2025, how low can we go?

 Miss Charlotte has decided SHE gets the glider in the front room. LOL She wasn't happy with the wooden rocker in the dining room. She usually sits in the recliner rocker in the front room that is Hubby's place to sit when he isn't at the desk.

SO, Son2 was putting together a spreadsheet for us to keep track of finances. He been sick, been on medical leave for over 90 days and still running more testing. So it's something for him to do.

He realized that if he goes on full disability, he can pay the bills but he won't have money to by groceries or replace his 2005 car.... then said he didn't think we could just live on only Social Security. 

I told him he had to have 3 months income saved in 1 yr also. 

He came back with GAME ON... 

We did agree to not count food or paper products since I garden and he doesn't and there are 2 of us and only 1 of him. His cats supplies equal our costs for Charlotte. 

We decided to run it mid month to mid month due to when we get our Social Security and he get's paid every 2 wks. He asked to start it the 15th of this MONTH.

No problem. We noted what was already in accts. and I suggested we move what ever is in the accts. on 14th to be moved to savings but not counted as the 3 months. He agreed. 

I don't know if he really thinks we can not live on Social Security alone or if boredom is causing him to make a game out of cutting his expenses.  We have medical costs he doesn't but he has heating and water/sewage costs we don't. Hubby thinks Son 2 will quit/give up before 3 months. But I will stick it out just to prove a point.

Up with Charlotte

Son2 is in counseling at VA, They call it Hero syndrome as he wants to rescue people aka women with children that play the poor me really well. Made him a good soldier but not so good with women, especially this last one that used to serve with him. He is doing better, she did let him know thru the chaplain that the child was going to be released when he got to a certain point in his therapy but would be needing long term therapy. The court ordered her into medical care and probation. 

It's raining so Charlotte is pacing, as long as I am up she will lay behind me, won't lay with me in bed or on couch. Has had this issue since the basement flooded. 

Hubby's Dad is having surgery this morning so he will be sitting with his mom and siblings at the hospital. He needs a growth removed from his bowels. Second time in 3 yrs.

I have canned all the meat and soups...GO ME....

I still need to can/freeze/dehydrate winter squashes including pumpkins.

This week I will do a really good cleaning of the home. We let the wood stove go out last night as it's in the 50s today even with rain so I can give it a good cleaning today as the highs of BELOW freezing is back in on Wednesday morning. We are getting rain since it is warm instead of sleet or snow.

We have did a round of "do we need to keep this?" I have 5 cloth grocery bags full to donate. I just donate the bags also as they are getting thin.

Our "getting out of the house" has been taking Charlotte for a ride but instead of around the neighborhood we have been going to other areas to look at lights

Son2 is working on a program to help me keep better track of the finances. He already caught that I forgot a couple things and inputted them. Mentioned that my grocery budget is under $500/month which is what the USDA suggests.  I told him since I grow berries, apples and veggies that I don't BUY that at the store. I would be spending $$ to finish filling the new metal garden beds and getting seed potatoes and sweet potatoes to grow this coming season. Now he is asking what I am canning instead of how am I feeling LOL.

Have a good day. Blessed Be

Taking a break from canning.Good news/bad news

 Sloppy joe (for hamburger pie) and Taco soup.

Sausage and potato soup, honey garlic porkchops and spicy pineapple pork chunks.

The weather forecast for the coming week. Winter is about a month early.

Winter squash including pumpkin is holding well. The rest of the meat for canning, I put directly in to freezers. So we decided to focus on getting ready for Christmas and I can go back to canning after Thanksgiving. 

Hubby went through all the Christmas lights. We have 4 Christmas decorations, issues with lights that might not get fixed. He is working on a purple martin house now as the old one fell apart.

I am behind on paperwork but got Medicare, medigap and part D dealt with for both of us.

Good news is the 5 yr old boy is recovering and in physical therapy , does have a long road of recovery especially with him having autism and in his grandparents home.

Bad news is his mother tried scamming several of our friends, some veterans and son that he was still having surgeries and she needed copays. Since the child and her was under a protection order due to an attack on her last year. It was hard for Son2 to check on them while in hospital.He finally had Children services and law enforement check on him and found he had been released and there was no copays needed.He definitely broke engagement off, been friends for over 20 years. And she is looking at criminal charges. Said her dad was a cop... he is security for a factory. They filed for custody of the child, thanked Son2 for caring enough about the child to stop her from using the boy. 

