not look at this window. Laser ray inside. So, I covered my eyes and hoped for the best. Granted, I had only looked at it once, but I had been put inside about 6 times with my eyes close. I am not blind, so I suppose all will be well!

I had to have a sonogram (I think, or was it ultrasound) of gall bladder and pancreas. The sonogram/ultrasound was painful because the woman pushed really hard. The last time I had a sonogram/ultrasond of my gall bladder, it did not hurt at all!

About 3 am or a little later, the doctor returned. She said that I had an infection, a uti. From the looks of the sonogram, CT scan, and blood tests, it appeared I did not have cancer. Uterus, gall bladder, and pancreas were fine. I asked if she tested for e Coli. She said there was no use. The antibiotic she was giving me for the urinary tract infection would take care of it.

For this visit I carried the records from visits with the other doctor that included allergies, medication and dosage, and blood tests that the doctor here in town refused to review unless I made a second, fully paid visit. He also refused to replace meds that I threw up and might do so if I came in to the office. Having all this information on hand made the visit less stressful for me.

Charlie picked me up at 3:30 am. I arrived here at 5 am. I had to sleep because I could not safely stay awake until the pharmacy opened at 9 am. I fed the hens and slept from 7:30 until 2:30 and got my two meds--antibiotic and nausea medication. I was able to let them out for about an hour Friday night.

I feel, rotten, horrible, want gravy and mashed potato. Coke tastes rotten. I don't have money to buy anything. Charlie lent me the money for gas. I gave him a check to deposit on the 1st. I may make some jello to drink. Or, just to eat. I am having a hard time getting enough fluids in me, so anything works. Yes, I am getting fluids in the form of tea. I really love water, but it is too hard to swallow. I think all the throwing up as has caused temporary damage.

So, that was my night in the ER--6.5 hours and entertained by TV. I was gone from home for 10 hours.

After Charlie retrieved me and we were driving to his house, I said I was surprised I was called back so soon to the triage since there were other people ahead of me, and I did not have to come back out and wait for two hours. He said he had asked when I was coming out to the waiting room. The nurse said I was not coming back at all because it sounded like I had a contagious disease that they did not want to spread to the 50 people in the waiting room. Imagine!

Oh, I have lost 16 lbs. I was trying to cut back in 2012, so maybe 2 or 3 lbs could be attributed to my efforts. Probably another 13 or 14 lbs has been lost in the last thirteen days. I feel bruised from my breast bone down.

Your turn
Does your ER have a TV in each room? A telephone? Have you been in an ER lately for yourself or someone else?

Free College Tuition

2012-01-27T19:24:00.000-06:00

Free tuition.
As anyone knows, especially parents, the tuition is very expensive. Take a look at this site to find how to send your child to college for free. In some cases, part of the room and board will be waived.

My friend wrote a novel

2012-01-25T21:40:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine, Fred Arceneaux, wrote a novel, Mirrored. I read his supernatural thriller straight through, one sitting, so you know I found it fascinating. You can buy this from Amazon or Barnes & Nobles for your Kindle, to download to your computer or in paperback.

I was able to read the first few chapters last summer and made a few edits to punctuation. Finally, I was able to read the whole book as published.

Mirrored is an easy read, filled with action on every page. Even though there are twists and turns set in the modern-day South, based on two-hundred years of family history, you won't get so bogged down in details that you lose the story.

If you like a good story about demon possession and oppression, this book is for you.

Go here to read a short synopsis. I have nothing to gain by sharing this new book with you.

Tiptoe through the Tulips and other Plants

2012-01-24T16:58:00.000-06:00

Forgotten!

I am still going to put these tulip bulbs one to a pot and see what happens. They have been in the warmest place in my house and are starting to sprout! My friend said I cannot put them several in a pot and expect them to make it to the next season. It seems that potting them more than one in a pot kills the blooming forever. But, but, but....I see them in magazines potted that way for spring. sigh....sigh. I may tuck a few in the large pot with the Hosta and see what I can kill...lol. Exbf has been working, so his nails are dirty.

More bad news--she just told me that they will not make it to another season, only this one since they were not put into the soil, so I should put them all in one pot and enjoy them....boo hoo. So, I buy tulips for the first time and am killing them!

I don't think I have 14 pots that are large enough...10 inches across, I am told. I need to wander out to my table, pots, and potting soil and see what I can salvage.

Big fat question for all the garden design magazines and television people and Martha Stewart: Why don't you inform people that bulbs squashed in a pot to create a lovely design will never make flowers again? Hmmm....answer me that.

Today, the temperature was 60 degrees F at 4:00 and not dropping. The balmy feel is enhanced by the chirping and singing of birds. Brilliant sunshine and a cloudless sky are not hurting my feelings at all. An April day peeping is out of January. I feel wonderful.

4-inch daffodils

riveting photos, right?

5-inch daffodils, still January

Daffodils are up about 4- and 6-inches. Actually, I noticed the 6-inch ones between Christmas and New Year's Day. That's very early, even for the deep South. Momentarily sitting in the yard enhanced my feeling of physical and mental well-being. Maybe this weather will persist and not give in to the thunderstorms that are predicted for tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed with me.

Today, the Episcopal Church had their monthly lunch. All the poinsettias were up for grabs. Mine that I got is still is in good shape and with plenty of red! Let's see how long it takes me to kill it. My friend sent pictures from Yemen showing 10 ft poinsettia "trees." At the lunch, I saw people from the market, people who are now going to help me figure out the best place to get rhubarb plants. Last year, no one in north Alabama knew where there was a stalk of rhubarb. This year, I also plan to advertise me want much earlier.

You noticed I never got my salad greens planted? Yes, things happened. And, things did not happen.

bird nest

I suppose this could not possibly be a new nest. (Exbf says it is old.) I could not look inside because it is too high for me to see. The camera held over the nest was the best I could do. You notice the bird first lined the nest with plastic. She was smart enough to put nice leaves and twigs next to the babies. Those baby birds are so buck nekkid that you would think the rough leaves and twigs would scratch their red skin. Maybe the mother bird lines the nest with her feathers.

Your turn
Do you have any tulip advice? I know it is very cold someplace. Surely it is. How is the weather at your place? If I find someone with rhubarb growing, can it be divided and still make this year?

Milk and cereal coupons

2012-01-23T21:09:00.001-06:00

$9.00-$1.65=$8.35

3 x$.55=$1.65

$8.35 for above

The store coupon was for 3 boxes of any Special K at $9 and get a gallon of milk free. I used 3 coupons valued at $0.55 each. However, I was charged $8.12. Don't ask because I don't know why.

I love Special K Red Berries, but at $5.49 it's just too expensive.

$9 for three Special K an milk is free.

I used a $1/3 Special K with the store coupon.

$9-$1 coupon=$8 for above

I was absolutely shocked when the same special was repeated the next week. The second week, I had one coupons for $1 off three boxes of Special K. The store ad and coupon was once again--Buy 3 boxes of Special K for $9 and get a gallon of milk free.

Yes, I used the same picture twice because I did the deal exactly the same each week. This was before I was ill.

Your turn

Did you get this deal where you live? Did you get it two weeks in a row? Are there any great deals in the works that I need to watch for?

Wasted Food and the Weather

2012-01-23T19:12:00.000-06:00

Yes, I was ill. The last two days I felt like slicing and dicing to dehydrate. But, before that when I was so ill, I wondered if preparing food to heat for that long and might have germs on it was such a good idea. Storing germs is not my idea of a prudent practice. My focus the last two days has been on laundry and dishes and getting my strength back, not food conservation.

Bananas and celery and blueberries would have to wait. I wasted 10 lbs of bananas, bought at $0.39/lb. Three pretty heads of celery mostly wilted because of the wait for me. Then, there were four quarts of fresh blueberries that Charlie gave me, all moldy. Really, I would have dumped the blueberries in a pot and cooked them down, but I had nothing clean in which to cook them. sigh....sigh. Two quarts remain for me.

Bananas would have lasted for a week even if they were bruised and going South fast. However, the temperatures at night have been in the 60s. Yes, January in the South was warm this year. The kitchen is the warmest room in the house. This all makes for very warm bananas this last week. Some developed mold, making them unsuitable for the hens. Plus, they are too far gone for me to handle without gagging, even for freezing them.

Just a few smoothies have been made from salvaged bananas and blueberries. I still crave gravy! No, I am not indulging, just feel like gravy would be good for me. What? You mean gravy is not infused with miracle drugs, minerals, and vitamins?

Just the weather for a minute
I love warm weather. I hate cold weather. However, a warm day in the winter fills Southerners with a nagging little dread--will we have a tornado? Yessiree Bob! Last night, we did. It was 68 degrees at 3 am this morning. We had a night of violent weather, tornado warnings, and tornadoes. It all hit south of me, and only one six-foot, one-inch limb fell from my huge trees! I did get the tremendous winds and rain. The hens and I made it!

So, being ill proved to be wasteful to me. It cannot be helped. Cooked food is out in the garbage can. Produce goes to the compost. Hens are eating lots of protein-filled chicken. I am trying to regain control over the kitchen and food.

Aaaack! I forgot about the dozen apples that did not like sitting around in a warm kitchen...mumble...mumble. It was one whole week, just lost.

Your turn
Does illness along with poor planning ever force you to throw out food?

Renewing Clothes Washing Supplies

2012-01-22T18:55:00.000-06:00

All this, plus Clorox

For obvious reasons, I had massive amounts of laundry this last weeks. I was out of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, except for enough to bake a bit. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda has never been on a shelf in this town that I have found. About twice a year I buy Fels-Naptha soap but have never made the recipe for homemade laundry soap. Of course, the 20 Mule Team Borax had just all been used. AND, I had not had Clorox in about two months.

That meant I had a bit of money and a huge need. Luckily, I remembered the store credit on a Walmart card. It saved my life this week.

Rarely do I use Clorox. My illness meant I thought some things needed Clorox. This will not go in the laundry. One bottle will last me all year or maybe three!

There is enough ALL liquid detergent for maybe another dozen loads of laundry since I use about a teaspoon at a time. I could not afford to buy more ALL, but will have enough. Maybe I will finally make my own detergent since I obviously have all the ingredients.

Part of the Baking Soda is in the kitchen for cooking. The rest resides in the bathroom for cleaning and in the kitchen for cleaning, and in the shelf in the laundry room.

Your turn

Do you use any of these products? If not, why? Is the Washing Soda harsh on elastic? What is your favorite recipe for dry detergent? I just don't want 5 gallons of cooked, liquid detergent! Does rubbing Fels-Naptha bar on fabric remove more stains than a regular bar of soap?

The Downside of Downsizing

2012-01-21T15:26:00.002-06:00

In a effort to be trendy, catch a compliment, or live with less clutter, many people are downsizing their possessions. Okay, some follow trends and need to do so. Anyone looking for kudos should desist. For those who are hoarders or have OCD, this may be a lifelong chore, a fight. If a person or family moves into smaller quarters, obviously, this is a necessity.

For the detractors who say I have too much "stuff," that I could live with less, I disagree on most counts. I just took a load of white clothes from the dryer. There were eight towels in the load with many washcloths. I took a load of white clothes from the washer and put another 8 wet towels into the dryer with more washcloths. I loaded dark clothes and put three dark towels, amongst other dark clothes to wash. That is 19 towels. There are no more clean ones on the shelf.

Before my illness described here and here and here, I needed to wash clothes. I had just taken a dozen pair of panties off the line the day before I became violently and suddenly ill. There were also plenty of clean washcloths. I have 8 horrid purple sweatshirts I bought too large and for $1 each last year, my winter indoor, outdoor, and sleeping wardrobe. LOL The hens don't care if I wear purple every day. These sweatshirts keep me warm indoors, especially when worn two at a time. And, it is luscious to warm a sweatshirt and t-shirt and put a fresh change on before bed. They never are worn beyond the yard. I hate purple! But, I also hate wearing my beloved pink and red sweatshirts indoors, cooking and cleaning, and ruining them unnecessarily. By the way, I made the red and pink sweatshirts 20 years ago, and kept them nice by not cooking and cleaning in them.

Okay, 8 sweatshirts is a little much. But, I bought 2 to cut an outfit for my g-daughter. When the shirts proved to pill beyond belief, I forgot about that good idea.

By some standards, I have too many of the items so far mentioned. I don't have a person living with me who can wash as I soil clothes with uncontrolled poop. There is no mother or sister to help. If I had fewer pairs of socks, I would have had to wear poopy socks or go barefoot. Believe me when I say that washing clothes was not in my capacity for two days.

Oh horrors! I like the last socks I bought so much that I bought another bag of them for later. It seems when I find something perfect, it is discontinued when I need it next year or in three years. I prepare, but am not a prepper. These are basic white socks with grey heel and toe, not the kind I wear when going out someplace.

When I started washing this afternoon, there were no clean towels or washcloths and few panties. Yes, I would have had to drag myself in to wash clothes today, no matter what. That would have meant soiling myself in another room and dripping it back to the bathroom. This was some serious shit!

If people are so concerned about hard times coming, I never understand why a few extra clothes are not a concern. I am by no means stocking up clothes. The $1 sweatshirts looked like too good a deal to pass up. My 5 pair of $3.00 fuzzy, colorful pajama pants were a deal and soooo warm. And, my house is soooo cold! So what if it takes me 10 years to wear out all this stuff?

Then, there are other considerations. The white towels with the pink stripes are over 20 years old, serged to keep from raveling further. The pink ones were bought new several years ago, along with their matching washcloths. The other odd pink towel was a quarter at a yard sale. The pear green towel was found in a park. The huge bath sheet that has "Jennifer" embroidered on it was left at the end of an estate sale, new, just soiled from the trash. Soon, all the oldest towels will be rags, cut to be my tp. Then, my supply of towels will be diminished.

White washcloths with pink stripes are already tp on the back of the commode. Many of the white washcloths were bought for a dime or quarter at a thrift store. The white washcloths with the one pink embroidered stripe are starting to age. Washcloths that don't get reinvented by placing them on the commode for tp often end up as cleaning rags.

My 40+ washcloths were all soiled today. All were used to clean my body the last two days. Some of them are threadbare but work for pee. None are new. Some are from thrift stores.

Back to the sweatshirts--thankfully, I had more than the two sweatshirts people often say they need. Mine had gotten poopy, so I could not continue wearing them. If it had just been grease or spilled chocolate milk, wearing a dirty sweatshirt would be okay.

I don't mean to reprimand or make an example of anyone who is getting rid of 20-year-old clothing that does not fit. That is not the point. Those things probably do need to go to a good home. A nice, planned, workable wardrobe is a good thing. A pared-down wardrobe is good. I have that myself. But, for the everyday items, I have multiple of the sweatshirts and pajama pants because I knew I would wear them strictly at home. Yes, it is a huge stack, but they can be stacked on a shelf, but in a plastic bin, or stored in a box. All I need to do is reach in and grab what I want, no choosing...lol...all are the same. I can keep them in a laundry bag or trash bag shoved under a bed!

In a bid for attention and kudos, a woman on a site got rid of all but one wash cloth and one towel.....ewww. Okay, maybe she had two. Think about the implications. If that is all a person has, that's fine and they can worry about keeping things clean. She did it to get praise.

Now, I don't drag home everything I find for free or cheap. But, this wash day/evening got me to thinking what I would do if I got rid of everything "extra" that I owned. The last three days would have been nastier nightmare than they were.

Seriously, I am not afraid the supply of towels, socks, or cheap sweatshirts will dry up. I don't fear doing without. There is no urgency to my buying of things on sale. I don't scavenge for used or free items for any other reason than saving them from landfill and saving money.

(There are no paper towels or any other paper products here.)

Each day, I dress in my home clothing (purple sweat shirt and pajama or knit pants) and change to go to store or drive out of the driveway. When I return, I change back into my home clothing. Some of my friends wear their new outfits all day at home, cleaning, cooking and eating in them. They buy clothing continually and don't spare the costs. That's not me.

Your turn
Do you see value in downsizing to the point you can only go three days without washing clothes? Do you see any value, like I, in having more than just enough? Do you wear worn clothing at home rather than soil or wear out clothing fit for wearing to work or to the store?

A turn for the better

2012-01-20T01:30:00.003-06:00

Thursday, around 3 pm, I ate 3 inches of a banana. When I suffered no ill effects, I was elated. Around 4 pm, I ate leftover cabbage. Not many ill effects!
When I posted last at 6:30, I felt miserable and was still suffering from the same conditions as yesterday, just less.

Around 8 pm, I became ravenous. Then, I started feeling my blood sugar crashing. I wanted food, real food, not saltines and Sprite like I had been taking in and evacuating all day.

KFC! Kentucky Fried Chicken, if anyone on earth does not know.

That sounded good. But, I only had $8 in bank and $2 in my purse. Yes, and a lot of month to go. I checked my account online. Amazingly, there appeared a deposit, a very small one for online work I had done. Yes, I reconsidered spending the money. I reconsidered subjecting my gastrointestinal tract to fried chicken. But, I wanted gravy. Gravy. By this time I am doing the g r a v y dance.

Amazingly, my head was clear. I could walk without staggering. I did not lurch about. Thoughts of gravy strengthened me. I suppose saltines and Sprite does a body good and makes it yearn for gravy.

