taking a break

 8 A.M. and I am on the second load of laundry. First load is on kitchen porch line. 

Hubby figured out that I have "save" $11.55 a month using the clothes line each month. I will save $13.76 using the clothes line when doing seasonal washing (bedding for 5 beds, 15 sets of curtains, 3 loads of clothing, furniture throws and dog beds).

I am down to washing curtains (those that are hanging and those that was in storage).

I have 3 dogs beds still.

I have 2 loads of throw rugs.

Then I will clear the gardens and garden shed if I can before the rain comes in on Saturday. If the hornets go away, I might be able to pick a few more apples. I'm highly allergic so it's not worth the risk.

Monday I got 60% of work done

Tuesday I got 99% done

Wednesday I got 15% done

That's an average of 58% done. Hubby asked me what that meant. I told him that meant instead of 15 things to do I was to cut back to 10. I think he wanted me to say 7 or 8 instead. 

Got to go hang curtains on the line.

To do list

 It's going to be a big push as we start heading into the colder months.

In the Garden :

Clear remaining boxes of summer crops. 

Cover late fall/ early winter boxes with row cover

Air dry calla lilies to replant next spring.

Clear flower garden of bulbs. Will transplant hosta next year and put in weed barrier and stones instead of plants. This area gets no direct sunlight but tons of WEEDS coming off the pasture across the yard.

Transplant black raspberries as they are too young to put in ground yet but getting too big for the pots they came in.

Transplant orchids (just finished blooming) 

Transplant philodendron

Trim herbs

Organize flower bulbs that need planted in Oct. Get said bulbs planted in the north garden. 

Plant garlic after 1st frost.

For the house:

Prep the kitchen porch for it to be torn off this coming month. I have paint the support posts and the ceiling before they tear the rest off.

We will be getting all the winter bedding, throw blankets, clothes etc  washed and put away, all the summer stuff will be cleaned if needed and put into storage.

I will start do fall cleaning with the hope to get all 23 areas done by the end of Oct. 

 

what we saved this week

 $29.35  on bank fees each.. this has been all year but it just dawned on me (duh) that this savings should be either going on the mortgage or in a savings acct.

We were given produce. So the menu got changed LOL. 

I was able to split the leftover chuck roast into 5 meals in the freezer. We had philly steak subs (sub buns given to us) instead of philly steak pizza but some of the meat is now in freezer listed for pizza. I also put a bag in for what I fondly call blue plate special (shredded meat over mashed potatoes or bread dressing or both drowned in gravy with corn or green beans as a side along with coleslaw and some hot dessert) and some for 123 pasta or stir fry plus a bag for beef and noodles   

I had a flank steak, it's now 3 meals of London Broil, satay and stir fry/123 pasta. I was given a tip beef roast. It's in freezer. 

I was given more butternut and acorn squash and a couple small watermelons. I will can(pressure can) the squash. I am not sure if the watermelon is good but if nothing else I will use the rind to pickle and can. 

Hubby found cube steak marked down as he went to store for one of the Amish. He asked the meat dept. if they would mark it down more since it was at the end of the day for it to sell. He got it for 1/4th of what the original price was. I floured it and baked it with gravy. We ate it for 3 meals.

I harvest harvested peas. Found another zucchini and golden zucchini.  

We ate 5 meals off menu after I added a few to do what was given.

We went back over the budget... have some large bills being paid end of Sept and again in Oct to finish projects.

I priced what I have on my master grocery list at different stores  and made notes on the original list of where to get what. A few things will no longer be bought as I am not willing to pay $7 for a bag of California Blend veggies. 

We got back $68 on our cash back credit card. It went toward a coat for Hubby for this winter. That leaves him only needed wool tube socks size 13-16. Hard to find in tube socks.

I got a $45 refund due to a mistake that the company caught. 

Blessed Be

HA HA menu plan

I do great at making a menu... I suck at staying on menu.

