October goals

MY LIST

Take Hubby to Lock 16 steak house in Lima for his 61st birthday.

Start the new budget and not have to rob Peter to pay Paul.

Have the money saved for Christmas.

Place order to King Arthur Flour for specialty items we are low on.

Place order to Amazon for kitchen pans needing replaced.

To have pantry fully stocked.

To have pantry inventoried to base menu on how much is there ..First note I do not start eating mainly from the pantry until Nov 1st. Just a habit from childhood most likely. Hubby's mom said that is how she did also when raising the kids.
Example I have 80 pints of pickled beets, that's at least 1 per week or 1 every 4 days (yes I can eat that much). I have 150 slices of green tomatoes for fried green tomatoes. We eat 8 slices per meal , that's 18 meals. So I can serve it every other week for 9 months or every week for 4 1/2 months. I have 10 cups of corn in freezer that is 10 meals, that's 5 months...(I have corn to process still to add to this). I want these amounts so I can use them up instead of buying something else at the store.

I want to have the bedroom winter curtains done.

I want to have to railing to the deck done. Which means I have to decide how I want it done. I know I want 4x4 posts... I just keep thinking about what I want between the posts as the deck is 3 ft off the ground and I don't want Wilbur and Rascal jumping off and getting hurt. Charlotte is still young enough to handle that jump... she jumps 5 ft high sideways as it is.I think she has springs instead of  legs, must be the terrier part in her.

I want 80 % of the energy audit items completed... and that is on me as Hubby can't caulk worth crap and of course there is tons of caulking to do. LOL.

I want to wash the winter clothes and get them in drawers etc

I want to get the summer clothes in storage.

I need new tennis shoes, not want but actually need.

I want to build a closet in the laundry room.

I want to have summer curtains down, washed, dried and stored

I want to have winter curtains washed, dried and hung

I want to decorate for the fall.

I want to complete 15 things on the punch list.

I would like to make some homemade preserved lemons, roasted red bell peppers and balsamic reduction to add to the pantry.

HUBBY'S LIST 

Take scrap metal, old appliances and old trailer to junk yard which should pay for his tags for the bike and the one trailer.

Last mowing/trimming

Garden down

All vehicles including tractor,mowers etc ready for winter

All air barriers listed in energy audit done or at least started (can't be in attics until it cools down) but the bottoms of porches can be done now.

Sept Goals status

Sept goals done:
4 rooms repainted but still need put back together LOL

deck (Hubby's part) will be done by this weekend

tractor mower fixed

truck maintenance done

green beans done

cucumbers done

beets done

butternut, acorn sq,spag sq.,  pie pumpkins and jack be little pumpkins rinsed in bleach water to store until late winter when if not cooked by then I will cook and freeze. Butternut and acorn do not need to be cooked to be frozen.

green tomatoes (wasn't on Sept goals) done

I have cabbage in the garden, apples, corn and tomatoes waiting for me to get home and do this weekend.Cabbage will be last since they are holding well in the garden.

We still are sitting at 45% on propane so not needing winter fill YET.

What a week...

 First. Charlotte has a clean bill of health

Second Wilbur had a light stroke that only affected the left side on his mouth a little... which means I now sit with a towel on my lap as I know he is going to wipe his drool on me. I also wipe his mouth after he eats or drinks or that slime gets every where. IT seems to be getting a bit better.

Third, Rascal... yes has a tumor, BUT with where it is Vet could not tell 100 % if it was a fatty tumor. Asked me to monitor it as he would like it to be removed like in Nov when Rascal isn't likely to be out running around as much. Said to really watch how he pees as that will show faster if it is growing that the lump it's self. He had a hard time finding it but I didn't have any problem finding it even with Rascal sucked his tummy in .

MY OWN blood work came in good...don't need to take potassium pill or B vit  etc. I will have to take Crestor 3 times a week as my cholesterol is 250. Good cholesterol is maxed out (LOL) but both my parents have/had numbers over 200. Hubby's was good. I will have to take my vit D during the late fall to spring. After my bone test in Nov we will decide if I need to go back on meds for that.


4 weeks ago I had no beets, not many was going to have beets. B is a dear sweet young lady planted beets last month so I could have some. They ran over both her and me in the last 3 days.  I now have canned 80 pints of pickled beets and she was still canning when Hubby stopped over to deliver a message to A. Told Hubby she has more coming in late Sept/early Oct and he told her good as his mom was looking for 25 lbs of beets and we have another friend that might also be looking for beets.