Found out that is not the only criminal activity she was doing.SIGH. Son2 put himself in to counseling over it. 

A Friend of on one of our kids

Woke up by Son 2 who had someone try to break in to his house. His neighbor got her security alarm going off because they went through her yard and over his fence. He was still up but had his lights off. When he flipped his lights on to check out his own security camara, they took off WITH his camara.Cops were there within minutes since neighbor has autocall on her securty for that crap. They actually put in a sheriff's sub office in that area but it's not manned all the time and the housing divison is right off of interstate 70 about by a mile. So they don't know if it's local doing it or if it's someone bouncing through.

A frind of asked  our child what I was doing with my vacation from the gardens...

Answer... canning quick main dishes

 WHAT??? WHY ????was the response.

Lots of answers to that one, because the meat was on sale, I am out of freezer room, so forth and so on 

Reality is , I am cutting down the take out so need healthy quick meals that are basically heat and serve without much to add to it. 

I saved 25 % on the grocery bill buying potatoes, onions and 1 salad mix and the rest was meat and dairy.  I have only to get one roast for Christmas Eve (Christmas day is leftovers) as who is coming is floating so we decided to get the roast and if they come, there will be enough, and if not, we will put leftovers in packages for other meals in freezer. Since we have a superbug, Covid and 2 types of flu going around,sickies are not welcome LOL which is why there is no confirmed of who is coming.

I got my Holiday meats for Thanksgiving, New Year's eve, New Year's day, Valentine's day, our anniversary, St Patrick's Day, Easter (I moved the ham from Christmas day to Easter) Memorial day and July 4th. 

I picked 25 recipes from Pressure canning for Beginners and Beyond by Angi Schneider. 

I figured up my costs, divided by how many jars(main part of the meals) and even Hubby was a bit shocked. It comes out to around $1.25 PER JAR which is a meal for us. Figuring 150 jars.I plan to use 3 a week. That gives me a year's supply. 

Hubby asked me why I had a cloth grocery sack with a empty card board box in the freezer.  I use cloth grocery bags to keep things separate, I have the bag tagged on handle using freezer tape to tell me what is in it. The bag is for the pumpkin puree I will freeze in 1 cup amounts when I can cubed pumpkin and winter squash so I know to NOT use that space.

Put homemade bread and a fruitI have frozen or canned with soups.

Put rice or pasta and fruit with the rest. Keeping in mind I already have canned or froze my fruit of my own or local. I do buy canned fruit that is not grown in this area like pineapple etc. I have plenty of flour. My yeast is in freezer plus I can make sourdough starter. 

I have a little bit of lettuce and some kale still growing in the vegepod that I covered with frost protection row cover.

We picked up 15 lbs of oats at Amish bulk store on the way to pick up the pumpkin roll Amish made us, they donate any money earned from them to Children's hospital in Columbus. St Judes has helped with Amish bills more than once.Since I am now making granola on top of the oat fruit bar I make once a month and Hubby eats oatmeal sometimes as a snack, I am not sure how long that will last us.

We are trying to eat our colors, red, green, yellow/orange, white/tan/brown and purple/blue/black daily to be healthy so I made a chart to mark off what was ate and what we need to put a little more effort into eating. The blue/purple/black is an effort for sure. 

We should be able to drop the grocery budget to $100 a month. I will move what I budgeted to savings to pay for the replacement of meat probably late summer of next year. What is left will be put on mortgage. 

 We have an Englisher that is looking to start making goat cheese. We have a couple Amish that will take an order for cheese when they go to the east side ot the state for other things. There are some stores that specialize in cheese over there. 

I am still trying to pay off mortgage early and yet bring the out go of $$ down. 

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

Life keeps rolling

 Hubby's uncle and brother doing fine after heart issues.

Mother in Law has her congestive heart failure stablized and is doing fine. She went grocery shopping and was not worn out afterwards.

Nephew is NOT rejecting his lung transplants. He caught a super bug that Medical doesn't have a name for but it's going around and they are using high dosage of steroids to kick it out. He is home and doing okay.

Five yr old now has the same superbug,and is not responding to surgery. Keeps having seizures even under sediation. He is having spinal fluid leaking, his BP is through the room. Since they know he has infection in his blood, his mother can't even leave the room to see anyone or have Son2 (fiance)or his grandpartents come in to see him. Mother is now struggling herself. He was supposed to have surgery last night, didn't get a text or call of what time so probably after 11. It will take 10 days to find out if the surgery did any good. Prayers are just in God's hands and Lord please stop his suffering and hoping we don't lose her also as he's been her whole life for last 5 years as he is autistic. 