You are going to die when you hear what I ordered. just die....breast (original), green beans, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, side of gravy, biscuit and free senior tea. I ate. I gobbled. I spilled stuff all over myself in my haste. I slowed down after the first frenzied minute of eating.

Never have I ordered this much at KFC. Exbf will be shocked, absolutely shocked. I could barely talk at 5:30 when I had spoken to him. I was so weak, and he was so concerned.

It has been over 3 hours and only one untoward "event." The phenergan has the throw up under control. I am a well-stuffed little pig.

Let me tell you about gravy, me, and throwing up. Throwing up is not something that happens very often in my life. Once, I was ill right after the birth of our first, and ex would not take me to doctor. He refused to allow my mother to take me. She came to take care of me and 5 day old baby. She cooked ex roast or chicken or something, but there was mashed potatoes and gravy. I had 106 temp. My normal is 97.2. After giving birth, I had an infection in my kidney. He said there was nothing wrong with me--"you just gave birth."

I begged my mother to feed me mashed potatoes and gray as I lay limp and feverish. She begged me not to eat it and refused me. I was too weak to walk without help and could not sit. She kept telling me I would throw it up. I cried like a baby, I was so hurt, and she relented. I ate a cupful of mashed potatoes and gravy. She was amazed and said I was just like Daddy, nothing ever upset my stomach.

Why the thoughts of gravy when I am ill appeals to me, I don't know. I was a little pig tonight, eating all that and then loading up on saltines and Sprite once more.

Now, milk is what I want--chocolate milk. But, that will wait until tomorrow.

This has been a once-in-a-lifetime event for me. Maybe it is all over. Hopefully, it will never happen again.

Thanks for all the kind thoughts. They made my spirit feel better, bouyed me up.

Maybe I will toddle out for chocolate milk right now.

Useless Degrees

2012-01-19T18:36:00.000-06:00

I heartily disagree with this list of useless degrees. While I don't have the energy to lay out my objections to these degrees being called useless, I am giving you credit for being thinkers who can unearth the truth. They should say you won't be in high demand or make a million bucks! But, useless? Hardly!

No, I am not better.

Your turn
Do you agree or disagree that these are useless degrees? Why do you agree? Why do you disagree?

Under the weather update

2012-01-19T12:40:00.002-06:00

Look in the comment section of the previous post. I feel horrid, started answering comments, and it's all there.

Under the weather

2012-01-18T13:08:00.000-06:00

If you are squeamish, STOP. Both ends going off here. Doctor said I should have be in hospital. Having soooo much fun. Hens have not seen me since Monday. That is how ill I am.

Sausage Balls and a Dilemma

2012-01-16T00:10:00.003-06:00

yes, they did look red

Although sausage balls are not very frugal, I wanted these at Christmas. The sausage was free; cheese was $2.58. Bisquick was expensive for the box, but not for the bit I used. The sausage had been in the freezer, and I bought the Bisquick last year. It will take me forever to use the Bisquick since I only use it for strawberry shortcakes and sausage balls.

I know that there are recipes to make substitutes for Bisquick. But, I don't know which recipe is best. The commercial Bisquick had hydrogenated fat, so I think I may not be able to make a healthier substitute. It would probably just be cheaper. Okay, that's something. A coupon makes it even cheaper. I also buy the smaller box.

Since I store this in the refrigerator or freezer, it stays fresh. There is no need to finish the box of Bisquick before it spoils or loses "rise" ability.

My dilemma is whether to make my own mix next time or to just use one box of this every 18 months. I rarely make sausage balls. This is the first time in about three years.

Note to self<----don't buy HOT sausage next time so that allergies won't flare up.

Here is the recipe for sausage balls.

Edit: Ingredients for Bisquick--flour, hydrogenated oil, leavening

Your turn

Do you make sausage balls? With Bisquick? With a mix you make yourself? Will you share the recipe you use and are happy with? I can just pick out a recipe, so I don't need any untried recipe.

My New Snack

2012-01-14T11:44:00.001-06:00

banana, pecan, semi-sweet chocolate chip

Several weeks ago, after I decided to lose weight, I made a few money-saving, thrifty, healthy changes to my snacks. One change was the occasional (maybe once a month) purchase of Fiber One bars. I love them. But, the ingredient list turned me off, especially the high fructose corn syrup. A new reduction in financial circumstances came right after I made this decision.

The pecans are fat and fresh, stored in the freezer by me last fall. I store them in a Ball canning jar with a lid and ring. I dehydrated the bananas this past December. The semi-sweet chips are Hershey.

Lest you think I am just gorging on these, let me assure you that I carefully count these out in a dish or plastic container for travel. The count--12 banana slices, 12 pecan halves, 12 chocolate chips.

The problem with snacks and the reason I liked to buy a bar was that I would overeat with bags of anything. At first, I just dumped this snack in the bowl. Now, I count. And, I only eat this once a day. If I am going to get healthy and still eat a treat, this is the way for me. This little ritual has been going on for about a month now.

Eating method: put a banana chip down, place a pecan on that, and then top with a chocolate chip. It's a great combination. It usually all falls apart, but I do it each time, sort of a game.

Your turn

Do you make a snack that does not contain hfcs? Don't those fat, fresh pecans look yummy? I had someone not from the South declare that pecans should be dried and crispy! Not so.

Tearing a family apart?

2012-01-12T23:44:00.001-06:00

Lend your support to these two guys. Sluggy has blogged about this so well, that I am going to be lazy and allow you to go read her blog and follow her links. This is m. who comments here. If you are not a supporter of LGBT rights, you may want to skip this.

Wet Hens

2012-01-11T19:04:00.001-06:00

No camera=no picture

Last night, I went to bed very early, about 11 pm. So, I awoke at just before 4 am and got up and sat, reading blogs. At 6 am, I decided to go back to bed. No luck sleeping. Then, I remembered a payment I had to make on the 10th or pay a penalty of $28 on $61. I jumped from the bed, jumped in clothes, ran a pick through my hair, wrote a check and left in a hurry.

As I opened the door, I heard the hens. They were right outside the door! I know I locked them up last night. There was no time to secure them or feed them. They started begging and following me to the front yard. Feeding never happens in the front yard; I throw pine cones to make them go back; I honk the horn to get them to go back. So, they lost interest in following me this morning once I dashed to the front yard.

On the way back a crack of thunder and flash of lightning immediately preceded the skies opening up. I wondered where the hens took refuge. They have a favorite bush for rainy times.

As I ran to the house, trying to dodge little streams in the yard, I did not see them. Dashing up the front porch, I finally did. All three were pressed against the door, waiting for me. As they plead their case, they finally allowed me to get to the door. Then, they stormed the doorway as I stepped up and inside the door I unlocked.

At times like these, I just want to go ahead and let them in. But, then I reconsider and think maybe I should put them in their night cage and let them stay dry and warm inside. I am getting soft in the head as I get older. No, they are still on the porch, talking through the door to me.

They will stay there and poop all over!!!! Newspaper will be put over the poop and DE until I can properly clean it. There is no use cleaning it one poop at a time al day long. Exbf will be here soon, so the paper needs to go down so he won't have to navigate the poopfield that my porch will become. sigh....sigh.

Chickens can be so dumb and infuriating...like, why can she not find the door on her pen that she goes in and out of every day? No, she goes round and round two sides, back and forth, desperately putting her head in the chain link as though this link might magically be larger than the last 20 places she tried.

It only takes them two days to learn a new home. It took them that long to come to the door to be put away in the cage after the raccoon attack in October 2010. For two days, I had to pry them out of their Rubbermaid boxes, stuff them, squawking, into the cage and carry all three in the cage up the stairs and into the house. After those two days, they came willingly and jumped in the cage.

They know where they sleep now--in the fortified pen. They just prefer the dryness and warmth of the house. Poor girls. Maybe someday I can make them a not-windy enclosure inside the fortified pen where they will not get damp from blowing rain and become chilled.

Chickens are so endearing. I love them--Thelma, Louise, and Fancy.

If I lived outdoors in a blue box, I would try my best to talk my way into a warm house. Wouldn't you? Well, this house is cold, but it is warm compared to a box outdoors.

Exbf arrived. As we sat here, I kept hearing a noise. I finally looked and they had left. On the porch was an uneaten apple from the bag of apples I scrounged for them. They helped themselves. Cute.

Dinner: roast chicken, potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers
This afternoon I put 8 leg-thigh quarters and a thigh into a turkey baking bag with celery, onion, salt and pepper to roast. In a stock pot four leg-thigh quarters and a thigh boiled away. Exbf ate one for dinner. I had just a bit of meat.

I cooked a head of cabbage with a bit of salt. Cabbage was $.39/lb. Yum, it was so good. When I got the chicken produce today, I was thrilled because I have been wanting potatoes. In the box: four onions, mostly good and about three pounds of potatoes. I salvaged cucumbers for him. He picked out three of the apples from yesterday's bought box of apples.

He took home a divided dinner plate, Tupperware, with leg-thigh quarter, cabbage, oven-cooked potatoes. He is thrilled. Besides that, he took a bag with 6 leg-thigh quarters and a thigh, enough for thirteen meals of meat.

The other 4 leg-thigh quarters are destined to become chicken and dumplings. For the next few nights, the temperature will be about 10 degrees below freezing, so chicken and dumplings will warm me nicely. The kitchen beckons me to come back and cook more.

I still have chicken breasts I cooked last Wednesday, so those will be frozen shortly. By the way, the ten-lb bag of chicken breasts said it held 26 servings. That's about what I figured when I cooked these.

The chickens will receive the ample pieces of fat, gristle, skin, and bones to eat. All the broth from the baking pan will be theirs, added to rice or pasta or cornmeal. They are going to be soooo happy!

There is no picture because I cannot find my camera.

Your turn
Would you like chickens coming to your door and pooping, begging to get in? Or, do yours stay in a pen. Surely you find joy in your chickens personalities? Are you meals getting cozy-like as the weather gets cooler?

Apple Butter or Apple Pie?

2012-01-10T19:09:00.000-06:00

36 apples for $2

Today, there were a only a dozen free apples at the market for the hens. I took them. Not the ones above. He mentioned the box was for apple butter and $2/box. Cheap! Frugal eating! I snapped them up. Now, I realize I have to do something with them...lol. I really like nice crispy dehydrated apples. An apple pie would be nice. I don't really want apple butter.

There are a few hours before I have to make this decision before the bruises develop into a more serious problem and I lost more of these.

My pie I make for myself is just pie filling--apples, sugar, cinnamon, and flour. None of this is ever measured. There will be no crust. I don't need the crust and no one will be judging my pie-making skills.

One thing I do for myself and no one else--I don't peel the apples. It gives me more fiber and pectin and maybe not too much pesticide. Also, instead of apples slices, I make chunks of each slice so the apple peel will not be in huge pieces.

Maybe a half dozen of these will be saved for eating. Exbf (still) will be glad to take them.

Getting these cheaply was thrilling. I figure there is probably $8 worth of apples, at least.

They are all crispy except for the bruises on the apples. Understand, these are fresh and edible, just mishandled. None are old and soft.

Your turn

Do you ever buy apples past their prime? What do you make with them? Have you ever made just the apple filling and eaten it with no crust?

Propane Explosion

2012-01-09T23:52:00.003-06:00

Fire! (look at the exploded top of the camper)

Kaboom!

There was a man in the camper.

Rear end

Closer view inside from the rear...this debris inside was on the pavement.

Yes, the whole thing exploded and scattered flaming debris.

I went to Walmart about 10:30 one night, and was trying to ask a customer service manager if anyone could get a gallon of white vinegar for me. There was none on the shelf. She said she had to get a key to unlock the propane because a customer wanted a tank of propane. I waited.

Finally, I wandered off and asked someone else. With vinegar bought and ready to leave, I stopped to talk to the greeter about his knee injury. Just about then a woman and child came in. She stopped to speak to the greeter. "Is it okay if we come in?" "Sure," he said as we both looked puzzled.

She explained that it appeared someone had set the garden center afire or tried to. This sounded exciting and rather dangerous. It was no exciting and dangerous in a good way, just sort of scary. She said a camper was on fire and one of the ambulances just went screaming off to the hospital. I went out to find both ambulances gone, two big fire trucks, a fire pickup and two fire dept cars. I ventured no closer than the middle of the parking lot.

I thought maybe the people who were buying propane had problems. Another day, I found out that was not the case. BF and I drove by and checked it out. I took pictures.

A woman there at the camper was picking up pieces of the camper and insulation. She said her son had bought the camper only a week before. It seems he found a leak in the gas line when the tank exploded and caught fire or just the other way around. At any rate she said he was lucky to be alive. His coat caught on fire and his hair and eyebrows were singed.

Propane is dangerous. Those little bottles for camp stoves always make me relax. Nope, they are not safe. I would never let a child within ten feet of propane. Of course, I have a huge propane tank on my BBQ grill, so I don't know. This experience makes me want to move it further than 2 feet from my house. When I use it, the grill is still only about four feet from the house.

I don't know if he was living in this or if he bought it for the family to travel. At any rate, check often for leaks. Better yet, let the people at the propane station check it. Or firemen will come and check it out. They did this for me once.

When I was the mother of two children and an infant, our grill exploded in a fireball as I stood before it...another story, another day.

Stay safe.

Your turn

Have you experienced any problems with propane? Do you heat with it? In what capacity do you use propane? Friends or relatives use it or had problems?

Uncle Sam Expects You . . .

2012-01-08T03:41:00.000-06:00

Small print:

"Even the smallest backyard has room for a flock large enough to supply a house with eggs. The cost of maintaining such a flock is small. Table and kitchen waste provide much of the feed for the hens. They require little attention--only a few minutes each day.

An interested child, old enough to take a little responsibility, can care for a few fowls as well as a grown person.

Every backyard in the United States should contribute its share to a bumper crop of poultry and eggs in 1918."

This another war effort to free food for troops. It is a patriotic act.

Today, there are HOA rules and city regulations and zoning ordinances. In earlier times there were not so many restrictions as to what a person could do in the backyard, especially regarding having chickens.

For me, raising hens for eggs is a means to get eggs from grass-fed hens, hens not brutalized in factories. I don't personally know anyone else who keeps hens. Vendors at the farmer's market sometimes do keep hens. But, the only personal friend who sells at the market does not.

Two hens per person is just about right. Since I put mine out of the house, the three of them don't lay enough for me. Of course, this is their third winter. They will be 3 yrs old in March.

Your turn

Do you live in a city and have friends in the city who keep hens? Do you keep hens?

Christmas Day 2011: Part 3

2012-01-05T01:15:00.000-06:00

How the day started:
Christmas Day 2011: Part 1

And, then it went like this:
Christmas Day 2011: Part 2

Now, for the end: Part 3

After I left the Christmas dinner, I went downtown to visit Jeff from the Food Not Bombs event to see his place at Occupy Birmingham.

For further information about this event:
occupybirmingham.org

There are signs for people to use who drop by

to support Occupy Birmingham.

Occupy Birmingham
Jeff is toward the back on right

A one-person room/house made of pallets and covered with blue tarps.

A double-occupancy, guy in the left side is asleep. Note the tarps.

We had to be quiet since he had to get up and go to work in the morning.

"Practice Economic Disobedience"
You can see the pallet and tarp construction.

Finnish flag and I forgot why it is here.

Food storage area
Jeff is putting away the ham, turkey, rolls, and green beans.

I think that may be the trash can on the right.

Jeff invites everyone to follow the movement in Birmingham at occupybirmingham.org. Now, I will probably be detained indefinitely as a terrorist since President Obama signed the bill into law today. Just great! Tell him Linda sent you to the site.

An information station is necessary anywhere you visit.

Jeff took this picture inside his pallet house to show the shelf he built to hold his cell phone, clock and radio.

Once again, inside Jeff's "home."

Christmas lights don't show up well with the flash.

More Christmas lights

self-explanatory

There is someone making these Occupy sleeping bags. They were given to the people who are at this Occupy, so I suppose this company supplies to other Occupy site. Does anyone know? The guy who owned this particular led me to his "home" and straightened it for me, telling me I should take a picture. I could never have recognized many of the things I took pictures of that night.

Solar panel for charging cell phones, plugging in computers, and supplying light. The Christmas lights are using solar energy.

They are camped out in front of a Regions Bank in downtown Birmingham, AL.

Bottom Left says, "This is an attempt to collect debt. Any information will be used for that purpose."

Christmas tree

Guest accommodations

Obviously, people visit from other towns.

Some of these guys have jobs. All have homes but choose to sleep on this site. They are not bums. The ones who don't have a steady job work when they can at various trades. I met Jeff about three years ago at the home where I ate Christmas dinner. When I went to the Food Not Bombs event at Southside (area of Birmingham), I invited him to the dinner. He chose to spend Christmas with the guys at Occupy Birmingham.

That was my Christmas Day. I did not make it to the burn unit at UAB hospital. Before Thanksgiving 2001 was the occasion for my writing HOARDING LITERALLY KILLED MY BEST FRIEND. I was there Christmas Day in 2001 and saw people who had left their homes with only the clothes on their backs and had driven 300 miles to be with loved ones who had received horrendous burns. Most years, I drop by with food (cake and candy) for the people sleeping in the lobby and waiting room. Actually, I only missed last year because I was in bed on Christmas Day. This is the only place I have seen a hospital allow sleeping in the lobby. The children know Santa might have left their toys at home. But, they cannot get home to see. Next year, I promise. It's a sad place for all.