I also canned 16 pints bread and butter pickles 32 pints dill pickles, 8-12 oz of bread and butter pickle relish, 8-12 oz dill pickle relish,9-8 oz jars of turmeric banana peppers and 8 jars of apples slices. I simmered the skins and cores to cook down later for apple butter since I have 3/4 bushel to cook yet. I have onions for onion marmalade and pickled onions yet to do.I have to wipe all the squash down with bleach.

Pie pumpkins and butternut squash are in. I got acorn squash, jack be little pumpkins, spag squash and a couple green tomatoes at Hurley farm. I also got a dozen ears of corn to eat this week, Hubby got fresh cider.

Hubby was making a delivery and was told tonight that we have 125 lbs of tomatoes coming tomorrow from N... M told me today that while she is gone this coming week to harvest what ever tomatoes ripen. Hubby's mom then called a few minutes ago looking to tomatoes. She needs enough to make 14 qrts of juice. I think we can cover it LOL.

Hubby has gotten "blown up" with calls of everyone and their brother looking for a ride (like 1:30 in the morning when the Amish family south of us driver didn't show up to take them to the train station,Hubby almost took them but they found someone already heading that way and was within 5 min of being able to pick them up), 3-4 English wanting to know if he was going to be over to the eastern side of the state (Holmes Co  was one) as they wanted stuff to be picked up and the a couple "can you haul" calls. He finally just started saying I am booked you need to call someone else.... He now has 3 that changed when they needed him TO WHEN he can do it. Produce will be slowing down with mid-Oct being the end of the harvest so that is 2 jobs that won't be there. At this point I think Hubby doesn't mind as since the truck was in the shop 2 days he was able to get some work done on the deck and he is making a list of things to do this fall and winter. He even was called while we were at Menards and the Amish guy had been at the house and the truck wasn't there so he used the Amish neighbor cell phone that is kept in the barn to call and find out where Hubby was as he was looking for someone to remove wood to go to another Amish BEFORE he had church this coming Sunday.  The guy laughed when Hubby said I am with my WIFE running errands... told Hubby that was okay  still laughing. When Hubby hung up all I could say was GEEZE while we both laughed.

On Sunday I cleared and prepped laundry room (after I did Monday laundry)for the painters and then cleared the other 3 rooms. Was told it would take them 4-7 days to paint all 4 rooms. Wished I had the two show up when we first painted the house as the ones that came Monday as they did all four rooms in FIVE hours.They said first we cleared, and prepped the one room but also Sherwin Williams provided the top paint they had so 1 coat  was all that was needed. They usually have to have things moved etc before they can even set up.I haven't used Sherwin Williams due to price but after seeing this paint and how it went on I will suck it up and pay for the top paint, even their flat in this top is washable. Not only did it cover nice, it dried to touch in 1 hr and the fumes was very little with the house closed up and the AC running. We figured I would have to leave due to fumes as it triggers my asthma NO PROBLEM !!!!.

Now I can do the fall cleaning, caulking and outlet/switch insulators starting Friday since I am cat sitting and paper work at Son 2. ON TOP OF PRODUCE.

An Amish family this morning met him at another's house and brought tomatoes and canning (yellow) corn for us as they couldn't use it and knew we would take anything. If we don't want it, we pass it to who does.  BUT I can use the corn. Right now we have 10 cups of corn in the freezer.

I put 150 slices of green tomato in the freezer that I floured for fried green tomatoes. Not bad since I have no broccoli or cauliflower in the freezer.I also put in 2 loaves of bread sliced so we can get a few slices and not end up throwing away bread. I froze raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. I did this yesterday before coming to cat sit.

When running errands Hubby decided to get some staples he wanted stocked in the pantry that I normally don't get much of.We did very well staying on budget until we walked passed the bulk candy and it was about half price.... sigh. Still he was paying for it and even though I said "we don't need that" we got it. BUT we decided to put it in the frig in the basement and just take a few of each in the snack drawer in the kitchen frig. For what ever reason if it's in the basement, he thinks 2-3-maybe even 4 times before going down after it where I go to the basement for our meals usually daily. I am not taking his candy up for him.

Hubby said he has been blown up this morning with work and turned it all down as he trying to get "his" section of the deck done so I can do "my" section which is railing. He has a 3 hr job tonight and a 3 hr job on Friday morning. He might have a job on Saturday... an auction of building supplies.. which he was being iffy about going to himself because of it being out of state, he wouldn't mind being paid to go to it LOL.  His next week is full already.  One job is about to go away beginning of Oct. Two of the drivers that had been off work (both medical) are back which will help Hubby as he won't have so many calling for help. He hates telling someone no when he knows it's causing them a problem.

I am going to sit down and figure out where we are with the punch list, check to see where we are at with our goals , house and finance and figure out a better system of the pantry.

Have a great day
Blessed Be