I canned 15 quarts of beef stew... I called it minced stew since the pieces are so small. I did NOT use gravy (not good for homecanning) but figured I could drain the beef broth off and make gravy then add back to the stew. 

Using the meatballs that was already in the freezers. I still have 6 meals of meatballs in freezer.

I canned 7 quarts of meatballs in beef broth

I canned 7 quarts of meatballs in tomato sauce

I canned 7 quarts of meatballs in thin cream of mushroom sauce

I canned 3 pints of "slidder" size hamburger patties in beef broth.

I was going to do white bean and poultry chili but decided to wait until after Thanksgiving and use part of the leftover turkey for that.

While digging out meatballs I found 3 small prime rib roasts. So instead of buying one for Christmas I am going to use them. Hubby asked how we had them, I ordered a larger roast last year because Son2 and his date was thinking of coming up. They decided at Thanksgiving to not come up. So I just cut the extra amount into sizes that would work for the two of us. Son1 should be up unless weather stops him and he can take leftovers home with him. Plus I can slice it up for Philly steak subs and pizza instead of ordering it or buying frozen kits. LOL

SO I will start on winter squash and pumpkins.

Since the light frost didn't damage the herbs in the garden nor the kale. I dehydrated more and need to put those in containers.

We had Philly steak subs for supper that I added mushrooms to. We have a little of the meat left and 2 sub buns so I will make Philly steak pizza subs for supper tonight with apple Waldorf salad on top of lettuce from the vegepod.

I know we will have red kuri soup and spaghetti squash this week. We usually eat what I am canning.Maybe stuffed acorn squash???

I am thankful to not being living in a country that the gangs run the country.

Prayers for peace

Blessed be

How we got to this level.

One book I suggest often is When Crisis Hits the Suburbia by Ted Riley. I reread is at least 4 times a year.

I will add the advice that you need to write date canned and rotate when you are canning and eating it. When I am canning green beans , we have it once or twice for meals other wise you get tired of it and won't eat it. M even mentioned that her family got tired of asparagus as she was putting it on the table twice a day. It's a short season and they can only eat fresh. I freeze enough to go every other week .

 Hubby grew up farming,only went to factory when they lost the farm and the farmer they were working for lost his also. They used wood heat. His grandmother did the canning (his mom worked at phone co) so all the kids helped with gardening. Side benefit was he grew up eating pork chops and steaks.

I grew up poor.I walked the streets to pick up cans and bottles so we could scrape up the money to get my brother through college (10 yrs older, got a grant,scholarships and worked 2 jobs while in college). He was the first to graduate from high school and the first to graduate from college in both sides of family. The day he graduated Mother served Tbone steaks for supper.  Regular meals where corn(fresh or canned) and fried potatoes or fried cabbage and fried potatoesor canned greenbeans with potatoes and onions together. Fried potatoes and gravy. Grandpa grew potatoes so we made a trip once a month down to southern Ohio to see him and get 100 lbs of potatoes in season usually started getting them in Aug.About Feb was the last of them as the rest Grandpa had was to be planted.

We had a large garden. I was canning by age 5. I lived near the Amish and my Daddy's family was from the hills of Ohio working coal mines. At that time it wasn't good money. He had bean soup for lunch and supper every day, no eggs as they couldn't afford to buy them or raise the chickens. More than once we went hungry because the garden didn't produce enough, looking back I would say they didn't grow enough even though we had the land to grow more and they didn't can enough. Daddy canned even when his second wife died. They didn't grow 3 sisters which would have had the dried beans and pumpkins growing with the corn.

More than once Daddy told me he didn't crawl out of the mines for me to crawl in them because way of life seemed calm to me even with the work load. When we told him we bought an Amish house and showed him pictures (was already being admitted to nursing home). He asked if we were converting ourselves or the house. So I told him our plans to make this a home we wouldn't have to leave because we couldn't be in a wheelchair in it...which is why he was going to nursing home. My in laws are facing that issue now themselves even though they took care of the elderly. Didn't measure the bathroom or bedrooms doorways when they bought the new house, too small for a wheelchair. I would just tear them out and widen the doorway. Lot cheaper than nursing home.

Hubby has been in emergency services, squad, home land security for over 45 yrs. He has trained to handle being off grid. 