So in no order of when we will eat what. On the menu

beef and noodles, mashed potatoes and cole slaw or salad

123 pasta (one onion, 2 cups protein, 3 cups or more veggies and 1 lb. pasta..sauce floats) and salad

bfast for dinner... use leftover steak from Sunday for omelets or egg burritos, French toast with pie filling.

fried cabbage, fried potatoes with onions and corn bread  Might chop leftover smoked sausage in cabbage if enough left over.

philly cheese steak pizza with salad

Breaded fish with French fries and coleslaw. 

stir fry (what ever needs used up in frig) fried rice (actually it's yellow rice with onion, peas and carrots), eggrolls and pot stickers aka fried dumplings.

Hubby says we will do 3 meals the least. I say 4. Both of us will be shocked it is all of them. LOL

16th to the 20th

Thursday:

 Amish started working on the front porch. Hubby has to move the fence and due some filling in with gravel before they can build the ramp that will go on it. 

Since I was so tired but couldn't just sleep away the day as I was the only one home so the one to answer questions.

I caught up the mending.3 of Hubby's shirts, One of his work pants. Of mine there was a skort, shorts, and 4 bras that the cups kept coming out of  in the laundry. I also mended 2 hand towels and 2 face cloths. 

Just getting that done made it a good day. 

I also wiped down all the canning I did last week but I didn't carry it to the basement. I can do that tomorrow.

Having leftover chuck roast , mashed potatoes  and corn.

Friday:

I carried all the recent canning down and put them away. Straightened 2 shelves. 

I harvested peas, shelled them and put them in pan in freezer to flash freeze.

I harvested concord grapes and using my new steamer made grape juice. I thought about making grape mash jam from the stuff left and decided against it. I have enough canning to do. 

We talked about getting rid of that grape harbor. We have 2 other grape harbors that should start producing some next year. This harbor is right next to the curve in the driveway. I really would like Hubby to take it out and straighten that section as much as possible by widening the driveway.. which lead to the conversation that he is still putting 2 wheels in the yard when he leaves and pulls in. We need to widen the driveway at the asparagus on the asparagus side. I think it will also help him as he keeps thinking he is going to hit the mail box. Can't move the mail box as there is no other place for it due to the country drain ditch. SO that was put on the punch list.

We had chicken wraps for supper.

Saturday:

I bagged frozen peas. We now have 18 meals. It's been a very slow harvest. If I was canning I would have never got enough at one time to can even a pint. By freezing even 1/2 cup is doable. 

Hubby hauled. Produce auction is having their annual pumpkin sale on Tuesday. S has 4 if not 5 loads to go. Hubby started hauling the first on today. He will do 2 more on Monday and possible another on Tuesday. It will be a mad house at the auction as a lot of the local stores have people coming in to buy for their stores.

We straightened up the front porch area. He stabilized the steps we are using for right now. Not sure if we will leave steps on that end when the ramp is up because that is where the ramp starts in the driveway. We might put steps at the other end of the ramp and change the fencing in that area as I wouldn't want to walk up that close to dogs if I didn't know them and they carried on like ours does.

We had leftovers for supper

Sunday:

The day of rest and we took it. We did talk about getting through the rest of the boxes, extra furniture, Daddy's stuff etc. as we just had some friends have to hire help to clear a parent's home and that was after 2 yrs. of being in assisted living home and them tossing stuff on a regular bases. Like Daddy's some of the wooden furniture had dry rotted so bad it couldn't be fixed. 

We decided to finish clearing the barn (house is done except for extra dishes) by next summer. I am 2/3rds the way through the front bay.

 Hubby has the last stall done and is going to put the tractor and it's equipment in that stall. Middle stall is half done, (he thinks mowing equipment and the motorcycle. The stall at the door..the south side of it is a kennel for the dogs if needed and he wants to put  his work truck on the northside so he can plug it in during the winter . He has a diesel truck and it needs the heater to be on during winter. 

The big bay and the loft over it is not been touched at lot. Goal is to have gone through EVERY THING by next summer.

I fixed shrimp cocktail, T-bone steak, twice baked potato and salad for supper.

Our tv started messing up today. Hubby sent pic to Son 1 and he said it was dying. BUT did tell us what he just bought himself as his had just died. We bought it in the spring of 2014. 

Monday:

I called 2 doctors that I am over due for check ups. Neither are taking patients at this time due to high rate of covid. I won't bother to try again as it's been a month now for the same reason. It's getting worse not better around us.

