Greetings, All
I appreciate the people on this site very much. I asked a question on another closed site and the people could not even understand the question. I never did get an answer. The people on this site pay attention. Prep Club Members ask the questioner for more information so help can be offered; plus, you all don’t judge – just offer alternatives for you to think about.
Thank you, everyone.
Little Sister: Best wishes with your “daughter” and her issues. It is wise to know when to help and when to not.
Sewing Thread: Thank you all for the information about thread, Columbia River. I had not really thought about it. I have some thread that is polyester over a core that just does not work in my machine; it unravels. I use it for hand sewing buttons and sewing marks. I have some cotton thread from my mother that is cotton; it is fragile and breaks. I did know that. She kept the spools in ancient Alka Seltzer Glass Tube-like jars in her sewing cabinet. I have them on a shelf. I will not use them; they are now a decoration with memories from my childhood.
Question! We may have trouble this Spring. We live on a relatively short hill, one-half mile from the county road. We are surrounded by our woods and neighbor’s fields. There is a lot of wildlife. This winter under the bird feeders, besides the normal birds, we have had: Turkey, Hawks, White-tail Deer, Rabbit, Opossum, Raccoon, and Skunk – two skunks. We smelled the skunk a couple times before we saw it under the feeder. Hubby scared it away and it went onto our porch where it was hanging out on the “welcome” mat in front of our back door. There were <u>TWO Skunks.</u> They were circling each other, one with its tail raised. If they do not care about our scent on our porch, I am concerned that they may be living underneath the porch or under the granary (neither of which we can close off), or in the shed. I have only seen one in the eight years we have been here, and that was in the summer. I have no experience with skunks. How do we avoid them?
We have not been to the grocery for two weeks. In fact, we have not left the property for two weeks. With the record deep snow from Feb., more snow, then rain turning to ice, then melting, then flooding basement and sheer ice on the drive, Hubby imposed a travel ban. No problems. The only thing we are running out of is potato chips. We were well prepared to handle being isolated for two weeks. I am very glad that we had electricity, plus satellite internet and phone connections, to keep us in touch with loved ones. Without that I would have been very unhappy and “antsy” not knowing what was happening in the world. That is an issue I don’t think we can surmount in a SHTF scenario.
There is still not much on our grocery list. I had better check the big freezer to see what needs to be cooked up, canned and put on shelves.
Scholarship: I was wrong about the source of the scholarship for my grandson. It is not a Ntl. Merit Scholarship, but from the school. Either way, I don’t think he understands how lucky he is.
Syrup Time: The Box Elder Trees have been tapped. I wish we had Sugar Maples, too. The sugar concentrate in Box Elder Trees is not as high, but when boiled down, it is just as tasty. A few trees are flowing. What other trees do you tap? I think someone mentioned Walnut, is that true? We have walnut trees.
Today, I am trying to coordinate my recipes. I probably copied thousands to my computer. I am trying to take what we consider our favorites and make sure I have added instructions for canning-if it can be canned. Then make an alias, Command L on a Mac, and put the alias in the canning folder; then I will print them, soon I hope. I am trying to make a list of the recipes we Can can and get them into a physical notebook for ease of use in the kitchen. Plus a list to organize the shelves, so when I send Hubby to find the jar, he will know where it is. This project will take many weeks.
Today is my first grandson’s 18<sup>th</sup> birthday. His brother’s 16<sup>th</sup> is two days later. Then their parent’s wedding anniversary, then birthdays for granddaughter, Hubby and daughter. In there somewhere is a wedding – out of town. This is an expensive month! I wonder if they would like some canned foods.
Spring is just around the corner…Breathe.