Your turn

Have you been to an Occupy Site? Do you know anyone who is or has been a resident of an Occupy site?

Chair Caned

2012-01-03T17:44:00.000-06:00

My first! I did it all by myself! This is a cheap and fun activity, resulting in useful chairs and stools.

When the local community college offered a one-semester course in chair caning, I signed up. The problem was--I had no chair to cane. Everyone else did. So, I set off to find a reasonably priced straight-backed chair.

This chair was originally two identical chairs. The owner told me they were over a hundred-years-old when I bought them from him about 1988 for $2 each. Maybe? At any rate, I brought them home and cannibalized one chair to form one good, whole chair. This only required a lot of strength. Nothing had to be glued because the chair is constructed with notches holding the whole thing together. Once it is reassembled, the caning will hold it together.

Yes, it creaks a bit. All the ones I sat in at relatives' houses creaked a bit, too. These were so ubiquitous in my youth. Of course, I am old! I rarely see them anymore, except in antique shops.

The chair lived on my side porch for almost twenty years. Whenever I needed extra seating in the yard, it could be gotten easily. Eventually, I asked someone to put it in the basement. When I retrieved it last week, it was in horrible shape. Okay, someone else retrieved it at my request.

Lately, water can run in my basement, something that never happened until just a few years ago. Obviously, from the look of the legs, this chair was placed in the back windowless corner, the wet corner of the basement. Exbf confirmed that when I asked him where he found the chair.

Even though I was disgusted at the sight of the legs, I sat down to do something in the yard. As you can see below, the seat had rotted because of too much moisture.

This is the result of continual dampness and my putting my ample behind down on the seat. Now, I must evaluate the damage to the legs to determine if this is worth my time to re-cane. Maybe I will set the chair legs in buckets of borax water to make any rotting stop or prevent rot to the wood.

The wood must be thoroughly saturated and then thoroughly dried several times in order to make it rot and bug proof.

Back to caning. The cane is here, ready to go, bought several years ago for another project.

The other type caning is another post.

Your turn
Have you ever caned a chair? Do you have chairs that need re caning? Does anyone teach chair caning in your community? Have you ever used the community college as a resource for learning a practical skill?

Squirrel Tale: Evidence of a Killing Field

2012-01-02T20:44:00.001-06:00

This squirrel tail was on the bottom step at the side door. I am perplexed. Was it a cat or raccoon? Raccoons are out mostly at night; squirrels are not. Cats are out all hours of day and night; Squirrels are only out in the day.

If this were a raccoon that did the killing, it would have struck after daylight or at least as soon as squirrels are out and about. That is a great possibility, considering my past experience of losing a hen and then a squirrel that was in the live trap. (Only the head was left in the live trap.) However, I saw a cat trying to get one of my hens.

Last Wednesday, all three of the hens were sounding a predator alarm. I ran to the door and screamed at the cat that was trying to get Thelma where she stood against the door, calling out to me for all she was worth! I screamed in a loud, coarse, boomingest voice I could manage and the cat ran away. I am continually amazed that my hens are so smart. Thelma actually ran to the door to either get in or get me out to help. My throat hurt the rest of the day from the exertion of trying to really frighten the cat. I digress....

At first the squirrel tail was all I saw when I went out. Then, I noticed that skin from the behind was still attached. Then, I noticed shreds of skin. You can see the shreds to the right of the tail and above, too.
This strikes terror into my heart. I don't know if the hens' pen is really secure. Each morning I check to see if there is any evidence of a breach of security, evidence of tampering by a raccoon. Not losing hens is not evidence the cage works against raccoons. Losing a hen will provide evidence that the cage is not secure.

Your turn
Do you go through this kind of agony with any of your livestock? Well, maybe your pets are in continual danger. I don't know. Do you think this kind of damage was done by a raccoon or a cat? There is no evidence that I can find to tell me if there is more of the carcass? Help!

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T13:59:00.003-06:00

NONE!

Last year, I had a goal or two, not resolutions. Well, instead of losing some weight, I gained 10 lbs. I suppose I can attribute all the weight gain to further reduced activity. However, my eating habits had to be the reason I did not even lose a single pound for over a few days.

My outstanding and singular goal this year is to lose weight, so I don't develop diabetes or other conditions, exacerbate injuries with weight, and generally look lots better in my skin and clothing. Yes, looks counts for me, but not as much as my health.

Generally, I do want to improve my status with:
weight loss
growing more food
getting rid of extraneous things in my house
reducing clutter (different than above goal)
dehydrating/canning more
improving my social life

The last may need explaining--improving my social life. Mark and I played backgammon one night. I need the playing or board or card games. I also need to rid my life of negative people, downers who see "keeping hens" below them. Now, these people have nothing and eat prepared food, spending way too much money on food, money they do not have. They ridicule my education and professionalism and have started being bullies when I am out and in their presence in a church setting--the free dinner. One slimy guy wants to comfort a few of us women.

All the fine Christians make fun of me just because I don't go to church. Way to go, people. These are welfare cases. The other free dinner is filled with my friends from 35 years ago who are retired professionals. We see each other often in passing at the grocery store and cultural events. We have real conversations. Retired doctors, attorneys, school teachers come to the dinner to eat. Politicians come to politick. lol They all love my hen-keeping. Okay, maybe they are just too polite to ridicule me...lol.

It appears that being physically and mentally healthy and happy are my main goals in life. Well, that makes all the difference in performance in other goals I have defined on paper or in my head.

I hope this was not a downer post.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Your turn
Do you have resolutions or goals that you can share? Have any of your resolutions involved getting away from negative elements in your life? Is avoidance a goal? Is prioritizing your health through better eating habits on your list? I am looking forward to 60 comments on this post and questions. Will you help me reach my goal of sixty comments?

Do you really need this?

2011-12-31T15:14:00.002-06:00

I just read an ad that confounds me. Who needs this? Go look and come right back.

There are several solutions:
*Make a cloth cover with elastic top and bottom. It would be a cloth sleeve sort of like the plastic bag socks.
*Take a can with lid and cover it with paper, cloth, glued on or paint the can.
*Put the extra roll in a basket.
*Leave the roll exposed.

Who would ever suspect this roll cover would be where the extra roll of tp hides? I would not if I were in a strange bathroom.

What is the real problem if the roll resides in sight? Well, I can think of a couple of reasons.

~The toddler might dunk it in the commode. People keep knocking it off.

~The exposed roll of tp ruins your bathroom design.

~Maybe you have faint-hearted guests who could not bear the sight of a naked roll of tp. Do you really want these people in your home? I mean, how could they bear the sight of naked wooden limbs on furniture, legs exposed to the top of the leg. (Victorians had similar views.) Never tell these people the symbolism of the egg and dart design. It symbolizes male and female anatomy. It's all over furniture, picture frames and home trim. Look around your home.

That brings me to another point, "looks"--just how ugly are these tp covers? Neither of them would fit my bathroom decor. Why? Because they are ugly in my opinion...ugly for my home. My bath is not themed or really matchy-matchy, but these covers could not live there in harmony with my present possessions!

Of course, there is the price. Even if I like one of these, adored it, coveted it, I would not spend $3.99 for an item that I could easily make. Okay, even if I could not make something, the poor roll would have to sit, exposed to the world if there was no other place close by in which to conceal the tp.

Lastly, why produce another product where none is needed? The company is creating desire to fill a perceived need. "ooops, looks like I have a need that not only is unfulfilled, but a need I have and was not conscious of having. I better go fill this formerly, non-existent need."

If I really could not live without a similar item in my bathroom, I could quickly find something used, already manufactured to fill my need--old Tupperware container, tin with lid, canister from prunes or drink mix, any number of items from my trash, friend/relative's trash, thrift store, yard sale, all item free or less than $3.99. I don't have to describe the ornamentation of the outside--paint, decoupage, cloth, glue, sewing--all familiar to most of us.

The ad sort of negates the idea of putting the extra rolls behind closed doors. I check for tp before I start. That said, if I don't check and the roll is empty, I am pretty adept at finding the roll nearby. No, I don't want to walk around, dripping while I search!

End or rant. What would be wrong with a square container? Would the world end if the hidey place were not round?

I would share my tp hidey-hole, but there is no tp in my house. Really, I must acquire one for company. I am not sure what happened to that one roll! Okay, I just went and looked for my roll of company tp. Ha! It is hiding on the tp roller/holder on the wall...lol.

Your turn
Are you as outraged, amazed, dumbfounded as I am about this product? Have you seen anything equally outrageous lately? How do you hide tp?

Christmas Day 2011: Part 2

2011-12-31T04:03:00.003-06:00

The beginning: how the day started
Christmas Day 2011: Part 1

dessert table at M's and J's house

This table has my chocolate pound cake to right of center and R's chocolate pecan pie to left of center. The chocolate pond cake has confectioner's sugar on top. Usually, the ACLU attorney brings his chocolate truffles. And, the antique dealer brings fudge. I miss them and the folk who bring them...sigh. Usually, I make lemon curd for the chocolate pound cake. Usually, there are about a dozen desserts on this table. A lemon cream pie showed up after I took the picture. I forgot to ask where she acquired the art on the wall.

Mirrored wall with table for drinks of all sorts
But, there was only wine.
Water works for me.

Look to the far left and you can see the dessert table and art above it...all in the picture below. To the right are the pocket doors leading to the living room. Ooops, the kitchen stool and vacuum cleaner are still in the dining room. I took this picture before I had cleaned the drink table. Both the hosts have been ill recently. So, we all chipped in to clean just the last little bit. The flash in the window, above, is me, standing in front of the picture and taking the picture. It appears I sort of vanished behind the flash!

Above:
Dianne, professional singer: David, contractor: J, host, minister PhD, writer
M's and J's house is always a feast for the eyes as the art change often.

Rowdy

Rowdy is a Katrina "rescue dog." He was just a puppy when Katrina struck. Desi and Lucy are also "rescue dogs," but they must be confined because they would eat us all for Thanksgiving dinner or any other day they could get to us. Desi particularly hates me. He bit Rachel through the fence.

Everyone brought something. Menu: roast turkey, smoked turkey, two lamb roasts or something lamb cooked two different ways, smoked ham, baked ham, middle eastern green beans, another green beans, asparagus, dark rolls. Yes, it was meat and green heavy and no dressing, but it was all delicious.
I left M's house with two pieces of chocolate pecan pie, half my chocolate pound cake, green beans, turkey and ham...yummy.

This post took five or more hours over three days. Blogger posts the pictures anywhere it pleases if it even will load them. My "u" key is stuck, so I have to redo words all the time. So, who knew I use so many words with a "u"? My frustration with Blogger is at an all-time high this week. Just great! B also took some of the text away....(primal scream in Alabama). I refuse to type anymore.

My Christmas Day is not over yet. Stay tuned for Part 3 which will have pictures in whatever Blogger wants them.

Your turn

Because of unforeseen events was your Christmas scaled back this year?

Christmas Day 2011: Part 1

2011-12-29T19:05:00.002-06:00

Red bag holds cake; Nahim is dipping my mac and cheese.

Christmas Day can be divided into three distinct parts. All three were frugal. Food Not Bombs was my first stop. My friend, Jeff, runs the site. The food is free, beans--vegetarian, and warm. They did have mac and cheese. (Anyone recognize the red gift bag?)

Last summer, I gave a friend from Birmingham 100 pounds of dried beans to bring a rocker from Birmingham to me after he visited his father about 20 miles south of here and north of Birmingham. It turned out, I had counted his beans out, by bags and not by the bean, and then used part of his stash. So, I owed him. He did not think I was indebted.

He runs a Food not Bombs site. By the time I arrived the sparse crown had dispersed. It was extremely cold and rainy and Christmas Day. He did not expect many people.

Into the rescued bag I had put a chocolate pound cake and the three pieces of rescued candy. The guys were really happy and cut themselves a piece. I told Jeff where I got the bag. He was pleased. When I had emptied the bag, he asked me if I wanted the bag. I declined. When he told me it would be tossed, I reluctantly took the bag with me.

gift bag and candy on top of trash on Christmas Eve

The guys offered me beans. They looked cold an unappealing by this time. However, I did have some mac and cheese since I was starving.

Finally, Jeff said he was going to eat cake. All three appeared to enjoy it immensely. Oh, it was so cold and John had on sandals. I envied him because I had on socks and shoes, all bundled up, trying to fight off the sinus problems. My fever was down, but I felt crummy.

Your turn
Have you ever participated in or seen a Food Not Bombs event? How would beans suit you on Christmas Day? Stay tuned for Part 2.

Christmas Eve Safari

2011-12-26T14:11:00.000-06:00

The story starts late on Christmas Eve with picking through a trash can's contents for good, free items. Ever on the lookout for free goodies, even when I don't want to be vigilant, I found a minor goody. Alright, it's an affliction. On Christmas Eve as I pumped gas for a trip to Birmingham on Christmas Day, I saw a new, used gift bag right on top of the trash. "This cannot be dirty." Then, a surprise! (Actually, since it was right on top and I dug no further to find anything.)

As I tried to surreptitiously dumped the contents of a small, red, shiny, unwrinkled gift bag, I made a discovery. First, it was a noisy job and I had to keep shaking it to get the stuff out, so there was no subtlety in my actions. Then, the bag was full of candy and the candy box and other candy wrappers. I should have looked instead of quickly dumping. Each safari provides a new learning experience! Only three pieces of candy landed on top of the clean trash. The rest slid down where I could still see it but did not want to go. A bag and three pieces of candy were my bounty from my unlikely safari aka dumpster diving. (People were looking.)

My note to Kayla: "Chris did not like all that candy you gave him. Instead of sharing it, he threw it out at the gas station! I know who did this because the name tag you attached gave me information!"

gift bag, two peppermint candies, peppermint ring

I had a plan for the goodies that involved giving it all away after I put a gift into the bag. It was perfect for my purpose! Those specks on the bag in the picture are not really there.

That was my biggie activity for Christmas Eve, other than baking chocolate pound cakes and putting color on my hair and listening to Christmas music and basking in the pink glow of my pink tree. I have the gift of being able to entertain myself easily.

Your turn
Can you top this? LOL, hope so. Would you have gotten this from the top of the trash can, a trash can with trash obviously new. New trash? Great concept! On the off chance anyone is nutty as I, did you find anything on Christmas Eve, something bound for the landfill, something you rescued and brought home or used?

"Some Mall Santas"

2011-12-23T17:41:00.001-06:00

Okay, this is the title of a blog post that is hilarious. I am not sure if I have posted the link to the blog or the post. So, look for "Some Mall Santas," written on December 18th. Then, come back here and tell me if you found this hilarious. First, get something to wipe away the tears from your eyes. Okay, now go read. Okay, the first time I got it wrong. Now, it is the right post.

Parsimonious New Year's Snacks

2011-12-22T21:12:00.000-06:00

After Christmas snowflake-shaped Ritz crackers are marked down drastically. If I am taking something to an event after Christmas and before New Years that needs crackers, this snowflake box is the cracker I take. Snowflakes don't say "Christmas" to me. Even if these were Santa faces or reindeer, I would still consider them a holiday item.

This is not an attempt to sell Ritz; this is an attempt to help your budget if you are going to buy crackers anyway.

If you have a coupon, these Ritz crackers might be almost free.

Your turn

Have you ever found Ritz snowflake crackers on sale after Christmas? What means do you employ to save money on holiday treats?

My Pink Christmas

2011-12-22T02:30:00.000-06:00

I'm dreaming of a pink Christmas

Last year I found this tree for $5, reduced from $20. On a whim I bought it, thinking I might set it up in the bathtub for a Christmas party. This year, I could not afford a live tree or any other, so this is my tree. I have never had a pink tree, an artificial tree, or a small tree, so this is all new to me.

(When I am sitting down, the tree looks better, larger at the bottom. I had to stand to take this picture, and somehow that makes it look less tree-shaped. Weird)

Only the fact that it is pink makes me okay with this reduced celebration. There are no white ornaments to be had in town. Every box of ornaments possible for this tree just didn't quite suit me. Making ornaments seemed cheaper, anyway. I have too many perfect ornaments stored away for me to buy more.

At first, I thought curling ribbon adorning the tree would be perfect. I got out the curling ribbon from my gift wrap supplies and lost interest. Then, I bought tinsel, discarded that idea, and took it back for a refund. I have several boxes of new tinsel in my Christmas decorations that were bought for a dime. This new tinsel was a whopping $0.67, a sum I am loathe to pay now and never have. Lastly, I bought white doilies for their lacy look. Those went back to the store for a refund. I could not bear to spend the money. See where my parsimony is kicking in?

The topper was a white, angel Christmas refrigerator magnet that fell out. I only noticed that after the picture was posted. The make-do Christmas tree skirt does not show. The lace curtains in the picture window are a perfect backdrop. If the tree had been shorter or the curtains hung higher, the tree would be shown to its best advantage. The light cords and sockets are even pink!

Your turn
Have you ever had a pink tree or another unnaturally colored tree?

Santa and Mrs. Claus in Walmart

2011-12-21T21:39:00.001-06:00

Santa found a little girl who has been good all year

The picture was much better in profile when the little girl's face was lifted up to Santa in all innocence. THEN, Santa saw me taking a picture and told her to "look up." She did and the idea I saw and wanted to capture was ruined. He told her to "look up" each time, and she did. He must have been deaf because I told him what I wanted and each time he instructed her to "look up." Mrs. Claus was in the background. I took more pictures of Santa with a child and each time, he made the child look at me. That only served to have the child try to escape or look into space. "Look up" for a child means "up" not at me. sigh...sigh...sigh

I was surprised to see I had taken a picture at the Coca Cola display.