I harvested 2 zucchini, 1 golden zucchini, 1 cucumber, enough green beans to make a meal for us tonight and maybe 1/2 cup of peas that went in the freezer. 

Hubby hauled a couple more loads of pumpkins for S and then picked up a load of pallets from another Amish that's driver that had to cancel due to truck breaking down. 

We are having green beans, leftover mashed potatoes and beef and noodles for supper.

sitting just sitting...

 Why?

I am tired.

 I had 3 medical appointments on Monday, another on Tuesday late afternoon , and one more on break of dawn Wednesday. OF COURSE all were more than an hour away. I have one scheduled next week and have 3 more doctors to call for appts to catch it all up and get it done this year as my out of pocket is maxed out. I also will be getting the flu shot mid Oct and then Nov call to schedule my back injections. 

I got this month groceries bought in the home, not all dealt with. I found a 20 lb. turkey for 89 cents/lb. .

I have cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash , watermelon and watermelon rind, peas, apples, grapes, hamburger, steak, cube steak , sausage patties , steaks and the chuck roast I baked last night to deal with.

I have a laundry basket of mending to do

I haven't started my weekly cleaning let alone fall cleaning. 

I haven't wiped down the jars I just canned and taken them to the pantry nor shelled the dried beans 

I haven't picked peas in two days, or the other dried beans that need pulled or work at clearing the garden beds that are done.

What have I done besides run to medical appts ?

I had a light stroke that got missed amongst the busyness of the season. It showed on the head MRI that was ran for other reasons, ruled out MS and tumors.

Left side that affects vision, language and memory.  It has not affected it enough for Hubby who is a EMT to notice it. Or even my doctor that I see every 3 months. I still read nightly, I still run my mouth... which neither comment to my brother or girlfriend went over very well but our kids thought it was funny.

I already have been doing all I can to keep my heart healthy since I was BORN with left side heart failure. I had a nasty fall awhile back and they now think either the fall causes the stroke or maybe the stroke caused the fall instead of my cerebral palsy. Six one , half dozen another. My attitude is IT DOESN'T MATTER ... it just is. 

My doctor who I see this coming week already called me to let me know that I just need to eat healthy, get exercise and not watch all the negative news. I'm okay. 

But right now I am drained and tired so it's a day of doing nothing. 

Daughter 4's first week back to work

 Monday morning , actually it was more afternoon as she walked in her home, let the dogs out, left the back door open (yard is fenced in) fed and watered them, sat down to drink coffee and went to sleep... I sent text at 8 am when she should have been get home asking how it went... that afternoon the answer was EXHAUSTING. She played for 2 hrs. with the dogs in the early afternoon and then took another nap before work.

Tuesday afternoon as she figured I would be between medical tests and bored she sent that she had nearly got ran over by another scooter, that person got in trouble, she forgot to stop completely before getting off her scooter and twisted her knee, but finished the order and got it to packing before seeking medical and filing paperwork and got HERSELF IN TROUBLE as she was suppose to STOP and take care of HERSELF first not finish the order.

Wednesday afternoon... the manager in her came out ... They need to do a better job of training and more hands on training coming from the trainer to the trainee. She is good with the job, as she put all companies have issues. Loves the benefits and is glad I made her promise me to NOT sign up for over time if it was offered this week. She is EXHAUSTED. 

Glad she is working only 3 days a week and not the 5 she would have been at the old job.  I did tell her she would need those days to recover for a couple weeks.

Why I cancelled Sam's club and other memberships

 I am glad Sam asked. 

First when I look at taking a membership or subscription I ask myself these questions... does it save me money? does it save me time? Do I learn something from this? Is this helpful in any way, shape or form? (more of this at end)

Our Sam's club is 45 minutes away. 

 If we walk through the store we end up with 3 flat bed carts. We buy the OH LOOK AT THAT... stuff that should be OH WE DON'T NEED THAT  stuff. Junk food to be sold in other stores in my pantry LOL.

We did 2 curb side pick ups during pandemic. There was limits and somethings were out of stock.  SO basically I paid around $25 each trip as my membership is $50 about. At that point it was worth it to kept us out of the stores as neither of us was vaccinated. Our Walmart and Kroger's (Kroger's is now closed) didn't have anything of my list. I did use instant cart a couple times.

