Hieronyma Textor – So glad to hear the good news about your daughter’s histology report!
OldMt Woman – Yes, $20 is a good price these days for those used, food grade 55-gallon barrels (They used to sell for just $10 a few years ago, though, so I grumble at having to pay $20, lol). The barrels are sold already rinsed out but when I get them home I use a drinking water-safe hose to fill them about 1/4 of the way up with water and some plain, fresh chlorine bleach, screw in the bung caps, tip the barrels over on their sides and vigorously roll them around on the ground for a few minutes so the water sloshes around inside. Then I leave each barrel on its side in one position for about 20 minutes, then rotate it 1/4 of the way around and let it sit for another 20 minutes or so. I repeat that step two more times, then empty out that water, raise the empty barrels to their upright positions, lift or “walk” them over to where they’ll be stored, and fill them with potable water, to which I add a water preserver solution. I can do (and have done) those steps by myself if I have to but, of course, it’s easier if you have a helper 🙂
Muffy1938 – I also re-seal whatever I don’t use up right away out of a No. 10 can of dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. Usually I vacuum seal those (very dry) leftover items in glass canning jars using the attachment for my FoodSaver vacuum sealer. I recently got a special vacuum-sealable lid called a “That Seals It!” that is designed to fit an opened No. 10 can. You place it on top of the opened can and either use a small manual pump or an accessory hose and electric FoodSaver to pull a vacuum, thus re-sealing the can. It looks like a clever gadget but I haven’t tried it out yet. If you want to see a video of how it works, go to YouTube dot com and search for “That Seals It! Manual Operation”.
Yesterday, I went to a small, Mennonite-owned grocery store in a nearby town and got some nice slicing tomatoes. While I was there I noticed that they had vacuum-sealed packs of fresh, local, bacon “ends and pieces” for about $2 a pound. Since I usually only use bacon in small amounts to add to dishes like bean soup for extra flavoring, getting those end chunks and pieces instead of paying a lot more for full bacon slices I’d only cut up anyway, seems like a good idea 🙂 I also saw that they had Ball 1/2 gallon canning jars at $10.50 U.S. (Plus tax) for a box of 6 jars, so I bought some of those also. That store also carries big stacks of 29 dozen (!) canning jar lids/flats wrapped in brown paper “sleeves” for a good price. I put those on my “wish list” to buy later on.
After shopping, I stopped in to visit an older friend of mine who lives in an assisted living home near there. I brought her some fresh blueberries this time since she’d already eaten up the freeze-dried ones I gave her for Christmas, lol. Her son recently brought her a little refrigerator she can keep in her room – so next time I visit I can bring her more fresh fruit and the sharp cheddar cheese she loves 🙂