This couple said they had dressed up for a friend's child and decided to shop before going home. They must have spent hours because they talked to all the children I saw in my short time there.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Your turn

Have you seen Santa yet? Were you a good little boy or girl all year long?

Easy Last-Minute Gift

2011-12-21T16:30:00.000-06:00

Here is a 45-minute gift--a crocheted a Karlo beanie. Kayla K always has something interesting.

Since I am running a fever, I think I will just try to head this off. Remember, I was in bed ill with high fever from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day....no partying for me. This cannot become my new tradition!

Your turn
What last minute gifts are you making?

Cat Problems

2011-12-19T12:31:00.000-06:00

Your turn
Do you drive your cat to drink?

I won a book!

2011-12-18T22:39:00.000-06:00

I won a book from Frugal Down Under. Yes, that's right, I am getting a prize from an Australian blog.

I don't suppose anyone will care if I use this picture to show you what I won. Check out the blog through the link above. I have not had a new book in ages. I just love to win, even if I don't get a prize.

Your turn

What have you won lately? Have you heard of this author? I had not. What do you want to win?

Moola and Free Cooler

2011-12-18T02:00:00.000-06:00

As you may remember, I do a little research/survey once in a while. The pay is not a lot, not a king's ransom. But, there are a few perks. Yes, this can mostly be done slouched down in the chair so my back will not ache. Occasionally, besides the $3 for the survey, I am sent a product to try. If I am lucky, I get an extra surprise.

There is a Styrofoam box in this package

Inside the Styrofoam box...paper
Underneath the paper?

A product for me to try

I was paid $9 for my bit--$3 for first survey, $3 for trying the product, $3 for answering the second survey after trying the product. It's not a lot, but I can do this almost lying down. For payment I have a cc type card. I swipe it and spend the money accumulated. At first, I was going to save this during the year and have some Christmas money, but I managed to dribble it out when I get $12 to $15. I cannot stand to write a small check just because I don't have enough money in my pocket, so I use the card where they deposit money--the cc. No problem. Next year, I intend to do better. At the end of the next year I should have between $$75 and $100.

This is the third cooler I have received while trying products. The first box and cooler are somewhere. I leave the cooler in the box to protect the Styrofoam from damage and to provide extra insulation. The second cooler was approximately 12"x12"x10" high. It lives in the very clean trunk of exbf's car, always ready to carry food in the summer. A gallon of milk will fit in this latest cooler.

Little perks help. I am sure the cooler will be used, especially when it gets warmer.

I found a penny last Thursday. Before that on Tuesday, I found two pennies, one each in different locations. Ooops, this is not the little 'perk' I meant. People are really indiscriminately tossing that money around!

Your turn

Do you have something that earns you minuscule amounts of money? Do you let the benefits accumulate until you can get something? Or, do you spend it in dribs and drabs like I did this last bit, just so I won't have to write a small check?

Charlie's Dehydrated Eggplant (aubergine) Report

2011-12-16T00:10:00.004-06:00

photo from Wikipedia

Remember the post about yellow peppers? I had dehydrated 8 for Charlie. The 1 eggplant (aubergine) was omitted in the post. He asked me to dehydrate it and see what happened. Today, I gave him the glass jar of yellow peppers and a plastic bag with the dehydrated eggplant, about 10 slices.

My suggestion to Charlie: try two slices of the dehydrated eggplant with a bit of olive oil and garlic salt to eat in the place of a chip. He called and said that worked. He liked it. Just next time it needed to be peeled as the skin was bitter. Charlie liked the yellow peppers to eat as a crunchy snack besides using them in cooking.

My next suggestion to Charlie: cook the eggplant and see if taste and texture are acceptable/pleasing after rehydration. I had no idea that eggplant needed to be peeled. My mother never cooked one that I know of. Since I cannot stand eggplant, I had never had one in my kitchen until his came here.

UPDATE: Charlie likes the eggplant chips so well that he does not want to cook them.

The eggplant was dehydrated until crispy (24 hours for 1/4" or less slice). Now, you know. It makes a nice chip when a smear of olive oil and a dash of garlic are added before eating. (I told him not to put on too much olive oil, maybe just a smear with his finger.) He said the olive oil was sucked right into the dry eggplant. Maybe you should not try to store them with the oil. Maybe the garlic can be added before dehydrating. This is limited information on outcomes, so you can run with this and make it your own.

Charlie does not know it yet, but when he gives me produce to dehydrate, half the results are mine! LOL...or, he can get out his dehydrator and do it himself...he will readily agree to my deal.

It's fun to dehydrate vegetables that can be eaten for snacking.

Did you know that "eggplant" and "aubergine" are colors?

Your turn
Have you ever dehydrated eggplant for snacking or cooking later? Does it REhydrate to your satisfaction?

My First Broth

2011-12-15T00:57:00.000-06:00

Free, too!

People on their blogs talk of making broth. I never have and never have bought broth, except for chicken broth when I have sinusitis. It is good for my head, so I drink it and rather enjoy it. This should be different.

Today, I baked a hen. Exbf was given the thighs, legs, and wings. I kept the breast and carcass. His portion will make at least four meals for him. So will my breast portion. That makes 8 servings from one hen, a tiny hen at that! Actually, a possible 10 meals is more like it.

All the skin, bones and meat left on the carcass went into a pot, along with the juices from the baking. Next, celery, dehydrated carrots, dehydrated onions, red peppers, and a bit of pepper went into the pot. Right now, it's boiling away. Only the bit of celery was something I had to pay for. I should have gotten the rest of the meat from the carcass. I will strain the whole pot of broth, cool, remove grease on top and give grease to the chickens. I can salt my broth when I am ready to use it if it needs salt. Tomorrow, I will remove the skin and rest of meat. Hens will get the bones with bits of meat left.

I have someplace to go all day on Thursday, so they need food for the day left in the morning. It helps them not to get bored if they have something to pick at all day. This carcass and a head of discarded lettuce will be just the thing for them.

Now, I don't know what I will do with the broth. Maybe I will use it to cook brown rice. Maybe I have let this romantic, homey notion of making broth go to my head.

Your turn

All of you broth-makers, what do you do with this now? I have made chicken and dumplings, but don't want these seasonings in that dish. The one thing I know I won't do is to make a soup with beef in it with chicken broth....ewww.

Target Did What?

2011-12-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

If you blush at strong language, or are offended easily, or have religious compunctions about scatalogy, profanity, vulgarities, obscenities, or blush at those, you might not want to read this post from Busted Knuckles. Target, it seems, turned away children with money to spend, lots of money. Thankfully, I have been in Target twice. It seems like a place I do not want to spend money. Oh, read the comments because there is one comment about how the guy's adult son was treated.

Fear in the Time of Yellow Peppers

2011-12-14T02:36:00.000-06:00

A Meditation on Waste~~~~~

done--a little more than one cup when dehydrated

As I was cutting yellow peppers to dehydrate for Charlie, I was cognizant of what I threw out. Well, it goes to the hens--the inner part which consists mostly of seeds. I am proud that I waste nothing. The connective part that is thick in several places, like ribs inside, is given to the hens. They love pepper seeds and innards. (Yes. These sat here a little too long and got wrinkly. Remember, I was stressed about hen security and also fell down.)

As I washed, dried, halved and seeded the yellow peppers, I wondered why I consider the ribs inside as inedible or worthy of discarding. Who told me that? Where did I see it discarded? Are the seeds edible? I imagine so. Yes, seeds and connective ribs are edible but maybe a little bitter, I read. Are they okay cooked in food or raw? Probably? Actually, yes, they can be eaten raw or cooked.

As I pondered my actions, my mind wandered. I imagined someone had small children to feed and few chances to get much food or nutritious food. Would she give them a soup with seeds and inside ribs/connective tissues? I imagined she would. Every calorie and every bit of nutrition would be eked out of what I had in front of me. Imagine you are afraid. Imagine you have children to feed. Imagine that you have extreme food insecurity.

(The napkin with pink lilies is one I made. Surprisingly, it is the favorite napkin, chosen by men who attend picnics or parties here.)

Your turn

In any of these circumstances would you use the whole pepper except the green stem? Do you already eat the seeds and ribs inside yellow, green, or red peppers?

I'm That Woman

2011-12-12T12:55:00.002-06:00

Not that woman

Nope, I am not one of these women.

I am the woman who will yell at you in the parking lot so I can take your picture because I love your headgear. It was their idea to take it with this truck they passed as they went into the store. The guy was getting into the truck to leave, but he was very friendly. He explained that he purchased the truck over the internet. He said the guy showed him pictures from every angle except the tailgate of the truck.

He purchased it because the seller in Georgia was having hard times. This is a another sign of crisis. I don't know what kind of truck this is, whether it is a high-end vehicle or not. But, the painting on the back indicates the former owner was not very frugal. I can only surmise.

Do you recognize the skyline? That is Hotlanta--Atlanta, Georgia. I am about three hours from there and gain and lose an hour, going to Atlanta and coming home. By a combination of watches in different time zones, it takes me four hours to get there and two hours to get home. Hotlanta is a marketing campaign to promote Atlanta.

Back to the ladies. Don't those look like fascinators? Fascinators are popular with the British, from what I can tell of the fashion news. The were so happy looking, smiling, and laughing as they passed me, coming out of the store. When I asked for their picture, they were even more happy, thrilled to pose for me, suggesting the truck and then sort of looking to me for approval, " Oh, we should have our picture made in front of the truck we passed going into the store". When I said, "Let's do that," they were even more thrilled. Oh, see their jackets and blouses that match? ~~~all decked out for Christmas. It's not my style, but they were so joyful.

How many of you express sheer, unabashed joy this time of the year? All I have to do the gain attention and appear festive is wear one of my two red coats, don one of my two red sweaters, wear one of my two pair of red gloves, or wear my red scarf and people comment how festive I look. No, I don't wear red gloves with the red coat. I wear black gloves. Okay, right before Christmas, I do wear red gloves with either of the red coats. And, they do match. I paid 25 or 50 cents for the RED scarf at a yard sale. One pair of RED gloves was free. The other was on sale. I made one of the RED coats. The other is 15 yrs old. Oh, I am never looking for attention. People just looove my coat. Before Thanksgiving, no one ever comments.

These two ladies expressed a secular joy. But, I would bet that come Sunday morning, they are obediently in church, celebrating religious concepts with the same joy. Yes, the two can co-exist.

Okay, this stream-of-consciousness that I am floating in has me thinking about the Christmas corsages that were popular in the late 50s and early 60s. They were for coats, much like Christmas pins are worn today. I had a pink one and wore it for several years. Some girls got a new one every year, but I could not afford to discard the old one. Besides, I like the pink one. I never saw another pink one. Most were the colors of nature. No, my holly was pink!

Let's wade to shore.

I was conservative about waste even as a child. Of course, the Christmas corsage was a teen thing, emulating adults.

Your turn
Did you ever wear a Christmas corsage on your coat? Did your mother? Do you still have it? Remnants of mine are tree ornaments now.

200 Christmas Trees in one Home

2011-12-11T20:13:00.002-06:00

200 Christmas trees fill this home. A friend said her mother loved Christmas so much that everything except some of the furniture was stripped from all but the bedrooms. Every picture, book, some lamps, art objects were stored for a month. Her mother's house looked like a Christmas shop. While her house did not look like this one and was not as fine, I imagine it might have been filled to the brim like this one.

I have a friend who takes all the pictures from his walls and wraps them to look like gifts and replaces them. His house is not this filled and is tiny, but he adds to the decorations each year. I only wonder how his girlfriend who moved in several years ago feels about all this.

I would love to have lots of trees. When I could, I was a decorating fiend. I never had lots, just more than my friends. Every room had something or several somethings that were Christmasy. My children were so thrilled each year. It was for them that I decorated and the child in me. I love the abundance of Christmas themed items, not that I come close to this lady.

Okay, it would take a pickup truck to get it all out of here. A reindeer ($1 at a yard sale)and an outdoor Christmas tree (on sale) reside in the basement.

This year, Christmas decorations will be at a minimum. That post is coming soon.

Your turn
Do you like excess when it comes to decorating for Christmas? Or, are you a minimalist? Or, a Scrooge?

So, I had to lick it.

2011-12-10T15:41:00.000-06:00

I had to lick my phone, my RED phone

My policy is "waste not; want not."....just so you know where this is coming from. Why throw away what you buy.?

Christmas without Hershey's Kisses would be sad. I always get three kisses when I have a little chocolate break--a red kiss, a silver kiss, and a green kiss. This is not a matter of ocd, just aesthetics. It all works out, usually! This day, I popped a kiss into my mouth. Then, as I left the kitchen, I wanted both hands free. So, I ate ate another one and put the green one in my pocket for a second.

An hour later, I decided to take my cell phone from my pocket and encountered a yucky feeling. This is what I saw. I was horrified on two counts. I wasted chocolate, and my phone could be ruined. So, not wanting to waste a kiss, I licked my phone. It was so cold in here that the chocolate had hardened again! It was not coming off. I was not willing to sit around like a cat and just lick it clean. Besides, the phone tasted funny. I never knew that before now.

As I got up to go clean the phone, I felt something else. The key was even gooey-er and had the green foil paper stuck tight. The green foil still has some chocolaty goodness inside it. I am not licking foil. I know better. I tried to lick the key, but key metal is not good in the mouth. I put the whole chocolate mess down to record for posterity, right on the notebook, wasting two sheets of chocolaty paper and getting chocolate on my RED camera. Can you see the chocolate is on the key clip? Yes, there is some on the lanyard, something I did not see until now. Bummer!

Finally, I turned my pocket inside out. Not a speck of chocolate was on/in my pocket. I had not decided if I was going to lick my pocket or not. When I pulled the phone out, I must have grabbed the almost-liquid kiss and crushed it with my fingers.

Why is my car key on the phone? Because I kept locking my key in the car. If I were talking on my cell as I drove up to the gas pump and got out to buy gas, the phone in one hand and a bill in the other assured me all was well. No, the key needed to go with me. I have gotten rides home with strangers, friends I called, and done everything not to call the locksmith AGAIN.

I buy keys by the gross...jk. Losing keys is an ongoing problem around here. The locksmith and I became close friends. But, I am lovable, so I forgive me. There are three car keys and three house keys on me at all times. They all live in my purse because I am afraid to put one under the car in the magnetic holder. Yes, I have locked all three in the house or in the car. sigh...sigh...sigh. This is not an old age thing. I have done this fairly regularly for decades.

There are house keys hidden all over the yard. Since I have a new door knob, I don't worry about anyone finding them anymore. Someday, someone with a metal detector will have fun discovering keys.

Don't waste chocolate!

Your turn
Do you ever forget you put chocolate in your pocket? Have a mess? Leave chocolate somewhere and forget it and make a mess? Okay, anyone else lick chocolate off whatever it's smeared on? Fingers don't count. Okaaay, if someone else licks it off your fingers, that counts. But, we don't waste our chocolate, do we?

"Merry Christmas Tree"

2011-12-10T00:15:00.001-06:00

When my son was two, his greeting at Christmas was "Merry Christmas Tree." We kept trying to get him to just say, "Merry Christmas." You know how that worked out. Finally, we just let it go, much to the delight of friends and complete and total strangers who were wished a "Merry Christmas Tree."

Explanations don't last the year at this age. So, next Christmas Season, he asked about Christmas. I explained celebrating baby Jesus birthday. From shortly after Thanksgiving until New Year's Day, we had to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus at each meal of the day. It was trying, to say the least. How could a parent say, "No" to this sweet-faced child who finally said "Merry Christmas."

Your turn
Share some Christmas cuteness of your small child. Make me smile.

Sasquatch Clothed; Chicken Defense; Men at Work; Murderous Thoughts

2011-12-09T01:01:00.002-06:00

Charlie (L) Mark (R)

I took this picture from inside, through the dirty kitchen window. As you may remember, my hens have been coming into the house in a small cage every night since October 18, 2010. When I have surgery, I cannot use the left arm after the torn rotator cuff is repaired. I hear it is horrendous.

I took pictures early in the process, but cannot figure out what happened to them. So, in the picture above, we are about four hours into the process, a process Charlie said would take two hours. AND, he has put Mark to work, something that was not supposed to happen.

Remember Jamming with Sasquatch? This is the same Charlie.

Blogger will not load pictures now, so here is the end. Pictures come later. I hope. (Okay, got it working somewhat.)

Charlie made the frame at home, disassembled it, and brought it here. It is two 5'x10' sections, a lid of sorts for the hens. He reassembled it in my yard. Then, half-inch hardware cloth, galvanized after welding (GAW). They are using a crummy pair of J-clip pliers to attach the strips on hardware cloth. I wrote this as they worked.

Oh, this picture is the only one that loaded and stuck. What weird thing have I done to get this picture.

Charlie and Mark both left. Now, I am expecting three days of rain. The cage is not secure. The tarp will not protect them or their nest boxes from rain. I had to buy more supplies--wire and things, using more money than people have given me. I am just depressed and stressed because surgery is set for Thursday. Maybe I should cancel.

