Muffy….I’m impressed with how you just got going on all these new things like winter garden [tho miniature] and dehydrating and vacuum sealing. Maybe one day you’ll be teaching a class on what you’ve learned! Glad Carolina is enjoying France. My niece did not enjoy her study time there at all… But she’s got strong opinions. 😉
Woodsrunner….hope your new stove meets your expectations and needs. My whole house is quite small and we completely eliminated a table/chairs in favor of a home built, free-standing counter/shelves underneath. “Walk-in closet size kitchen”…. complicated by mouse invasion describes mine! —- I THINK the poison has finally eliminated the rodents…but haven’t reclaimed the fouled lower cabinets yet…further shrinking the size of kitchen. Store things elsewhere yet.
Hieronyma…..I have looked up the pre-tech cultures in the areas I’ve lived. Food …but also other things like shelter, etc. It’s a good prep for if we’d find ourselves suddenly POST-tech…. I figured that if I look at the cultures specific to the area I’m living in….providing the weather patterns, etc haven’t changed too much…it might improve the chances with gardening and wildcrafting. However, we’re finding that things have changed rather drastically in past decades tho…. Population density eliminates a lot of wildcrafting for food.
Today was spent with our elderlies. It was good…..and hard…..and depressing….and good. As it usually is. Two challenges we happened to be present for: The ROTTEN POTATO CHALLENGE. And the BATHROOM LEAK MYSTERY. {groan}
We brought food for lunch. There was a bag of potatoes sitting on the chair on porch and a small candle-in-jar burning in their pantry shelves. Um….what? Well, taters had gone bad. I kept an eye on that burning air freshener – you can bet! At one point the door was accidentally closed. I decided it was time to put out the candle before it was forgotten in there – still burning! 😮 Then the smell was still strong so further search produced a recently-purchased bag of taters….definitely had rotting ones in that too.
Question: Are any others of you in other areas finding that white potatoes have been massacred during harvest/handling? I go to a different store and I’ve been noticing all the cuts on the potatoes. Not reds. Curved cuts from harvest or handling???
………….Reminds me: Just went to take mine out of dark closet [so they don’t ‘green’] cuz I need to REMEMBER to check thru and use ones with those cuts. I boil a bunch and use for potato salad, fried potatoes, etc.
Anyway….DH and I took the smelly bags home and tossed them into the pasture tonite. [not the bags, of course] Elderlies don’t have a way to dispose of them quickly with intermittent trash service……cuz they’re too old to haul the stupid huge wheeled bins down their steep driveway and back up – so they can’t HAVE the usual trash service in this county. [don’t get me started!] Anyway….we washed off the intact potatoes and they’ll be fine. They paid for more damaged ones than whole ones…. Hmph!
And we don’t know yet what caused the basement bathroom leaking ….cuz it wasn’t a lot and it stopped ….and we couldn’t reproduce the EVENT. So we’re left with a mystery ….the sort no one enjoys. 🙁 Likely we’ll hear more on that…..or maybe not? { I DETEST mysteries!!! I like logical ANSWERS!}
Was good to be there and support these annoying challenges. Also DH drove one to P.T. today so other elderly didn’t have to. We did puzzles, of course. I helped to get the next puzzle started. It IS good to challenge brain with SOMEthing each day. Even if they don’t get out for much more than grocery/mail/medical.
Came home to feed our critters…and I walked dog……and FELL! Blasted ruts in the road…from tires squishing up mud and by the time we got home it was frozen ….and very DARK outside. I use headlamp and a small BRIGHT flashlight in my hand. Too aware of our larger predatory wildlife and want bright light deterrent both fore and aft of me! Course I’m with the very large dog but she’s going about her business.
So I’m swooping my light around….JIC y’know…..and caught my boot on a frozen rut. Did not land with my usual tuck N roll. Actually did tuck a bit but I slammed onto L elbow/wrist. Did not let go of the dog’s retractable leash. [might have landed better if I had] But called her over to help me get back up. She’s trained for that and wears a body harness. Also helped me to climb all the stairs up to our house.
Columbia River….nope, I did not slip on ice….nor did I break a shoulder or anything else. Whew! I think I see a back adjustment in my near future but after a Nuprin and laying down, I’m ok. Hopefully I can say that in the morning.
And speaking of ice….today’s melting has migrated a whole lot more ICE into places we do NOT want it…in front of doors and gates….so that will also be a project for tomorrow. Sanding ice….AGAIN.
I think I’m better off if I stay home! {roll eyes} Not sure any of that was prepping…more like survival!
OldMtWoman G’nite all