Greetings, all.
Granny Smith, so sorry you have the flu. Find some Elderberry Syrup. It is supposed to greatly reduce flu symptoms. I know Walmart carries it.
OldMtwoman: We are also on a well. We have dozens of juice bottles filled with plain tap water to use to flush the toilet. We limit use to just one toilet and only flush when brown. No outhouse and I would not use it at -20F anyway.
For drinking water storage, I clean the vinegar bottles with bleach water and fill with filtered tap water. That plus keeping the tea kettle, a couple of real 5-gallon water storage containers,and our personal water bottles filled, gets us over the power outage, usually. If necessary we will run the generator at the well site. That is one issue I want to address – a hand or solar pump for a 200 foot well.
Muffy1938 – Food Saver Vacuum sealer. I usually use two lids because that seems to help seal better. I only add a “filter” when I m sealing powdery stuff like cocoa or corn meal, or oatmeal what will cause problems with the vacuum sealer’s “hose”. Since we do not drink coffee, I use muffin/cupcake papers in my jars. They are just the right size.
I am wearing my “new” flannel shirt. I really like the heavier sleeves, thin flannel covered with an old t-shirt. I also made them longer so my wrists are also warmer.
Tomorrow, I get to see my step-son and his family to celebrate two January birthdays. They will get the knitted/crochet hats and mittens that I made in January. The mittens may be too large for the 12-year old, but, he will grow.
My oldest grandson is having an event next Saturday for his BSA Eagle Project. A sort of festival of nations, but a bit more high-brow than just food booths. His charter school is only 40% white, and about that many different original languages and countries. They try to celebrate diversity. He still has several merit badges to finish before his birthday in March so I hope he is successful in his short time frame
Prepping: I have a TV in my sewing/craft room. Yesterday, I spent time going through articles from magazines, and throwing them away, while catching up on saved programs. I have always cut out directions , such as fancy Easter eggs, paper flowers, sweaters, etc. It was time to discard. I really did! So many things I thought I needed to have, have actually become logical with old age. Except for knitting/crochet directions, all were recycled. Room! I need room! for my yarn.
Plus, hours practicing Morse. Just getting the ear tuned is a challenge. It was easier when the letters were just 2 or 3 dit dahs. Not they are at 4 and it is confusing. I’d blast a audio through the house, but I think it would drive me mad after a while. Last Saturday, at our club meeting, I heard about a guy who could read and send Morse at 60 words/min. No one can transcribe that fast, so he also learned shorthand in order to write it down. Hmmm, another language? I think I will be happy with 20 wpm.
Time to check the freezer to see what else I can cook up. I noticed that when I make a dish, there seems to be more containers in the freezer with the leftovers that I originally took out. I have a lot of frozen zucchini! Any suggestions?
Stay well, safe, and warm.