Okay, blogger will allow me to post pictures. Luckily, they are all at the bottom this time instead of the top. So, I am going with this.

Charlie explaining

one finished--5'x10'

Two of the pieces above cover the pen. It is made of electrical conduit, corners made of pvc pipe, and 1/2 inch hardware cloth covering it. I don't think it is attached securely enough, but they voted me down.......muttering, " but I know I am right."

and, it got dark

okay, late evening, pictures definitely not in order!

Charlie said he did not need light, "have plenty of light," until it went pitch black. I brought out a lamp and strung the extension cord from the outdoor electrical outlet, gave Charlie my headlamp, and they were off again. Mark actually had to say, "I cannot see." before Charlie called for light. Mark is attaching strips of 2 ft hardware cloth to other strips of the same.

There is more. Blogger will only allow me to add one picture, close the blog, open blog, add another picture. Otherwise, the blogger picture thing just keeps spinning and not loading if another picture is present. One time, somehow I wiped all the pictures from the post...sigh.

Surgery did not happen because the lift chair is $999.00.

Your turn
Do you think this will work? Can raccoons rip J-clips from the hardware cloth. Can you see that it took longer than the two hours? Can you see why I had murderous thoughts? Okay, Charlie and his sister will read this. I was really upset.

It's Free

2011-12-08T03:36:00.000-06:00

How do like the size of this button? Now, you can sign up for Swagbucks through the Swidget at the right. I absolutely love Swag bucks! I have gotten a camera and an itunes card for my grandson with Swagbucks I have earned this last year. I wish I could make the swidget smaller!

All the way to the right is a "sign up" button. You may have to scroll over to the right.

Searching is the only thing I have done to earn Swagbucks. There are other ways and codes to find. Maybe I will figure it out and do more one of these days. And, no one is paying me to praise Swagbucks.

Your turn
Do you get free merchandise through swagbucks? What did you get? How do I make the swidget smaller?

And, I Fell Down

2011-12-07T20:22:00.001-06:00

It's not as bad as it sounds since it has been almost twelve hours since I fell. Having done too much yesterday, I decided that a pain med was in order last night. Actually, for a week or so, I have been trying to get something. The pharmacist has refused to fill two prescriptions called in by the doctor. I'm allergic to them. Okay, I hallucinate on codeine. Living alone is not the best scenario for hallucinating. Right?

Yesterday, after helping Mark get the tarpaulin on the pen and just sitting on a hard chair outdoors, I was in pain. So, I decided to take out the bottle of 60 diclofenac (75 mg) and give it a whirl. It made me so sick in March that I refused to take it. At about 6 pm yesterday, I took one.

This morning I slept through 30 minutes of the alarm. I awoke to exbf pecking on my bedroom window. I jumped up, sort of, hurried and was going to open the door. I started staggering just because that is what I have done all my life in the morning. My husband was fascinated about the way I weaved through the house, seemingly unable to walk a straight line or get through a door without running into a door facing. That's just me.

Of course, I had this pain pill still with/in me, so there was no correcting my course, and I started getting dizzy. I hit a piece of furniture, knocked it over, and screamed and moaned as I fell on top of it. Exbf was shaking the doorknob, asking me if I were okay as I cried. Finally, I disintangled myself and got the last two feet to the door, bawling as I went.

All day, I had trouble focusing my eyes, focusing my thoughts, trouble walking straight, just plain trouble. Exbf had to spot for me when I got into the tub to shower off with the hand shower attached to the tub faucet. I told him just to let me fall and call 911, but he stayed close and vigilant. I made it. I lived. The bathroom was soaked since this is a claw foot tub and not a shower enclosure and has no curtain. I hate showers anyway. No soak in the tub for me has been a trial. He has held onto me all day, helping me up and down the steps to go outdoors.

It is no problem to function and have no pain. I just cannot do anything! Nothing! That is my plan. I am officially a slug.

Dinner
Today, I did get a turkey in the oven. Okay, exbf put it in the oven after I had it all ready. I tried rehydrating sweet potato medallions I dried that came from the Thanksgiving Box. We had potatoes and cabbage that was left from Saturday. He does not like gravy, so I will make that later. Same with cranberry sauce. I had a box of dressing from the Thanksgiving Box and made that. I was not up to making dressing. Besides, my time just ran out. He took home lots of all I cooked/reheated. Actually, I gave him potatoes and cabbage that had not been reheated.

Hens
All three were alive this morning. I sent exbf out to check on them as soon as he determined I was not seriously hurt. Tonight, they gathered on the fake-grass doormat. He had to try to lure them to their pen with honey dew pulp and seeds. Fancy and Thelma refused to go past the near corner of the house. He finally got them out there by shaking oats in a cup. They can hears oats shaking from the front yard...lol.

I promise

No more pain pills. Finally, at about 8 pm tonight, the effects have almost worn off. That is 24 hours! according to the bottle, I could have had another this morning. No thanks!

I am not a person who takes meds for pain. So, this foray into pain is not something I relish. No, I won't be falling down again. It was the sudden awakening from sound sleep and the fact I am like a drunk in the morning AND the pain pill that made me veer off, crash into furniture, and fall. No scolding.

Your turn
Do you have bad experiences with pain meds? Have you ever fallen from the action of one pill? Do you walk around in the morning in a fog?

I Miss My Hens

2011-12-07T01:02:00.002-06:00

Tonight was the first night in their almost-secure pen. As I sat here talking on the phone to a friend, I sobbed to her that I missed their sitting five feet from me in their little cage, that I was lonely. I shed a few tears. I had no idea this would be so difficult!

Later, I will post pictures of the raccoon proofing. Even with a few generous donations, I am still suffering from what I had to spend out of pocket and what I owe Charlie.

Mark came Monday and Tuesday to finish what he and Charlie did not finish on Saturday. sigh...but the hog wired laid on the ground and slipped under the sides of the pen have not yet been tied to the pen's bottom rail. Mark will return on Thursday to finish the job. I certainly hope raccoons do not breach the bottom. I have landscaping pins to hold the four-foot wire down so I won't trip on it and so the lawnmower will not suck it up or get tangled in it.

I was getting so tired of chicken gas or poop late at night, filling the air...lol. I am not missing that. Sometimes, one of the hens squawked in her sleep, a dream I guess. Hens snore! You did not know that? LOL I could barely get in the back door with them in the cage, behind the door. I struggled. They hated music I played, especially the them to Little House on the Prairie. They hear me get up and called to me to take them out. The cage was so heavy I felt I hurt myself, shoulder, knee, and back, anew each morning and night. But, I miss them. Maybe someday I will have a house with a chicken room attached so they will be close but I won't feel like I am living with livestock.

This afternoon, about 4:15, I found all three hens sitting on the green, fake-grass doormat in front of the side door, the door I carry them through each morning and night. I loaded them into their house cage, put the cage in my wagon, and took them to the fortified pen. Mark put the cageful of hens into the wagon for me. They jumped right into the pen when we put the wagon in front of the pen door and opened the cage. They just hung out as I twisted wire to keep the raccoons from flipping up the bar.

As we walked away, all three ran to the door, fussing to get out and come with us. Fancy was the most vocal. It made me sad. I had pretty hens who wanted/needed to come with me. They were very vocal, bukking to me. As we stood at the side door, all the way on the other side of the house from them, I could hear them sort of wailing, not a usual chicken noise at all, just begging for me to come back. As I tuned and watched them at the door, I thought they looked dejected. It broke my heart. What did they think?

Surgery for Thursday has been postponed because I cannot afford the lift chair I need to help me get up with only one arm and walking where I need to go after surgery, mainly, the bathroom. No, I cannot afford a used chair. Right now, I am just wanting a Christmas tree and cannot afford one. I think I need hen ornaments.

Maybe my Fancy, Thelma, and Louise will be alive tomorrow.

If not, I trap raccoons!

Your turn
These are my pets. Do any of you have hens that you are missing for any reason? I am not talking about missing your layers. I am talking about missing sweet little hens. Do you have hens you are attached to that you would miss?

Me? Cut my own Christmas tree?

2011-12-06T08:01:00.002-06:00

I cut this tree about 1983

It is funny that I do not remember the details about cutting the tree above. But, it says so on the back of the photo, so it must be true...lol. I was only about 37 when I performed this feat and was in much better shape. This will require a little delving into the memory to see where I stored this event.

I used a machine that belonged to my friend-- NeatWorks to copy the photo. Or, maybe it is NeatDesk. Yes, it is NeatDesk, but the link will take you there. I will have to see if the quality of the original photo is comparable to what I received from the machine. The tree was covered with tinsel, per my habit, and had ornaments that don't show up. The machine cut off the bottom of the tree and the tree skirt. Hmmm...okay, still okay.

The ceiling in this room where I sit (and where the tree was) is only 7' tall as opposed to 10' ceilings elsewhere in the house. It is an addition that is not my doing. You can see the star touches the ceiling. The mystery mark on the door is part of what happened (can't remember) that caused me to need a whole new door, facing, and part of the floor repaired. A leak that was here before we bought the house finally manifested itself. See, I can remember things if I try...lol.

Cutting the tree was quite a thrill....see, I am a big girl. I remember now, I was given a saw and told to cut a tree and bring it up to my car. I paid first.

Edit: The brown mark by the door is foam from a old playpen pad that I used to stop a draft. It worked but was not pretty. I did replace the door and all that was damaged. It was so nice to get rid of the unsightly and drafty door!

Your turn

Have you ever cut a Christmas tree all by yourself, with no help? Does your family have a tradition of cutting a tree each year? From your land? From a tree farm?

Dumpster Dive: Free Poinsettias

2011-12-04T17:08:00.000-06:00

seven or eight plants on a glass tray

This picture was taken several years ago when I was an active dumpster diver. I found a whole dumpster of small poinsettia plants. I put seven or eight on a glass tray and put them on this cute table, within sight. These made me very happy. I could not have had a poinsettia if I had not found these.

Since I had about six more, I shared with friends who were glad to get them.

While on a foray into a huge dumpster that is higher than my head and has no doors, I found yard plants galore. I had to climb the side of the dumpster as best I could and just reach in and pull plants our by their tops. First, I climbed and strained hard to see inside, then I knew in which directions to grab. Ah, for the good old days again. ??? three years ago.

Your turn

Have you ever found poinsettias in the dumpster at a grocery or at a nursery? Any plants?

DIY Casket: Cottage Industry?

2011-11-30T21:21:00.003-06:00

Pine Casket-$1,095

Is that a ridiculous price? Out of your range? Mine too. I chose the cheapest one I could see to post for you. Some were $3,000. I am sure there are other more expensive ones that were on other sites or other pages of this site.

After reading about a long worm bin and the resemblance to a coffin, I started thinking. Actually, the rectangular worm bin resembles a casket. That led me to thinking about my own death. LOL No, not morbid thoughts, just parsimonious thoughts: I could build my own casket. It does not have to be as fancy as the one above. And, it does not have to have the curved top. I would prefer a flat top. There is no law concerning the plain or fancy aspect of your coffin or the materials.

I am not suggesting you make caskets at home and sell them at craft shows. Only one casket is all you need to make.

Of course, cremation, under the right set of circumstances would work. So, considering that option, let's just continue on the casket-building idea!

Seriously, how much do caskets cost? See the one at the head of this post? I only know that the cost is too much. Often, children are guilted into buying something nicer. Caskets are bought at a time when emotions, guilt and sorrow, are high. People want to do what is right. So.....

Why not build your own casket and save the children or persons in charge of your funeral undue agonizing about what to spend? Okay, so maybe you have paid for all this ahead of time and the children only have to attend the viewing and funeral. Well, this post is not for you.

I know what you are thinking: I don't know how. What will I do with that huge box in the meantime? Isn't that rather morbid? I don't want to look at it. The children and grandchildren will freak out.

You can always take a class at a junior college where all you have to do is order the boards through the college or bring your own. They supply everything else. Choose the wood you prefer. You can get oak plywood with the grain already there. You can stain it to look like oak. Paint the casket.

There are pieces of fancy wood cutouts that can be glued in place before the stain or painting. I see these at craft stores and hardware stores. I am quite sure they are for architectural and furniture use, not caskets.

You need handles? Sure. Order them online. I got 11 Swagbucks for searching for "where to order casket handles." Your choice of prices will help you decide what to buy. I think even properly applied rope handles would be appropriate for some caskets.

You need to make a lining? That information is online. Shirring is not necessary for the fancy inside. You can choose your own materials. If you want to be buried in your jeans, a denim casket lining would be perfect. My grandmother was buried in a nightgown, so a flannel lining to the casket would have been more appropriate than satin and cheaper. Your imagination and familiarity with what you want will lead you to paths of your own. Use Swagbucks search to find out how to line the casket. I did. It's easy.

In the meantime you can use the casket for holding your fabric; use it for a bench, just anything you want. The batting may get mashed so it won't be as soft and pillowy on the inside. That can be avoided by not gluing down the cardboard with batting for the bottom. Stand it against the inside of the casket. Let the relatives do it.

Maybe you should put this casket in the will or someone will go pay thousands of dollars for a casket, ignoring verbal wishes.

Like I said, cremation is a good idea, less costly, and more green. But, caskets are all I am considering right now in this post.

I earned Swagbucks each time I searched a term. So, should I let you go make your Swagbucks or give you the sites? Okay, this is one of many sites that tells how to make a casket. There are many other sites.

Do you want an old-fashioned coffin, large at the shoulders and narrow at the feet? You can make one by searching on the internet.

Having a funeral at a church cuts down on the cost further. Have the viewing there, too. I don't know if it is legal in all states to have a funeral at home. Probably.

I won't go further and suggest a family member wash and dress the body, forgoing the embalming. But, all things are possible.

Inspiration for this post is My Big Fat Worm Bin at Root Simple. Kelly and Erik may be shocked how at how far my mind wandered.

Your turn
How nutty is this? Would you make your own casket if you could? I would. I will when I get another table saw and have better use of my left arm. Would your family approve? Would it make them nervous?

Weight loss challenge--I must win and other buk buk stuff

2011-11-29T17:35:00.000-06:00

A car wash is on the line, folks. Last night, Mark and I weighed on my scales. I weighed 10 lbs more than I thought. So, can we make this 120 pounds I need to lose? I would be happy with 100 lbs.

Mark suggested that we start with a smaller goal when I told him I wanted to lose the total amount, but start with a small goal. I wanted 25 pounds as the first goal. He suggested 10 pounds. So, 10 pounds is our first goal. Eating cheaply and well won't be a problem, although I am starting the first day with chicken and dumplings. I will counter that with loads of fiber.

We sat and thought a bit and finally figured what the other had to do for the winner. I asked for a car wash, which he readily agreed to do if I lost 10 pounds first. I cannot do all the bending, twisting and stooping that requires. He wants to hear music on my Victrola, really a Vitanola (knock off brand). But it is close to 100 years old and in excellent condition, so brands don't count much. Of course, I will allow him to hear music even if he loses. I just did not tell him that.

The reason I weighed 10 pounds more is that the last time I weighed a few weeks ago, I was naked and weighed first thing in the morning before I ate. I cannot weigh naked in front of him. Hypoglycemia won't allow me to do without food for very long.

Another yard sale find

Another glass lid that cost 50 cents

The lid is from a huge yard sale in October during Oktoberfest. I think it is from a crock pot/slow cooker because the edge of the lid is flat with no little protrusion/ridge around the part that touches a pot of skillet. Hopefully, it will not slide off an iron skillet. Remember the glass lid with the wooden knob?

At some point, I will get rid of lids that don't fit well if I amass too many. Since I am going to sell some of the skillets, I may add a lid that fits in order to get more for the skillet or make it more
appealing.

Chicken musings

"What is this about o holy night? It is frigid and damp."

"Fall on your knees? She is always talking about our not bending our knees. She thinks we can fall on our knees?"

"Tell me again--why is she playing music when we need to sleep?"

"Who's rudolph?"

My new camera
On December 1, I expect it to arrive. Until then, no new pics, no pics of life as it is now.

Your turn
Do you ever use glass lids on your iron skillets? Do you use iron skillets? Have you ever faced weight gain after an injury?

Favorite Christmas Songs

2011-11-28T16:53:00.001-06:00

First of all, I make no distinction on my song list or in my mind what is the "real" meaning of Christmas. So, I won't entertain you with my thoughts. This is just a list of my favorite singles. If you only like songs/carols that are praise to a deity, feel free to post those. I will not chide you for your beliefs or choices, nor should anyone extoll the deity to whom these are directed or chide anyone else for personal choices or beliefs. This is not a post about respective ideologies! Respect that, please. This is just for fun, okay? I trust you.

On Thanksgiving Day I tuned in to 96.5 FM, Magic 96.5 Birmingham, knowing it would be all Christmas music from now on! So, Christmas songs are on my mind continually, as I sit here, typing and listening on my laptop.

This is by no means an exhaustive list or in any particular order. Aren't you glad it is not my whole list? I deleted some for brevity's sake.