Membership renewal was coming up so I looked to see if it was worth having.

45 minutes away along with at least an hour and usually two shopping and then 45 minutes back. ADD the cost of gas/wear and tear of vehicle  to get there and back. My time is based on $5/ hr. with mileage to cover truck is $1.75 (yes that is more that gov't allows on tax return but it reflects the true cost for this area AKA $5000 for entire brake system of truck)

 I compared what I was buying:

25 lb. flour (bread and all purpose) was actually more at Sam's than Walmart or GFS (Gordan food service, no membership required, 30 minutes away).FIGURE THAT ONE OUT of Walmart cheaper than Sam's.

25lbs sugar ... same thing , more than Walmart's or GFS

Yeast at 1 lb. was a bit cheaper at Sam's but cheaper at Amazon and could not get at bulk store.

SO I started comparing... where is my money best spent... I was NOT saving enough to cover the cost of going there let alone the membership. 

The Amish bulk store 15 minutes from us has it but they are higher priced than Sam's club and limited on what they have. But I can pick up some items that most regular stores don't carry. Like gelatin in bulk that I can store in old canning jars. Especially peach gelatin that is hard to find. 

GFS , my brother's favorite place for getting stuff for family gatherings (he is a retired school principle) is closer (30 minutes) and lower prices, generic for most items. 

Walmart and Save A Lot are the only grocery stores here. Both with in 10 minutes. Save A Lot has decent meat. Both stores acknowledge that Amish shop there and have items in larger amounts that those families would need to buy. 

Then I priced Amazon. The amount of tv shows Hubby watches covers the cost of the membership against the cheapest satellite tv shows we could find as cable is not out here.   Add the fact I saved over $600 on shipping last year and get 5% back on my credit card. 

IF we had a Meijer's here I would shop there. But the closest is 50 minutes from us.

We shop Kroger's and Aldi's biweekly if needed when already there for doctor's appointments.

We shop Save A Lot and Walmart here. 

I order from Amazon and some spices (not much herbs as I pretty much grow what I use) from .

We have memberships or subscriptions with the following

Amazon, shows for Hubby who zones out in front of the tv (finally is setting a timer to turn it off) , unlimited kindle for me as I am a read-alcoholic , free delivery most times. 

Seed Savers not only can I find heirloom seeds but it's a tax deduction for the membership.

Real Simple magazine. Recipes, time saving tips and I pass this to Daughter 4 who passes it to her daughter who passes it to a friend etc. I do not do auto renewal. I wait a couple months to find a good deal on it.

Milk Street magazine. This is Hubby's. He watches the shows, loves the recipes and gotten a few more quick meals that were really good on the table.I think this is one of the few things he reads 

AARP... lots of tips, great brain puzzles, discounts not so much in this area but was great where we lived before . We are looking at going that way with our taxes. Keeps me up to date with changes in Medicare etc.

MS 365. I tried open office and several times could not get it to work with things coming from Hubby's employer. 

We are thinking strongly of Norton 360 with LifeLock as we have free AVG. Three of the kids have it and it has been a blessing. Since I just dealt with my credit card number being stolen I know how bad it can be. This would fall under peace of mind.

We thought about a membership to Anytime fitness or YMCA , that's all that is here. BUT we know we won't drive 15 minutes (both on west side in town and we are east of town). The price was on the high side. Wished there was a planet fitness as I would have done that. We decided we would just wait until we qualified for silver sneakers. I picked up a Fitbit which paid for it's self when it caught I was having heart issues(again, some more , what ever). I have a Fitbit Sense with membership. 

 

    

 

We have a GFS (Gordon Food Service , they also supply restaurants) that sells to public 30 minutes away, no membership required. T

savings last week

 All the bills paid on time, credit cards due paid off. 

I was going to go back to the grocery store and get dairy and some freezer stuff... I didn't.

We ate from the gardens... ours and other peoples that was giving us stuff like 3 butternut and 2 acorn squashes and filled in with the pantry. I am still harvesting peas, onions and tomatoes.

We bought local honey from Amish. We got discount as Hubby hauls for them off and on.

We bought 4 pumpkins and got a discount as Hubby hauls for them twice a week. After they spend some time as decorations I will cook and dehydrate, then grind that to powder.