When the kids were little I would have Grandpa's childhood day every other Sunday. No electric was used except hot water heater and stove. Oil lamps, candles, reading instead of blasting their radios, milk gravy with bread and oatmeal for bfast, bean soup and bread for lunch and supper. All have said they thought it was neat but stupid but thankful I did it as they used that knowledged more than once since leaving home. 

So the back ground is there for both of us. But my growing up without enough to eat triggered for me to make sure my kids didn't go that way. I've grew food in kids sand buckets. Gleaned fields,cleared gardens for others. I learned to cook more than just bean soup. Beans and rice, bake my own bread and noodles etc.

I have cerebral palsy, parents told I would never walk and most likely die before I was 5 due to stomach and heart issues and I have had a stroke. I grew up already dealing with issues.

With that said I went from in ground gardening to strawbales then to raised metal beds. Less bending over and at the height if I was in wheelchair I could still garden. Amish told Hubby to use landscape cover which is like weed barrier but thicker. It's strong enough to handle a wheelchair being on it. We still need to make a pathway from driveway as the ramp from front porch to driveway to garden beds. But the garden area is built around the thoughts of me being in wheelchair.  I started with 12 of 2 ft by 8 ft beds. I'm up to 36 beds now.Half is planted right now with garlic that will be ready next summer, I will sell what ever I don't need at produce auction. That also keeps those beds from being planted with spring or mid summer crops so I will have them for fall crops.

Several of the Amish have offered how to deal with old age and still getting work done. They are in 80s (one couple are in their 90s), cutting fire wood and growing large gardens and canning. I now have a larger pressure canner (less water, more jars canned at once and less fuel used to can).I can my own kraut. 

Raised garden beds with the barrier under it, plant 3 seasons (4 if you have greenhouse). Eat fresh as it comes in can for late Fall to Spring.. When asparagus comes in. Grow perennials, berries, some fruit trees etc. Mother didn't like fruit.

I did strawberries first. Then added blackberries (Daddy and my favorite) Then red raspberries. Then black raspberries. I tried golden raspberries but they don't do well. I should have spaced them more apart . I did 4 ft thinking that was wide enough, it's not mid season where the vines are going nuts.

I get my corn (for freezer) from E or Amish or a Mennonite. I have grew my own popcorn but it's not worth the space at this point and time.

I looked at what I was buying at the store and figured where I could grow it myself for cheaper. I look at what I can store with the least amount of effort also. I can grow winter squash (which includes pumpkins) for little effort.I grow small ones... baby butternut, acorn, kuri and such. Hubby not thrilled with it but it puts food on the table. I had to buy potatoes and sweet potatoes this year. So I stocked dehydrated potatoes (slices, diced, shredded and instant mashed) to make it through as I buy my potatoes local from Amish. Very seldom get any the size of my palm but it's just us not a family of 10 plus.  

I stagger plantings, I try to get varities that suit spring or fall. Even with trying to make sure it does not all come in at once... there are times it does. I've put tomatoes on to cook then let it cool before straining, while I cook beets to peel and can then go back to the tomatoes. I've blanched broccoli, etc while doing tomatoes. I just finished tomatoes, yes it's Nov and that's not usual either. While dealing with winter squash.I have to finish canning some meat I shoved in the freezer (tagged to can) so I can start on the pumpkins. I want some mashed in 1 cup servings in freezer and then I will can in chunks (do not can pureed) the rest. I will do the same with winter squash if I don't see us getting them ate before going bad. I miss the root cellar I grew up with. 

As I get older I will focus on planting bush tomatoes and bush peas and bush green beans as I won't be able to reach the top of trellis from wheelchair. I sat in a computer chair to check. I will have to either pay or share for someone to pick my berries and harvest my asparagus if Hubby can't either. They mostly will just share as they need all the food they can get. I've seen M in early spring serve "just a taste" of several things to get enough food on the table for her family of 13. 

The Amish we bought house from (E's brother) mentioned they had been looking for a driver to haul hay and beans. As the one they had was killed in accident. They paid in cords of wood with some gas money as he used his tractor like Hubby does. He thought that when Hubby got to the point he needed firewood cut for him, he could barter it that way also.  He has another one that will bartar wood scraps for Hubby hauling, even give gas money and wood.

 On Sunday we talk about where we want to be, then bounce thoughts of how to do it, the cheapest way that will LAST and be easy to maintain. We pay attention to how the Amish do it as they do it until their 80s. 