Oh, Holy Night
Little Drummer Boy
Here Comes Santa Claus Gene Autry (video)
Silent Night
Happy Christmas (War is Over) Lennon version
Winter Wonderland
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
Santa, Baby
Baby, It's Cold Outside (Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton)
Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson) (Air Supply)
Silver Bells
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (I just cannot help it, but, surprisingly, I love the kookiness and red-neck words! especially the medicine)
Same Auld Lang Syne (Dan Fogelberg)
Scarlet Ribbons
The Christmas Song
I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton)
Winter Wonderland
Up on the Housetop
Frosty, the Snowman
Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano)
Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I have found many people who say they have never heard of Scarlet Ribbons, a Christmas favorite of mine that obviously fallen out of disfavor as a Christmas song. No one seems to know the Dan Fogelberg song, either. Listen to what is said in the background of "War is Over." Oh, the links may have just the lyrics, but to the left there may be a button the hear the song. If not, you can google it if you really desire to hear it. You won't be disappointed, I hope.

Your turn
Are you as thrilled with Christmas songs as I am? Do they nauseate you...lol? Does anyone listen to Christmas music exclusively for a month like I do? What are your favorite songs for Christmas? Merry Christmas!

Don't forget the read the first post today about Wendy's blog.

Got-to-read blog--2 posts today

2011-11-28T16:39:00.001-06:00

I just admire Wendy so much. She lives in northern Ontario, hates cold/snow/ice. She manages to feed her family from garden and meat she raises, kills, and dresses, then processes. While I will probably never have the opportunity and hopefully not the need to get into raising beef, scooping up road-kill bear, I am still amazed at the processes. (Oh, the bear was still warm, I think, anyway it was just killed.

If you don't follow or read Little House in the Big Wood, try it at least once. You might be hooked as I am. The whole month of November has been about killing Steaks, their beef stock, aptly named. She always warns you when graphic pictures will be ahead. But, if you have ever seen the innards of an animal, you will be okay. Sometimes, I read it while I eat.

This woman deserves a gillion followers, and a gillion people need to at least see what she does. Most people can work rings around me. But, it is what she does that amazes me. Her father is a butcher, so she grew up with this and he can advise her. She is passing all this along to her four boys. She and her husband make a good team, as he is handy around the house and on the barn...lol. Although, one day, I think she was ON the barn.

Another post to follow this one in a few minutes. My door is wide open in 36 degree F weather. It is raining and I think the hens decided to quit pooping on the door mat and settle down in their cage! Finally!

Free Printer+advice

2011-11-27T17:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, you guessed it. I love FREE! My current printer, an HP, was given to me. That is another story of my frugality and my friend's waste. Finally, the print heads wore out, I think. Actually, I could not get down far enough for long enough to clean them. I suspect from its behavior that the print heads would have to be replaced. It will still fax and copy and send to my computer if I plug it into my computer. I need to print!

Office Max had Kodak Hero 4-in-1 on sale for $99 on Black Friday and the Saturday afterwards. I had $63 in store credit from returning the cartridges that did not work. A $10 coupon further lowered the price:
$99-$73= $26+ tax~$36. My cartridge recycling credits for more than that have not kicked in. A friend lent me the money I lacked and he will use my credits in January when they become available. So, my need was for ~$36, still covered by recycled cartridge credit that will be available in January. That makes a free 4-in-1 for me! (Yes, I had spent money on cartridges 6 weeks ago, but since I did not have the receipt, it was store credit only.)

I have never had a wireless printer. So, this will be interesting. I cannot get it into the house, so I am at the mercy of waiting for the next person who comes by. Maybe Mark will come tomorrow. Charlie won't because he is going to put the chicken defense in place and will not work in the rain, naturally. Exbf will be here on Wednesday. sigh....sigh....

HP printers have served me well over the years. I bought my first in 1993 for grad school, black ink only. Then, when it played out in 2000, I bought another, color. In 2005 my friend who worked for an attorney called me and said she knew I could fix printers and computers and did I want the office 4-in-1 that quit after a year. I said sure and grabbed current beau and his truck. He was sooooo annoyed at me. He was annoyed he had to carry it to his truck. He was annoyed he had to carry it in the house.

Once it was inside, I plugged it up, turned it on and slapped a colored ad on the bed and printed---a color copy. I called her and asked her exactly what was wrong with the printer. "Well, when I turn it on, nothing happens, absolutely nothing, no lights come on. (Attorney) could not get it to work, either."

When I informed her ten minutes after we picked it up that it worked perfectly so far and had power, and lights came on, she was flabbergasted, wanting to know what I did to make it work. "Plugged connection into printer and the power cord into an outlet." She gasped and told me NOT to ever tell the attorney.

When I questioned her about books or paper ever falling behind the printer, she recalled that a bunch of papers, a whole stack fell off the back. Yup, the plug was knocked out of the machine, just as I expected. The machine was only a year old. Lucky me. This is the same friend for whom I "worked on" her computer to bring it back to life. Can you guess what was the problem and how I fixed her computer? Exactly. I plugged in all cords into the back of the computer. I still don't know which connection was loose.

Oh, annoyed beau? He was soooo grateful for it when he decided to attend school. Yes, I reminded him of his extreme annoyance when I got the printer and insisted he carry it. He laughed at himself and told me he was angrier than he showed because he thought I was dragging home junk.

Yesterday, At Office Max I could have bought an HP for the same price. I have no intention of printing photos, but I just made a decision after I hurt too much from walking about the store. The front has nice white, easy-to-see buttons! HP did not. I hope I don't regret not purchasing another HP.

Fate of current 4-in1? A friend needs a fax machine to fax resumes. So, this will be his.

Advice? Make sure things are plugged into an outlet before you declare them broken.

Your turn
Have you ever replaced a printer or another item because it was not plugged in properly? Did anyone get a great printer deal in the Black Friday sales? Has anyone used a Kodak printer?

Black Friday: Can you say free?

2011-11-26T16:22:00.008-06:00

My free red camera is on the way. It is a Kodak M23 Easy Share. I like low prices; I like sale prices; I love free. I am so parsimonious! Okay, I like inexpensive and good quality and great photo results. My photos online may not be as good as some, but I am superbly happy, like a pig in slop. Yeah, and it's red, too. See.....

Yes, I am really low tech when it comes to cameras. It pays to be happy with low-tech because it is cheap and Kodak seems to be good quality, unlike some cheaper off brands. My last Kodak Easyshare was priced $189, on sale for something like $70. I purchased it for $22 with the MaxPerks rewards I had built from turning in print cartridges at Office Max.

I sincerely hope this Kodak is as good as the last two. I seem to need a new one every 2 years! The first one was eating new batteries. I got one picture off a fresh set of batteries. The last one has a lens problem. It extends and retracts, making beeping noises. Ah well.

The new RED camera I will receive on December 1st was on sale for $69.99 at Office Max and also at Amazon. I don't have money or Max Perks Rewards, so I chose to use my Amazon cards. Altogether, I had earned $80 for just searching, $5 Amazon cards at a time. Since I have not really gotten into any other method of earning Swagbucks, I had very few.

Office Max had only five Kodak M23 cameras for Black Friday, so I doubted I would get one. There is no way on earth that I would have gotten up in time to be close to the front of the line at 5 AM when they opened. Maybe later today, I will drop by and see. (Friday night, none where sold.) I could not have used SwagBucks at Office Max and would have had to use my MaxPerks gotten for recycling.

My newish Kodak SD card is 8GB. I paid the price for a 4GB because it was priced wrong. YAY me! Charlie said, "No way!" when I told him what I paid. He thought I was wrong, mistaken. Me? He lauded my finding one at the wrong price. Anyway, I won't be needing a new card ( no $$$) at the rate I take pictures.

Okay, my other $5 Swagbucks just disappeared???

The Swagbucks were saved for a Katadyn camping water filtering contraption, but that will have to wait. I mean--why have sanitary water in a water emergency when you have a red camera?

Your turn
Did you get anything on sale and free with swagbucks?

I had to buy eggs!

2011-11-25T22:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, I with the faithful hens who laid eggs for over two years had to buy eggs! I kept eating them and feeding them to my hens. It all boiled down to one egg on Wednesday night. So, at the 11th hour, literally, I went out to buy eggs.

The hens did not fail me. It is not their fault. I don't get up early to let them out to take advantage of early sun. They don't have water in their cage those few hours. Plus, last night at 4 PM, they were headed to their cage beside the door. Also, they have not been fed enough protein the last few weeks. They have laid faithfully for two years and their prompt, daily, egg-laying days are most likely over. But, I expect they are capable of laying more eggs each day if I can get conditions right for them.

When their hen defense is complete (hopefully, next Monday), they will become more reliable layers once again. When they cease to lay, they will be pets. I will limp by this winter on what they lay. Next year, I will give a broody hen eggs to incubate. It seems they all try to be broody, sitting all day on eggs if I allow them. Hopefully, I will never have to have baby chicks in the house again. But, I will if I must. Actually, I kept them in here too long.

Compare the sizes: my hens laid the brown egg

This brown egg is one of the smaller eggs my hens lay. It belongs to Fancy. The egg on the right, the white egg came from the carton of Large Eggs.The white egg is a commercial large egg. I always wondered how my eggs compared to store eggs in size. Look at the same eggs in the picture below.

Hopefully, when the hen security is set, they will get more than 7 or 8 hours of daylight. I suppose I am lucky to get any eggs at all.

Your turn
Do you have hens who are laying? Have you had a chance to compare your eggs with store-bought eggs? If you are planning on getting hens, see what you have in store? I think that is a drastic difference, don't you?

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T08:23:00.002-06:00

Virginia and Bob

I was talking to a friend I have known for 20 years. When he asked what I was doing and where I was going for Thanksgiving, I told him I would be here, by myself. A few minutes after we hung up, he called me back, saying his girlfriend, riding in the car with him said I should come to his sister's house.

Since I did not make the chocolate pound cake yesterday, I got up this morning and made three. One for Bob and Virginia, one for the dessert table today, and the other for me.

adorable baby--concentrating on elimination

Blogger decides where on the post to put pictures lately.

Add caption

Hostess gift

From my stash of gifts, I decided to give the hostess a set of cards. Since they are blank inside, these can be used for many occasions. The cards and envelopes, 10 each, cost me about 10 cents. The ribbon is leftover from something else, satin cloth ribbon, not paper ribbon. The gift did not get wrapped since I was in a hurry and could not locate proper wrap in my stash at a glance. I was tired before I left...lol. Hmm, the borrowed camera puts dates as it pleases, apparently! The picture was taken as the cards rested inside the basket where my pound cake was lying as I carried it to my destination.

The plan was for me to meet Bob and V at Arby's and they would lead me elsewhere in Birmingham or just pick me up and take me, returning me to my car later. I thought Bob said "quarter to eleven." No, it was "quarter after eleven." I arrived at "twenty to eleven" so I would not keep them waiting.

In the meantime, I had to go to the bathroom. Arby's was not open, so I had to walk next door to McDonald's, which was open. After I got back to the car, hunger struck. I scrounged around for money. Nope. I had wayyy less than $1. So, I started searching my purse to ward of hypoglycemia and all the confusion that follows.

Finally, I found a jar of half-eaten peanut butter, brought in the car on another occasion for exactly the same reason--hypoglycemia. My plastic bag only contained forks. It was impossible to get a forkful of pb, so I sat with my feet out the door, eating pb until they arrived. Okay, I contaminated that jar, and might not want to eat from it again after I put lots of germs in and it sat in the sun, incubating them.

Another baby that never made a sound until all was over. Have you ever seen such a monstrous walker? The high chair in grandma' house was huge with a footprint to match a small car! Obviously, I have not been around the newfangled baby equipment. I never saw Brianna playing with the gadgets and toys. She is eating some sort of cereal or baby kibble, as you can see.

Philip

This man was the highlight of the day, well, except for turkey. I overheard a snippet of conversation and joined in. He is an English teacher who was discussing his month-long trip to England as a grad student and the low price of rail fare. As it turns out, his favorite Romantic poet and mine is the same--Wordsworth. We quoted snippets of poems and discussed the Lake District and Tintern Abbey "Intimations of Immortality," "The World is Too Much With Us," and other relevant-to-Wordsworth material. No, we did not bore everyone since they just ignored us...lol. Neither of us remember anything completely, but we were nonetheless enthusiastic. Neither of us was a poseur who tried to top anything discussed and who had perfectly memorized poems and facts for the amusement of others, spewing them continuously.

For the last twenty years I have spent wonderful Thanksgivings at the home of a friend. Conversation was always rife with politics. Political activists and attorney abounded at my friend's home on most occasions! This day was different and pleasant. Between babies and Wordsworth and varied conversation along with an abundance of food, I left feeling filled in many ways.

I did not get a picture of the table, spread with delicious dishes. Everything was gone by the time I thought of taking pictures...lol....and I was eating with gusto. There was a dessert table, jam-packed with goodies. The picture below was taken as I sat since my back does not like to be bent for a proper picture.

My chocolate pound cake is behind the little bowl in the center of the dessert table. Wow, with the pictures placed willy-nilly, this post is all over the place and I am in no mood to make it more coherent or to tighten it up.

OOPS! I have been reminded that I did take a picture of the food on the table and my hostess. I have no evidence on my camera. Something happened to the most important photos of the day. Oh well.

THE END

Your turn

Did you spend Thanksgiving in the midst of friends or family? Did you overeat as I did? Did you travel far? Do you have any unusual stories to tell?

Stabbing Cranberries

2011-11-22T21:17:00.000-06:00

It's not as serious as my stab, but it is with the same knife. Even though I have read/watched how to dehydrate cranberries, I am not going to blanch them so they will pop. That seems to sacrifice too much of the juice. Oh, no, I am going to stand at the sink, sopping from popped cranberries instead of carrying my knife to the ottoman and sit to do this job. When I stand, I shake/tremble from the pain, so I have to sit ever so often. Below, is how many cranberries I can pop at one standing.

Also, the knife that stabbed me in the chest

Rather than heat the cranberries to popping open stage, I took a knife and stabbed them. I would have cut them slightly, but the skins were too tough and I was mashing cranberries.

Once I put them in the dehydrator, I drank the juice that had drained through the colander. Straight lemon juice has met its match for sourness. But, it was only 1/3 of a cup, so I drank it down, thinking how good it was for me.

If you ever decide to dehydrate cranberries and don't want to heat them in water until they pop, I would suggest you slit or stab each one while it is frozen or semi-frozen. I lost juice and being mushy made the cranberries difficult to cut open. That is why I stabbed.

Why cut them open? I think it is called "case hardened." If not, let me know the correct term. All it means is that the outside dried faster than the inside can and moisture is locked inside. You don't want this to happen to your cranberries or anything else. That is what happened to the slices of sweet potato.

How many I had to go to finish

ready for dehydrator

two leg/thigh quarters cooking away on the stove

Whether this will be chicken and dumplings or not is still up in the air. If I feel like making dumplings tonight, it will be chicken and dumplings. I don't like thighs, but this is what I had, so I may just give all this to exbf who is coming to help me tomorrow. He will not want the broth, so that will be just more broth for me for Thanksgiving. We will see. But, I am so hungry for dumplings.

The kitchen smells good and is warm with cranberries in the dehydrator and chicken boiling away. Maybe I will make cornbread for dressing. I think not.

front-frozen for exbf, scraps for hens,

back--quart of broth, bit of meat for me

Some day, I will try canning broth. But, I would need more than one quart, maybe four pints?

It's done. My day is mostly over. One last thing--I will mix all the dry ingredients for a chocolate pound cake, my contribution to a Thanksgiving Dinner that starts at noon! UGH! I am accustomed to my friends who say, "We eat at five; come at four to visit." Then, we eat at six. Okay, I can do this. I know I can! And, I will cook my turkey next week.

If I get out all the pans for the three pound cakes, have the wax paper cut, and all wet ingredients ready, this will not be hard tomorrow night. I hope I have enough eggs. I think there are only four and the ingredients call for five. So, I may use dehydrated egg whites for the missing egg. I bought it awhile ago for the one egg unless the girls lay another before tomorrow night.

Your turn

Have you ever dehydrated cranberries? Did you heat the berries to pop them? Or, did you just puncture them? Raise your hand if you like chicken and dumplings? Do you use the fat on top of the broth in the chicken/dumplings? I hate to remove all of it. What do you do with it if you take it off the broth? Personally, I consider it part of the broth.

All Dried Out

2011-11-21T23:07:00.003-06:00

sweet potato, green beans, carrots, corn=8 lbs

The best part of dehydrating frozen vegetables is that the blanching is done by someone else. Blanching is not difficult, but it just more energy that I don't have. Seven of nine shelves are full. One shelf with onions is not showing, and I don't know why.

The other shelf is for some of the two heads of celery I bought for $.88/each. I was pooped and did not get to it today.

There are still cranberries to dehydrate. I want to see if they are good without added sugar. Craisins are great, but have added sugar. If I cannot snack on my dried cranberries, maybe I can add them to dressing, just like Stove Top Stuffing does. I love that boxed dressing! However, I do make my own dressing from scratch at Thanksgiving.

Here are the results. Each two-pound bag of these vegetables was at least a half gallon.
The sweet potato medallions were too thick, so I sliced then in half. Two-pounds of frozen corn= two dehydrated cups. Two-pounds of frozen green beans=a dehydrated pint. Two pounds of frozen carrots=1 dehydrated cup.

The sweet potato medallions never did dry, so those will be cooked soon, but stored in the refrigerator.

Okay, this was 1/3 of an onion that I put in there. It is stored in a 2-ounce pimiento jar. I imagine I will use this within the next week.