The front porch is getting redone on Thursday. We cleared it and I painted the bottom face boards using white paint left over from when we painted the house. I also painted 4 posts. If they can't be used on front porch (we can't see if the posts is actually the bottom feet of the porch floor) then they will go to the kitchen porch which makes me ahead on that project.

I planted 36 different variety of seeds in the fall garden. Hubby already had the hoops for low tunnels over the boxes. Now it's wait and see what comes up.

Doc sent looked over our blood work and let us know we are low in some of our vitamin areas and what they were. He wants us to eat the food not pop a supplement. 

I canceled Sam's club membership.

We open windows in morning and again in the evening. If it's about 85 in afternoon we run the AC for Rascal. He is black and gets hot and then throws up... I guess we are doing it for us to not have to clean throw up. ;) Electric bill was still below budget.

Blessed be 

 

WE ARE EXCITED

 fingers crossed... jumping for joy 

DAUGHTER 4 STARTS WORK SUNDAY NIGHT.

NEGATIVE SIDE:

It's 3 miles farther from home then the other job was.

It's 50 cents less an hour on pay.

It's 4 hours less time.

POSITIVE SIDE!!!!

it's 3 days a week Sunday night/ Monday night/Tuesday night. SO she can use 4 days recovery since she hasn't worked full time in over a year.

Overtime is available on a regular bases, Bonus is available with certain criteria (she gets that list Sunday night) 

Orientation is the done on the first night of work. 

Pay raises at 30/60 and 90 days

Insurance/ 401K / and first paycheck on Oct 1st.

20% discount off products

It's at Chewy pet supplies warehouse. 

She will ride around in a scooter, scan things for the order. Take order (on scooter) to packing and drop it off. Then ride off to get the next order. 

She said the 20% on her dog food alone will save her more than what she is losing on the hourly earnings. 

Jokes are already being made of her in a scooter (she has bad knees) and should be able to work in her late 60 to 70s as scooters are for that age . She called it a lazy job. 

Daughter 4 update

 She got up at 4:30 this morning to go to orientation.... they didn't even let her sign in so no gas money coming back to her as they did a hiring freeze due to lack of parts and orders LAST WEEK but didn't bother to tell the 30 some people that was showing up today. 

She immediately texted me after she stopped crying about it. She is also applying for jobs on line and is willing to take part time just to get the money rolling in.

She had already changed her budget based on what she knew she would be earning (old job at old company so had that info). She has 2 utility bills that have to be paid off Nov.4th  since what she used was over what they had her on the budget for. 

I figured up what we have left in the budget for her... at least I know her divorce is paid for and the car is in good condition with repairs and maintenance. Even though that wiped out Nov and Dec budget. She figured she would be working full time. I just have to wait until MY money comes in to pay off her balances.

She knows we have $6000 of bills that have to be paid this month (truck brake system and the two porches) so I will cover her with my social security and my IRA.

We want house paid off before Medicare as a friend on the same meds as me has to pay out $6000/ month since she went on Medicare /Medicare gap. 

Extra payments on mortgage probably won't happen the rest of the year. I really hope I am wrong about that. Really hope she finds something. But even Son 2 said the airforce base is now at 25% of employees due to Delta covid.

Does this sound like a HERE WE GO AGAIN year???   

September... remembering Daddy

 Son 1(Hubby's) and Son 2 (Mine) turn 39. Their birthdays are 10 days apart. 

We have always said it was like raising two sets of twins as our girls (Daughter 3, Hubby's) and Daughter 4 (mine Hubby adopted when she was 9) are 9 1/2 months apart.

Daughter 1 hit her 15 yrs at Walmart .

Daughter 2 is pretty sure she has a new place to move to Oct 1st. She thinks she might even have other people to move her that doesn't require her 62 yr old parents to move heavy furniture. We are okay with using our truck and trailer if she can work around Hubby works schedule since he can't afford to take off now.

Daughter 3 is planning her wedding. They are eloping. They have not set the date... or at least have not told when. 

Daughter 4 starts work this week and gets her 2nd covid shot.

Hubby picked up a couple extra jobs to help pay for the brake job. Meant he worked Saturday and Labor Day. BUT the less he has to pull from his personal account to cover the business the better he will be.