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

Charlotte's friend/ new budget/

 It's the squirrel on top of corner post. She looks for squirrel every day, more than she does bunny (actually is two bunnys).

I am tired of hearing about social security being cut in 2035... so instead of burying my head in sand. I changed the budget as if it happened now just to see what I would have to cut or pull from the IRAs. 

What is needed... 

1...the house has to be paid off

2...if we are going to continue with 2 cars they have to be no more than 5 yrs old Hubby's 350 is 10 yrs old, mine is 20 yrs old. We will most likely go to one, probably SUV that can tow the tractor.

3... I need to grow more in gardens, do some late fall/possible early winter growing. Need to go completely or mostly completely heirloom and need to grow my own flowers from seeds. Hubby would like a small greenhouse. I would like a root cellar. 

4... I need to keep track of how much I use of cleaning, paper products etc that I buy and the price. I will do a notebook of it, keep track of it so I know what amount to put back to replace it when I run low. I will do it also with the grains and sugars. 

5... the internet/home phone went up again. Hubby called and got a discount that puts it a bit lower but the lady told him it's actually the internet going up not the phone. Our cell phones are not from this area so when we would call 911 it would go else where and then we have to give address... plus Amish use the phone and do help pay for it. 

6... utilities are kept down. We might have to buy more wood in our later years. Several Amish OUR AGE told us to get "blocks" from the sawmills... but reality is there might not be sawmills making pallets in 10 to 20 yrs from now. 

7...I know at the end of winter I will buy humidifer filters and chemical for humidifiers also the cresote logs and powder we use  as they go on sale then. I figured up how much is should cost and will put that money back.

8... I made a list of the restuarants we will go to. I will then make a list of what we usually order and then make sure we have the ingredients at home to make it AT home.

I rechecked the inventory and found we were low is some areas. I found it on sale (TP especially) so went ahead and ordered 6 month supply. I saved $43 over what I would have paid for it at the store by getting it at Amazon and me only getting what was needed. 

I need a turkey and ham and to order the prime rib roast for Christmas

Are you cutting the budget ?

Prayers for peace

Blessed be

the laugh is on the kids

 Son 2 forgot to go get his car tags in Sept. Got pulled over, ticketed and told get them with in 24 hrs. He went and got them that day. A week later same cop pulled him over again... he got the tags, they were laying on the car seat beside him where they had been for a week. He got lucky that the cop didn't ticket him.

I said something to Hubby, he immediately went and got his as he almost forgot.

SO I said something to Daughter 1, who got her tags before her birthday. SMART

Daughter 4 forgot she had 30 day tags, ended up with 2 tickets over it (duh moment).

So I texted Daughter 2, her birthday is coming up. She told me to reminder her as her birthday is Veterans Day so she has to get them by this weekend....

Daughter 3 and I will remind each other at Christmas as our birthdays are beginning of Jan. Her Jan child is thinking of getting her permit at the same time.

Charlotte

 Has decided I am on guard duty while she takes naps... She's had me up every hour to walk outside with her and then she of course goes right back to sleep.This is the second day in a row the winds are howling both last night and tonight plus it's raining tonight and I know that triggers her pacing since the basement flooded. Better me to stay up then her wake Hubby since he is on a bipap.

Son2 mentioned to his fiancee that he didn't know how to handle the stress of not knowing if the 5 yr old was going to come home changed or not come home at all. She told him she imaged their mothers probably understood that as both of them served in Army and deployed. She was in Iraq 6 months. He was there 2 years. The only time he could come home was for the funeral of Daughter 4's daughter (born without spleen and bad heart). He was home 3 days. He told me what he said to her and I told him NO he would not come home the same and it's in GOD's hands if he comes back to them or goes to Heaven. Right now he is still not waking up, has fluid on the brain and spinal cord and infection. GOD only knows where they will come up with the money to pay the copay.

Nephew will know in two days if he is rejecting his lungs transplants or if he had some bug. A super bug is going around that antibotics is not helping. Son2 came down with it, 4 Urgent care visits later they figured out it was what he had.  Can go into walking pneumonia .

Hubby's Uncle and brother both on meds and seem stable.

E's dad and the family that went with him to Mexico are heading home. He will have to go back for the knee replacement in a month as he had more than one issue . The metal plate that he has had for years had caused some of the problems with not letting him bend his knee correctly.E said they had to use a chisel to get the plate out as it attached to the bone where it wasn't suppose to be. 