A snack; better than chips
Of course, as usual, I had to try everything. The sweet potatoes will take your permanent teeth out. I have another method of dehydrating next time. The corn is too crunchy and tiny. The carrots will break strong teeth. These are of jawbreaker hardness. Aaaaah, the green beans...sigh. They are a scrumptious crunchy snack, healthful and delicious with no seasonings. I suppose seasonings would improve these for people who need seasoning.

You have to understand:
I have never met a green bean I did not like.
These little babies were very crispy.
Yum! And nutritious.

High-end groceries sell clam shells of dehydrated vegetables, slice very thin with seasonings, oil, and preservatives added. Even after dehydrating, seasoning can be added to these vegetables. The clamshells of dehydrated vegetables sell for an exorbitant price. Home-prepared vegetable snacks are cheaper and don't contain preservatives.

Your turn
Have you ever dehydrated frozen food? Do you think you would like dehydrated vegetables for a snack? How do you prepare dehydrated vegetable snacks?

500th Post--yesterday

2011-11-21T21:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, and I have a little tiny callus on the tip of my right index finger to prove I am really working at this. It is so unattractive. I was going to remark about the occasion yesterday, but I forgot. I suppose the 500th post will be memorable.

July 13, 2011, was the first I posted even though I had been working on the blog for over a month--June until July 13. I am loving this experience.

I love all my followers and readers.

Nicking my areola

2011-11-20T21:19:00.000-06:00

Sorry, no pictures!

Who knew that eating fresh food, preparing it at frugally at home, even in the face of adversity, could be so dangerous? Not I!

As I went into the den to my comfortable chair, I walked cautiously with a bowl of potatoes in my right hand and a sharp knife in the left hand. The knife was pointing toward the floor. I always walk with the knife tip down, even when I am not shaky with walking. I grip the knife with the blade coming from between my thumb and index finger. Safe enough? Should be.

I put the bowl of potatoes on the ottoman. As I reached my chair, I lowered myself, leaning forward and sitting as I braced myself on the chair arms to ease gently down to spare my knee and back. Unfortunately, as I put my hands down to lower myself, leaned forward to ease down, the knife was pointed up just because of how I was leaning with my hand on the chair and managing to sit without much excruciating pain.

Do you know how bad nicking an areola hurts? With a very sharp knife? Almost hit the nipple! Yikes! Don't try this at home, folks.

Maybe tomorrow I will run with scissors. Well, if I could run, I would. Or I could get an Official Red Ryder Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle and maybe shoot my eye out.

No, it did not bleed, just turned bloody looking. I had three days of examining myself to see if the damage was permanent or worse because the pain seemed not to diminish. After a week, it is all better.

This is the price I paid that day for eating fresh vegetables.

Your turn
Have you managed to hurt yourself, despite cautionary steps? Have you stabbed yourself in the breast? Oh, just tell me a funny or horrifying story of accidentally maiming yourself!

Box of Plenty

2011-11-20T02:11:00.000-06:00

8 lbs ready to dehydrate

For a long time I had thought of dehydrating frozen vegetables and wondered "why not?" I am always thinking of dehydrating. Angela's blog put the thought to the forefront of my consciousness. Why not? Well, I could not think of any reason why I would. She is an entertaining Mormon prepper with great ideas. Drop by her place some time.

I am just not going to have enough good reasons to take my frozen food and dehydrate it until I have the gamma lids and oxygen absorbers. Angela wrote her blog post as a preparedness tip. My blog post about dehydrating nine lbs of half-frozen, quickly-thawing vegetables has its genesis in desperation and sheer panic.

Today, the need to dehydrate frozen food hit me like a ton of bricks or nine pounds of frozen vegetables. Let me digress.

I went to a food bank that was giving a food "basket" for Thanksgiving. Yes, it was a box. All the food will not fit into my already-full freezer over the refrigerator, even after all my bread dove right onto my foot. And, it was too dark when I got home and too spooky to go where the full-size freezer is located, way off in my sewing room that I cannot access for use, either.

Here is what I got at the food bank today:

12 lb frozen turkey (what a beauty it is, many meals)

8 lb frozen, boneless ham, not the mashed up kind of ham
1 lb cranberries
12 frozen biscuits
2 lbs frozen green beans
2 lbs frozen corn
2 lbs frozen sweet potato slices
2 lbs frozen sliced carrots
cheesecake, about 8 in across

All above is/was frozen.

2 brown gravy mixes
2 Idahoan mashed potato mixes
2 dressing/stuffing boxes

I managed to get the turkey in the freezer. All my bread fell out on my feet, gravely wounding my toes. Mark loves bagels, so he can have the blueberry bagels. Is it wrong to feed bagels to your weight loss rival/partner?

The boneless ham was thawing and lives in the refrigerator now. I will eat it and give a hunk to exbf when he comes.

The cheesecake is half-eaten.

(My freezer and refrigerator are so stuffed that I fear they will open as they often do if something shifts. So, I have Guerrilla brand duct tape, holding both shut.)
That leaves carrots, green beans, corn, and sweet potatoes to dehydrate. I may mix the corn, green beans, and carrots into soup-sized containers. I will freeze the dehydrated vegetables. Oxygen absorbers would relieve my mind about spoilage, but so will freezing. Now, where are the pint jars? I think a pint of dehydrated mixture of vegetables would be just about right for a pot of soup. Maybe a cupful/half-pint?

Tonight, celery was on sale for $0.88 per head. I bought two heads and now am going to dehydrate those. They are probably full of pesticides. But, until I see organic celery or can grow some, this will do.

I just won't inhale.

Your turn
Have you ever dehydrated frozen vegetables for any reason? What were the results?

It's settled: new weight loss partner

2011-11-19T00:06:00.002-06:00

2002

How can I spin this so it will be about parsimony? Should I try to spin it? I suppose I will spend less on health care if I lose weight.

I am sick and tired of being fat. My friend, Mark, was just someone I passed as we exchanged brief pleasantries. We have become better friends. Now, we are going to embark on a weight-loss venture. My fat is not attractive to me. Yours may be attractive to you. I am sure my fat makes my back and knee hurt worse. My fat makes my left shoulder hurt when I try to lift my weight from my chair.

In 2002, I injured the middle of my back, sort of along the bra line, while working a retail Christmas job. In 2003 as I entered the physical therapy room, the room was changed. As I walked to my physical therapist, sitting up at a counter on the other side of the room, my right foot caught on an electrical cord plugged into the floor. I fell headlong, landing on my right knee. I cried and wailed lots as the physical therapist assured me that I was okay and to just get up. I was so distressed that I injured myself in a place where I was supposed to be safe and get better.

As I fell, my left knee was behind me, and I sat on the right foot, right on the heel. As I hurled towards the floor in this position, my body fell the the left, injuring my left shoulder. I told the physical therapist all the places I hurt and she said I had to pick which hurt the most. I said my knee hurt most.

Unbeknownst to me, that was all the Workman's comp would pay for because she included none of the rest and lied, saying I never mentioned sitting on my foot, my foot hurting, my shin hurting, or shoulder pain. I managed to gain 60 lbs in about three months. I sat and ate when I was not scheduled for work. Horrified at the weight gain, I immediately lost 10 lbs.

The physical therapist who took over and worked on my knee faxed the insurance office after each therapy session, reporting that I was malingering. So, weeks dragged into months and finally I was allowed to have an MRI of the knee. Less than a week later, the torn meniscus in the right knee was repaired. It hurt for a long time and finally quit. But, I never lost weight. That injury had a profound psychological effect on me. Not being treated and not being treated fairly hurt me in places that aren't physical.

I have never regained the svelte self. In 2009, I lost 25 lbs and due to a stressful job I had, gained back 25. In the aftermath of the April tornado, I gained another 10 lbs.

Last year, I joined TOPS. But, I was met with ridicule for not being able to climb a steep flight of stairs "just once." Okay, I can do anything once, then I can sit and live in pain for a week. Then, it would be time to go back and climb the stairs again.

XXXXXXX was horrid to me while others could do anything they pleased. Then, I realized that her husband was the man coming on to me thirty years ago, telling me his wife had run off, leaving him with two little boys. Needless to say, her animosity and outright bullying at TOPS caused me stress. I gained weight in TOPS, even though I was successful when I belonged long ago. Back then, 20 lbs over my desired weight was catastrophic enough to make me join TOPS.

Last night, I asked Mark if he wanted to join me in losing weight. He readily agreed. So, we will commence a journey toward a new, thinner, healthier life. There will be some sort of set prize the loser must give up to the winner. We decided that losing 25 lbs was a good first goal. Then, I gave him two packages of bagels.

Since I might wobble and fall off the scales, I have just not weighed in probably over five months....maybe more. Tonight, I was shocked to see I had lost 10 lbs without trying! Considering I have an under active thyroid and started taking the maximum dose of levothyroxin, I should have expected a loss of weight. I am going to the doctor's office to weigh on Monday, just to be sure I did lost weight. I was weighed there last September or August.

The only thing I have done over the last month was quit buying Kraft 8 oz blocks of medium cheddar cheese. A few weeks ago, I quit drinking chocolate milk, but only because I ran out of Nestle's Quik. I am terrified of diabetes, so I am slowly reforming my bad, bad ways. I didn't buy more Quik only because I did not have the money to do so!

Details on another post to follow later. I will tell you how I plan to lose weight. I really don't need/want suggestions, just cheerleaders. I know how to attain the weight-loss goal. This won't turn into a weight-loss blog. But, I will keep you posted on the weight loss. And, I will eat heartily through the holidays!

Goal: lose 110 lbs. Now, people to whom I tell this goal assure me I will look ill and that is too much to lose. They really get upset with me. When I tell them what I weigh and what I want to weigh, they seem to think that 110 lbs is a good goal. I am not even trying to get back to my thinnest. I am giving myself a 20 lb leeway over what my ideal weight for my height should be.

The photo? It was taken in 2002, just before I was injured. I was looking into the mantle mirror and had taken a full-length picture from the back. Someone cropped the picture and this is my reflection. I guess that is my face flipped over. There is a framed picture in front of my chin. Don't ask me why the picture is so grainy. The camera loved me that day, plus, I had a little too much wine. Two glasses is too much for me.

Your turn
Have you ever gained weight from an injury and found the new-found weight extremely difficult to lose? Or, have you known anyone who faced my dilemma?

My Secret and Rooting Flowers

2011-11-15T03:07:00.001-06:00

reward for a secret shopper

Just as I had this ready for a picture, my camera broke. Or something. It turns on and the lens extends along with buzzing, then the camera turns itself off and the lens won't retract. It is a Kodak EasyShare, cheap enough, but not something I can afford to replace. The lithium ion battery is the best part.

A new friend, Mark, lent me his digital camera for a week. I am astounded. So, I just have to take lots of pictures to support my blogging for a few weeks...lol. Since I am using my batteries and my sd card, I won't feel guilty about using it to stock up on pictures.

The view is from the top. Yes, I threw a sheet over the commode to get the kind of background that was a must. Shhhh....

I have an Internet friend who takes roses from bouquets and sinks the stems in sand and roots them. So, I have about a week to figure out just what to do with these to root them.

Your turn

Have you ever rooted roses or any flower from a bouquet of bought flowers? How is it done?

Frugal Post-Halloween

2011-11-12T23:57:00.000-06:00

Chocolate candy corn...yum

Right after Halloween I searched for candy corn. It was later in the day, so I assumed I had just missed on the clearance. Someone else had scooped up all the candy corn! Bummer Then, exbf and I went to Walmart for something later in the week. There were about six carts of Halloween stuff, sitting in carts by the door.

"Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh!" That was all the sound I could make. The electric cart stopped and I waggled my hand as I just made that silly noise.

"What?!"

"Get it, get it!" I waggled my hand.

"What?"

"Candy corn, candy corn, chocolate candy corn!" I think I was bouncing on the seat by then.

You see, there were only two or three bags left of chocolate candy corn amidst a cart of regular candy corn and several people who were into that cart. I was ready to go into a tantrum to match any two-year-old. Or, I think I sounded like one. A guy was laughing at me and confusion of exbf who literally jumped to see what I wanted.

Whew! He got one for me and then proceeded to get the regular ones for himself. There was a cartful of the regular candy corn for him. At $1 for the hugest bag I have seen, I figured we still should share and save more money and calories. He does not like chocolate ones.

At home we both tore into our respective bags. I put some of mine in a glass jar. The rest I put down to find a twist-tie and cook lunch. Later the next day, I found the bag still open. So, it is trash. Tonight, I got out the jar and started eating. I bite off all the orange and white parts and make a little pile of the chocolate, eating the chocolate last.

Right now, I feel like I ate a cup of sugar. Yuck! for the feeling. Yum! for the time just before I ate too much tonight and was still enjoying it.

(Another indoor shot with funny color graces my opening of the blog post once again.)

Your turn

Did you wait until after Halloween to indulge in Halloween candy? Or, did lucky you have children's candy to eat while they were at school? I did that. They got wise and hid their candy from me.

Hair Color Stock Up

2011-11-11T23:45:00.002-06:00

I have few more on a shelf. These are boxed for convenience.

This hair color and a lipstick each year is all I spend on "cosmetics." The Garnier was on sale as was the Revlon Color Silk--$3.14. With a $1 coupon, the Revlon (now $2.14) was 1/4 the price of the Garnier. I am stocking up only because it was an outrageously low price. This is not the same as stocking up groceries for a catastrophe.

Comfort food in a stash? I had rather have hair color. You know I am seriously being sarcastic?

My face has paled as I aged, and I seriously avoid the sun on my skin, so going gray would leave me looking like a ghost with black eyebrows and black eyelashes, and I would feel the need for some other purchased cosmetics to normalize my face into something less ghastly/ghostly if my hair were gray. My new hairdresser tells me I am totally gray! I do think gray hair is beautiful on some people. I know all the arguments, health-wise, and socially for going gray and natural.

I am the George Hamilton of hair color, taking the bullet, testing for all my sisters of the world. I could get a spectacular tan because I can get a spectacular tan. That would look great with white hair. But I will leave that to George, because I know I have relatives who succumbed to melanomas because the cancers were treated too late.

Your turn

Okay, maybe you think this is a foolish way to spend money? Selling scrap metal from basement projects, tuna type cans, aluminum cans made this possible over a month's time. Am I deluded in thinking this is saving money?

2011-11-10T20:00:00.002-06:00

A Flag

Remembering my mother

This flag pole with flag has been embedded in the rock for several years on 231, going into Huntsville, AL. The flag has never tattered, so someone must just replace the flag on the pole. I often wonder who put it there. But, I understand the sentiment.

There is nothing along this stretch of road for several miles. So, this flag up so high is a surprise, especially on a windy day. I have better pictures of the flag, especially the ones where it is flying straight, unfurled by wind today. I used this one so you can almost see how high it is. If it had occur to me, I would have captured the full height where the flag stood. I took this picture across four lanes and a wide median. You can see where the rock was cut to make the road.

My mother was a WAC during WWII. My brother and niece were in the Air Force. My best friend, a major in the Air Force, Served in Vietnam, two tours, flying 200 missions over Vietnam as an electronic warfare officer, a Wild Weasel. Then, he returned for another tour, flying 24 hour missions.

November 11th is also my brother's birthday. He was born on 11/11 and died 12/12. 2001 was not a good year for me. Not good for my brother, obviously.

It makes me happy to see all the patriotic displays, flags in the median and hanging every where, lots of bunting, too.

Light of my Life

2011-11-08T12:01:00.001-06:00

We have been together for 8 years.

It stopped giving me light after eight years. It was the bulb used most extensively and left on the longest and turned off and on the least. The side porch light kept me safe and secure. It stayed on all night. Sometimes it was left on during the day if I forgot to turn it off. If I leave at noon and won't be home until after dark, this light was/is left on so I can find the side porch and steps safely.

I have a theory: turning lights on and off excessively burns them out faster. Your belief is your own. We will not debate this...lol. Well, certainly you can refute my closely-held-to-my-heart belief. No problem. I just won't try to prove you wrong.

My ex-devil, ooops, meant ex-husband thought I should turn off kitchen lights when he ordered me to come change the TV for him. Okay, so he did not order me right off the bat to change the TV, he summoned me to tell me something important (NOT), and "Oh, by the way, since you are here, standing, and I am so comfortable lying down, change the TV." If I had killed him when I first thought about it, I would be out of prison now and never would have incurred debt or had to pay my own electric bills...LOL...jk.

Yes, he yelled at me because I did not turn off kitchen lights when I went to the bathroom or went out of the kitchen to pick up an injured toddler to comfort. Never mind.

This is a Westinghouse, 60 watt, 130 volt light bulb, Commercial Service, purchased at maybe 1.5 x the cost of a 120 volt bulb. It's specs say it should last 5000 hours, about 1/3 that of a 120 volt. However, at a conservative estimate of 10 hours X 365 days X 8 years, it lasted 29,200 hours.

Estimated hours for:

120 volt is 14,000 hour

130 volt is 5000 hours.

This one lasted 29,200 hours.

No, I am not changing to CFLs because they hurt my head, eyes, and make me tired. The Black Market will be my source of incandescents when the few I have are gone.

I meant CFL not LCD. I know the difference, but I was sooo sleepy.

Your turn

Do you think I got my money's worth from this bulb? Yes, I know it uses more energy! Have you found a similar usage from bulbs of any kind?

Jobs, real jobs, return to US!

2011-11-07T17:49:00.000-06:00

"The Faribault Woolen Mills is weaving its way back from oblivion one thread and one American employee at a time."