I canned 14 pints of cole slaw, 4 pints of cole slaw dressing, 8 pints of ratatouille, 6 quarts of veggie soup and froze 2 more cups of peas. I harvested and pulled plants of black coco dry beans and small red beans. I still need to shell them.

We are running water from the pump house to the pond for 1 hour in the late evening. Pond is down to 3-4 feet instead of the 8 feet it is supposed to be. We watched E's horses walk across instead of swimming across the pond while they were over here. His pasture south of us is now connected (we removed fence with his blessing even though it was OUR fence) to the pond area. Saves E from carting water and we don't have to mow around the pond as the horses do a good job of "mowing" it. 

We are down to 46 % on propane tank, so we are on spot with not needing a fill for another month at least (fills are when tank is at 25-30 %). We usually only prepay winter heating season and summer fills are full price and cash. This year they allowed summer fill to be added to the prepay of winter season so I added it. If they get the fuel for less than the prepaid price we get the lower price BUT if it is more, we still get the lower price. It can go down but not up so we don't have to worry about if we have enough to pay for heat.

I cleaned all 3 refrigerators (which is why I canned ratatouille).  I pitched some out dated dairy. Last blood work showed we were low on calcium, doc was not happy with the comments of eating more ice cream (Hubby is trying to lose weight, he lost 8 lbs. in last 3 months but still is over by 38 lbs. Both his parents are over weight by 100 lbs. He doesn't want to follow that path). 

We spent last week talking out how bad our eating habits was (our go to snack... Reese cups anyone?) since we moved here. We used to eat healthy , rainbow diet of eating different colors daily, balanced carbs and protein, calcium...etc. 

What happened?

We bought this place and started working on it. With the drive we were 10 hrs. gone from home. We staggered when we left, drove separate so the dogs were not stuck inside that length of time. Bfast was McD's on the way here, lunch was Chinese or the local store that serves hot lunches but no veggies. Dinner was what ever sandwich or pizza we could pick up once we got home as the focus was to get the dogs out and give them play time. Do laundry etc. 

We did a brain dump of what meals we used to eat (think 1940s through 1970s because that is the food that is from our childhoods) and what salads we really like when we eat out, as salad at home isn't as well liked. Then we went to bfast which neither of us eat. Mine due to stomach issues and Hubby always ate supper for his bfast since he worked 3rd but he would be up a few hours before eating PLUS he doesn't like to eat much as outhouses are the only bathrooms available with his work. We even listed desserts for fruit and dairy.

He is now carrying more water  and cut back on the coffee (was a pot a day now to half pot like me) and has beef jerky and slim jims along with granola bars that he is putting in his old lunch box (small cooler) daily when he is working the full day on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

We decided to follow Daddy's eating pattern as he was a diabetic at age 60 and only took 1/2 metformin daily until he was 92. He was on insulin, lowest dosage for his final year of living. He was the healthiest of all of our parents.

Daddy ate bfast 2 hrs. after he got up. Bowl of raisin bran with extra raisins and 1/2 banana ( he wrapped the other half in saran wrap to eat the next day and washed the saran wrap to reuse), drank the 1 cup of milk he poured on it. YES HE MEASURED THE CEREAL AND MILK.  He rode his exercise bike the two hours before bfast while he drank his first 4 cups of coffee. He put a shelf on the bike so he could put his coffee cup on it. Watched the morning news while riding.

THEN he went for a 1 1/2 mile walk, rain, sleet, snow didn't matter.

Then he had his dessert... pie, cake, pudding. Sliver of pie about 2 inches wide at crust, 2 inch by 2 inch cake or brownie or 1 /2 cup of pudding. 

Then he did weight lifting for at least 30 minutes. He has free weights in the upstairs bedroom. 

At 11:30 he ate lunch. A slice of thin bologna sandwich with mustard (tomato if from garden) on whole wheat bread, 3 fig newtons, a small apple or 1/2 of large apple and another 2 cups of coffee. Then he walked 2 miles.

Snack was at 2 pm what ever dessert he had followed by 2 cups of coffee.

At 3-3:30 he took a nap of 20 minutes. I can't get to sleep in that time let alone take a nap. 