This is a heartwarming story, so touching that I shed tears of joy. The story gives me great hope. I will be buying one of the Faribault blankets. My mother gave me one that was stolen from me. I need a blanket desperately and will have one of these, somehow! I just hope the wool is from the US.

Okay, at the prices I see, maybe I won't get one! I was hoping they would have a rose-colored one or pink or blue in their plans.

Maybe someone in Alabama will bring back textile mills and garment manufacturing to this county in Alabama. At least we won't be working and sending profits overseas. Eva Peron had it right.

Sure, Faribault Mills will not save the economy, but maybe it will be an impetus and inspiration for all of the unemployed and people who can revive factories--wealthy people who really care.

Your turn
Have you ever owned one of these blankets? Warm and beautiful, huh? Does this story give you hope? Have any businesses been revitalized to help the economy in your part of the US?

Food Bank Fresh Vegetable Bounty

2011-11-06T09:32:00.001-06:00

13 pumpkins

Other people gave me their pumpkins, and Charlie carried them all for me. Some of the pumpkins are huge. If he did not go to help me put all my food in the car, I could not manage.

two bananas, two broccoli heads, six navel oranges

bunny wanted to look and sample

two bags of salad greens with Romaine and a pre-made salad

Salads had two days left until use-by date. Pre-made salad was in a Ziploc bag, so I don't know if it

was made on site or if a larger one was divided. Either I or the girls will eat these.

beautiful, white head of cauliflower,
better than I often see in stores

4 cans of corn, 2 bottles of squirt jelly

The jelly is pretty icky, but over some chocolate ice cream, topped with sliced bananas, with a bit of jelly on top, it's okay. I would not eat it often. Besides, I have plans for the strawberry jelly on or in pastries--pretty for Christmas. Exbf will love the jelly. I had already opened and eaten one can of the corn. The hens helped me eat it...lol.

4 pounds Pinto Beans

The rest of what I got that is not pictured

*one box of Kellogg's Cornflakes, the real deal. Not so sure what I will do with those.

*two huge bags of pretzels. Exbf will eat those since I never eat pretzels.

*1 pkg cinnamon and raisins Nooks and Crannies

*two loaves of whole wheat bread

*a minuscule slice of peach pie, served in bowl with spoon for immediate consumption

*head of iceberg lettuce, left in car so that it's now a chicken treat

* two 1-lb packages of leanest ground beef I have ever seen. Two lbs of lean ground meat will last me about ten days or more.

*two bologna sandwiches

What I left behind:

*So many bakery donuts and bakery pastries that I just don't need.

*bagels and more nooks and crannies (got an abundance last week and froze it)

*Rye bread, sour dough bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, focaccia bread, white bread

*Lots of carbs and sugar

*some vegetables that were really near death and had been picked over before I got there.

Some of the 50 lbs of bananas from week before last are still here to deal with. So, ugh, I have too much to do. The squirrels better not get the pumpkins. I have sprinkled them with red pepper to dissuade the critters of the night and the rats with pretty tales.

I am really excited about the glut of pumpkins. The dehydrator will be running day and night. And, here I was planning on getting ones from the street, discarded ones. Okay, I may still do that...lol.

Your turn

How about this food bank's offerings? Is that a lot of dehydrating? Whew! Aren't they pretty? Most of the vegetables are sooo fresh. Yes, they are from a supermarket and maybe not organic. Some food banks just give out outdated food in cans and boxes, mostly cookies and sugared cereal, plus horribly dented food that looks dangerous. Have you ever dehydrated pumpkin? I have a great video that I will follow. I have dried pumpkin seeds in the oven, but as long as the dehydrator is running and has room, I will use it. Or, should I bake them?

The Perfect Italian Meatball

2011-11-06T00:32:00.001-05:00

The perfect Italian meatball is prepared before you eyes in this video from Chow Ciao. I love most Italian food.

In praise of my dehydrator and 50 FREE pounds of bananas

2011-11-04T12:28:00.002-05:00

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18 bananas=2 full quarts dehydrated

Both quarts were very full until I took some out for a snack to take to MRI and some to give to Charlie. Plus, I spilled a few which became chicken food. I have no idea why all this text is centered since I know how to change alignment! Somehow, I lost all the pictures of the heaps of bananas. So, this is what I took on other days.

3 bananas fill one tray

I filled six of nine trays. My frugal self does not want one of the fifty pounds of bananas to go to waste. So, I started dehydrating them. I ate one. I gave some that had split to the hens. I am still working on them! UGH!

(pictures of funny, grayish bananas would have gone here)

The pictures I took would have shown funny, grayish, yellowish, greenish bananas. If bananas look funny with a grey tint, they were allowed to become too cold. If you find a banana that does or does not look grayish, you can take your thumbnail and lift the tiniest bit of the skin. The produce manager taught me that. I had complained because I got bananas that looked okay and were horrible and turned grayish. If the skin is grey, the banana will never ripen. Some of these were that way. After letting them sit around, I dehydrated them, and they are perfectly fine now, very sweet.

As I sad, three bananas can fit on one Excalibur Dehydrator rack. I used six racks. So, I dehydrated 18 bananas, three of the bags I received. That made about 15 lbs dehydrated. Some of the bananas spoiled, split wide open and were attacked by hoards of fruit flies, so the hens got those. Some will be frozen if I don't get them on the racks tomorrow. I made one recipe of banana bread. I dehydrated one of the lemons I received free last week.

It took me forever to get the bananas cut and on the rack because I could only stand to fill one rack. That's right. I cut three bananas in slices and had to retreat to sit. I put some in water with lemon juice and will never do that again. I could tell absolutely no difference in color between treated bananas and untreated bananas. I should not have used the water. I know!

It has been ages since I made banana bread, so I did.

Four banana bread muffins

Then, I decided I would make several cupcakes./muffins for exbf to take to work. The pan is probably as old as I--estate sale find. I only made four in the muffin tin. I decided to sample one since they bake faster than a loaf of bread. Then, they were all gone! I just won't tell him about the muffins. Nest day: Want a slice of banana bread? Just a taste? Worried about your diabetes? No, no, and no. I forgot he cannot stand bananas.

Dehydrating banana tips
For these bananas, when I sliced them this thin--(), that is width from side to side, they turned out paper thin, so translucent. I could practically read though them. They were not bad, just not what I wanted. When I sliced them this thin-- ( ), they still turned out thin, but what I wanted. I have a feeling that the ripeness of the banana has something to do with how thin they become after drying. But, I have no idea what the correlation could be...lol. I add nothing to these, nor do I pretreat them with lemon, at least not after the several bananas.

I had a round Walmart dehydrator that I used and thought was miraculous, even though bananas dried at different rates from inside to outside of each round tray. Then, I broke all but one rack. So, I bought a bunch of dehydrator trays at a yard sale, praying that they fit. They did. I sold that "new" dehydrator. The Excalibur, the model I have, is wonderful. You can even make yogurt and use it for dough rising. My yogurt maker was a freecycle deal, so no cost.

Your turn
Do you like bananas and banana chips as much as I do? Do you ever dehydrate bananas? Are you also turned off by the additives in store-bought banana chips?

The Goblins Will Get You . . .

2011-10-31T20:13:00.002-05:00

This picture is my favorite of all I have ever taken. Can you see the ornate, short silver-plated candelabra? It sits on four curved, ornate feet. It was only $1. You know me...parsimonious (frugal), always. The candles came with about 9 or 10 candles in a box that said "dripless candles."--$1, cheap for the box. Hmmm, so why are they dripping?

Read this poem aloud to someone tonight.

Little Orphant Annie
by James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out! Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,-- So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs, His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl, An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all! An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press, An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess; But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout-- An' the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out! An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin, An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin; An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there, She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care! An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide, They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side, An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about! An' the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out! An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue, An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo! An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray, An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,-- You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear, An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear, An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about, Er the Gobble-uns'll git you Ef you Don't Watch Out! Your turn Tell me about a scary Halloween, a funny experience on Halloween, or something funny or scary that happened tonight. Just entertain us with a Halloween story, even if you read this two months later. If you don't celebrate Halloween because of religion or ideology, this is not the post to comment on that. I respect your opinions, just don't want to hear them today. But, I will visit your post if you email me and read what you say about it...kay?

Government agents can come in and destroy your food?: Farm to Fork Fiasco

2011-10-30T18:00:00.000-05:00

I found this link about an atrocious injustice at the Root Simple blog, although I have never seen it mentioned on their blog as I can remember. I am outraged and so should you be if you even grow a tomato plant. Do you want the government telling you what you can eat or serve your guests? Actually coming into your home and demanding you destroy food? Thanks Root Simple.

Sunday Morning Coming Down

2011-10-30T09:37:00.000-05:00

What happened to Louise's tail?

Not smoking, not drinking, not so lonely this Sunday morning. But, Louise lost her tail! I think it was there when I brought her in last night. It is not lying around in their night cage. But, the droppings are sure strange.

Louise has only two tail feathers. She had a magnificent tail until this morning. Or, today is the first I noticed it. I roamed around with a camera in 45 degree, wet, tall grass in sandals trying to get this picture. Now, my toes are like ice since I refuse to turn on the heater. Maybe socks will help and furry house shoes. Okay, that is the plan when I get up from here. Thaw toes.

Don't you love Kris Kristofferson? I was so happy and rested this morning even though I am in an incredible amount of pain. Then, I saw Louise's tail and a funk set in and reminded me of the title and tone of song. But, the tail? It is so puzzling. I slept 12 hours, so there is no reason not to be happy, right? LOL

If this is a full molt, it is their first since they seem to just lose a few at a time, looking straggly for a few days. Okay, I am cooking a pot of pinto beans with lots of chicken broth, all for the hens. They need it.

Hopefully, none of you have lost anything this morning, especially tail feathers from a hen.

Your turn

What could have caused the tail loss? Have you lost anything this weekend?

I WON

2011-10-29T18:35:00.000-05:00

Go over to DON'T READ THIS; IT'S BORING, follow her blog and you can win one of her many contests. I won a Redbox movie rental, Totino's Pizza and Pizza Rolls, popcorn box, two pizza-slice shaped and decorated plates, plus a wicked looking pizza cutter. My grandchildren in NYC will love this. However, the pizza cutter stays with Memaw.

I will probably put in a bag of popcorn since I am taking the pizza cutter, and they will be getting an empty popcorn box.

It may be really sad that I am soooo excited. I love to win things. One of the best things I ever won was a drill from a local hardware store. Oh, and an expensive playpen when I needed one to keep in the trunk of the car. We gave the expensive bottle of liquor to the head elder in our church.

Your turn
What is the last thing you won? What is the best thing you have won?

Thursday Eats, Parsimoniously

2011-10-28T23:21:00.001-05:00

Sweet potatoes make me happy, like sunshine

When exbf arrived to give me a hand today (Thursday), I had not bathed or eaten. I had just sat here, hurting and drinking a regular Coke, my morning "coffee." Then, I became hungry after awhile. Breakfast was two scrambled eggs and a glass of orange juice.

Snacks all day: pecans, dehydrated apples, dehydrated tomatoes, glass of milk

Neither of us need to eat hotdogs. We love them but rarely eat them for our health's sake. So, for lunch we had two free hotdogs on free buns. Actually, I only ate one bun. I love hotdogs, so if you want to invite me over and offer hotdogs, I will eat them in order not to hurt your feelings....snicker.

On Thursday night a church here has a dinner for anyone who wants to come eat. Church members, mothers too tired to cook, and the hungry can come, anyone. I usually go. If I don't get a meal that I will finish, I can carry home lots of hen food. People bring their plates to me often, offering food for the hens.

The overwhelming majority of the people who attend these dinners are marginalized, horribly disadvantaged. Some have trouble even walking with aid. Many lack a hs diploma, some are not capable of even passing the GED test. They were in special ed. Many are elderly and do not drive. Many are hungry for company and food. (Church members deliver about 200 meals each Thursday, besides the meals served on site.)

On Tuesday I thawed two items for dinners for both of us on Thursday, but wanted to go to this dinner, also. He has never been because he rarely comes up on Thursday. I told him the plan and he agreed.

I put a three pound roast of some kind and six potatoes into an oven bag. Then, I seasoned with dehydrated green and red peppers and dehydrated onions. I could not afford carrots that I love with the roast, but, oh well.

There were four thawed chicken thighs, also free, in the freezer so that I could put nothing more in. They went into another cooking bag. Salt, pepper, and celery seeds went into this bag. I could not find the celery in the freezer and hurt too much to stand there, looking. The next excess celery will be dehydrated and wait quietly in a jar on a shelf, not hurling itself headlong from the freezer along with other disgruntled prisoners kept frozen.

Roast, chicken thighs, potatoes

Both cooking bags went into one pan. Both cooked at 350 degrees, so all was well.

I peeled seven largish sweet potatoes given to me at this dinner the week before. The outsides were sorry looking, not something I wanted to bake and then find out the sweet potato was bad. I peeled and sliced them and put them in a buttered Corning ware casserole that I have had since 1966. One cup of water went in the casserole dish. I used the glass lid. All those sweet potatoes were gnarly, not pretty, yet not one was rotten inside. You could have fooled me. All was done and refrigerated long before we left for the dinner.

Also, just before we left for the dinner, I made a Tupperware divided plate for his lunch tomorrow. He had a chicken thigh and sweet potatoes. He will add green beans he has open to fill the third part of the plate. Almost half the roast and three potatoes were put in another container for him to eat later in the week. Plus, he took home the three other thighs, frozen and another frozen thigh that hid from me another week as it sat in the freezer door.

Now, for the odd/coincidence part. We had hotdogs at the dinner tonight. PLUS, there were candied sweet potatoes and green beans! The coincidence of hot dogs for two meals today, sweet potatoes tonight and for tomorrow, plus green beans tonight and tomorrow stunned me. It's a good thing variety from meal to meal is not necessary for the two of us.

I have several of the thermal bags sold at stores to keep food cool or hot. He carried the frozen items home in that. He has one with his name on it. We have a system...lol.

The half of the roast and white potatoes will last me another four days (two days if I eat a sandwich at lunch and heat it for dinner). The sweet potatoes (lunch) left will probably last three. I could stretch them to four days. I don't ever cook two kinds of potatoes on one day. It just happened, and we both have non-starchy vegetables to eat with what I cooked. I never candy my sweet potatoes. The variety, Beauregard, needs no sugar or butter. The white potatoes will have no salt or butter on them.

Today, my oven stayed on for less than 2 hours and cooked vegetables for 12 meals and meat for about 12 meals. Those are my dollars I saved by cooking all in one oven. Exbf buys cooking bags once in awhile when I need them since his food is cooked in them also. Actually, if I cannot afford freezer bags, he willing pays for them. I use both sparingly and buy with coupons and sales. He knows food will come his way...lol.

Edit: Remember, he is taking about 9 meals home--five frozen thighs and however many meals he uses the roast for, dinners or lunches. Sometimes, he will cut the roast and freeze part. I, on the other hand said I had four meals of meat, more or less. If I eat roast beef, sliced thinly for lunch two days, and roast beef with potatoes for two nights, I have eaten my four meals at once. The whole shebang minus the frozen chicken could be gone in two days, maybe three days for the potatoes, maybe two days for the potatoes. So, I am not leaving meat in the refrigerator to sit for 12 days. No way.

About the cooking bags...Until I am free of pain on standing and scrubbing, I will use them to facilitate cleanup. We were rushing too much to take after-cooking pictures. Plus, nothing was actually plated.

Bonus
Another huge red pepper met the dehydrator and fit into a small pimiento jar when finished. Exbf brought my heater back for me. I now have heat but don't want to use it because of the high electric bill I will have.

Your turn
Do you ever cook a dozen meals at one time? Do you ever use the dreaded plastic cooking bags? Raise your hand if you love sweet potatoes as much as I do.

Rose Hips for Vitamin C--learn more

2011-10-27T20:46:00.000-05:00

Of course, there are people who use this free rose hip resource everyday or have it in their lives. I don't. However, my friend who was into herbs told me about hips, but she died before I could learn anything. If anything ever happened citrus fruit or to our other sources of foods with Vitamin C. If you want to supplement your diet, rose hips are a very frugal way to do so.

Two bloggers who know all about rose hips will help us out today.

My friend, LindaM, over at Hello, It's Me wrote a post upon my query in Emergency Nutrients: Vitamin C and Rose Hips.
When we have a frost, I will check the ones I will try to locate right now. Why did I not mark where the roses were all summer around town? There are two varieties in my yard at the edges and difficult to reach.
Likewise, Wendy at Little House in the Big Wood posted about rose hips. She included pictures, although not from her own hips. Those hips look big as apples...lol.

Both these Internet friends have shared information that I will have to reread a couple of times. Thanks a bunch! Wendy and LindaM are very interesting bloggers. Both husbands lost jobs. Both moved to be able to be more self-sufficient. They seem to be very successful. Both husbands found new jobs. Yay for Wendy. Her husband must have been out of work for two days, if that. Check these blogs by clicking on their blog titles for information about hips.

Wendy butchers road kill and other large and small animals for her freezer. LindaM gets her exercise from chasing the Dalai Llama....fun company I keep....hmmm? I so admire both of them and their successes.

Your turn
Do you already make rose hip tea? Have you got this on your list of emergency foraging?