In winter time he would take 1 1/2 mile walk... when the sun was shining he would do it after dinner.

Drink more coffee

Dinner was at 5 pm but the menu was a floater until his final 2 years at home. Then it was navy bean soup with ham hock, fried golden potatoes, and corn bread. With  4-6 cups of coffee. Wasn't nothing for him to make 2-3 pots a day just for himself. It was how he was raised.

He was 90 when he couldn't take his walks any more. Bad knees even after surgery. He handed over the keys to the car without battle as he felt he wasn't safe for him to drive anymore. Balance was starting to go. When he burnt his brownies so bad he had to throw the pan away he stopped cooking and asked for help with meals. When he started having problems eating (he had throat cancer and the scar tissue from surgery was causing issues) . He went to the nursing home. Until he was 92, he was still active, walking his wheelchair, eating well, able to carry on conversation even with his dementia. The only time I ever saw my Daddy frown he was sleeping. He always had a smile. 

We want that life for our selves. I know how had my Daddy turned his life around at age 60 when his health started going down and he was 60 lbs. over weight. 

Right now it's "just talk" now we have to walk the walk. 

Neither of us watches the morning news. Hubby might watch noon news for weather if he is home. I only watch the evening news if that. I might start listening to our local new (which is actually our little town ) on the local radio station. I will check their website to see when that is broadcasted. 

We both know we have to change this NOW as Hubby's parents were doing silver sneakers at their YMCA right around the corner then decided to not go out when winter hit and it's been a downhill slide since. 

Are you changing anything to be healthier through your senior years?

In the pantry .. close enough ... garden coming in

 

Henderson lima beans to shell... 2 1/2 gallons of these to shell.

Italian cranberry beans ... have 2 1/2 gallons of these also to shell.

I have great northern beans to shell also about 2 gallons of them

I got 1 1/3rd cup of peas off 24 feet of garden beds SIGH. I need 2 2/3rds cups more to have enough for ONE meal a month. It wasn't a good year for peas. I am hoping I get enough as they are still blooming. But if not, we will make do.

I have 11 jars of peach pie filling to wipe down and move to basement.

I have 13 jars of rutabaga to wipe down and move to basement.

I have 2 jars of turnips to wipe down and move to basement.

I was given 3 cantaloupes that need cut and frozen.

I have 2 small watermelons that need cut and frozen. I might make pickled watermelon rind.

I was given cabbage so I will add that to what cabbage I have to can cole slaw. Will also make fried cabbage, New England boiled dinner using smoked sausage instead of corned beef and cole slaw with mayo dressing. 

I have apples,( some we bought but the second apple tree is almost ripe now) so that's apple pie filling. apple jam and apple sauce with cores and skins going into apple butter and jelly. Ham and apple Welsh rarebit (rabbit depending on who says it) is on the menu as Hubby's request.

Hubby got some extra $  so he bought 8 jars of 32 ounces mild hot pickled cauliflower. We go through a jar a month and I had 4. He called and asked how much I had. They were on sale for 25% off. The only condiments we are low on is Heinz 57 steak sauce and sweet and spicy mustard that I will get when I see a sale. 

We are at the point we can go a year with out worry. We have what we need or can make do with.  I follow Daddy's advice to have at least a year, eighteen months is better and two years worth is great for hard times. M found this out when 4 yrs ago she stopped canning and gave produce away or sold it at auction because she had 1 year's worth. The following year they lost their main garden, not once but 3 times to flooding. Lesson learned. That year she had to buy peas at the store in cans so they could have peas once a month.  

We still have garden coming in.

On the list to process:

tomato juice 

tomato paste

cherry tomatoes to dehydrate

cole slaw

veggie soup ( bought celery)

Italian (wide) green beans

apple pie filling

apple sauce

apple jam

apple butter

apple jelly

grape juice (not quite ripe yet)

grape jelly

grape mash jam

ratatouille (eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini and golden zucchini from gardens)

dehydrate garlic.

finish curing onions.

Black coco beans to harvest and shell

Small red beans to harvest and shell

cucumber (down to just enough to eat fresh)

Cannellini beans to harvest and shell

Red kidney beans to harvest and shell

peas to freeze

carrots fresh eating

basil and sage. (other herbs need trimmed back)