It was warm yesterday so I washed all the bedding, furniture covers and throw blankets and dried on clothes lines. We let the fire go out in the wood stove so I  cleaned it today since it's to be close to 80 today. We refilled wood racks Saturday. Hubby was glad I insisted we get 3 more racks. We can pretty much go a solid week without needing to refill. I told him just to plan on refilling on Friday or Saturdays. 

The other day we got calzones and popcorn chicken for our one meal out. I took the leftover popcorn chicken, reheated it and layered it with corn that E gave us and I froze, leftover mashed potatoes and brown gravy for a mock KFC chicken bowl.  I split a bag of meatballs I had froze. First round was with ziti and tomato sauce, second round was with cream of mushroom soup as the sauce and rice and asparagus. I did a meal of biscuits, eggs, hash brown patties and bacon. I cooked pot stickers and egg rolls from the freezer and used the leftovers for lunch the next day. We had chili I had canned for the next meal. 

I paid this month's bills, was not easy with the $4200 truck repair bill on the credit card. I don't carry balances as that's a fast way to the poor house. Pretty much wiped out savings and low in the checking.  I am thankful I have a solid pantry. I pulled shelf stable milk out of pantry as it was the only thing we needed. I will go to store for it on Thursday after our doctor appt. 

Hubby had one doctor that called and wanted to go over final test results. Since we live 2 hrs away he offered to do a phone call as going over the results only takes about 15 minutes. I had changed another doctor appt from this month to Dec so it's good I did that as we know that doctor will want to go over those results also.

For the next 3 months we have at least 5 if not 6 appts a month so I will need to put aside extra fuel money. 

I will be redoing 2025 budget today. 

 

Pinching pennies

 I harvested kale, wild lettuce and mustard greens from vegepod. Put them in dehydrator to make green powder with. 

I harvested a few rose hips, dried them and put with tea.

I went to barn to check to see if there was any ripe tomatoes and got 2 quarts of juice from that round. I hope the rest turn ripe.

We have the wood stove back on... so besides warming the house I used it for cooking.Saving propane for the pump house.

We got the berry patch cleaned up. I will trim the vines in Feb. 

I planted the garlic so that's done. 

Hubby started putting together the new garden beds when it rains so he has something to do.

I submitted vision bills for reembursement.

Changed Hubby's part D to Wellcare. He pays $5.30 for what he has now and it's to go up to $40.90 in 2025. Wellcare is $0. I have it now and have 2 meds that I have to use Good RX Gold(which saved me over $400.00) He has one that goes to Good RX Gold saving $75.

Son 2 was talking to me about our pantry and asked how long it would last. I guessed 18 months. Tomato products a bit longer. He asked why so I sent a pic over the phone... he was laughing as I was in the middle of canning more tomato juice. I mentioned the pasta would go 2 yrs as I also make my own noodles. 

I have most of my seeds for 2025. Hubby would like me to grow the lunchbox peppers (sweet bell pepper that is small) and I want to grow more herbs. We plan to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes also. We will make a want list and then decide what is best to stay in our budget.

We are going to keep track of how much time, costs etc we spend growings and preserving our food.

We are going to start tracking how much the 350 truck is costing for maintainence. 

We voted early since we were already in town instead of making a special trip and dealing with the crowd (avoiding covid). 

I used the change I had to buy eggs off Amish down the road. 

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

  

Medical updates

I pray everyone who reads this is safe and well. That your love ones are too.

Son 2's fiancee's 5 yr old son who was in car accident with other grandparents about a month ago is still in hospital fighting for his life. She is still having to pay copays for tests ran due to the type of insurance she bought. Son 2 has repeatedly talked to hospital about how to get him what he needs. Her mistake was not filing for medicaid when he went in and now it wouldn't matter as medicaid does not pay for the experimental procedure that is now their only hope. He is sediated and having seizures and has went into cardiac arrest twice. He is in ICU. She has to pay for meals since she can't leave the hospital and come back in as covid has reared it's head in the area. I am glad I have my pantry stocked so we can keep her covered. The veterans have been helping as she is a vet herself besides Son2 being a veteran.

Son2 got sick, drove to store to get soup and got pulled over. His car tags had expired 3 wks before . Nothing like telling your mom that even though she reminded you , even told you to check your license and still get pulled over. The following week he got pulled over by same cop for tags. Oh he got them, they were sitting on the seat beside him.

Daughter 4 forgot she had 30 day tags, ended up with 2 tickets for not having hers. 

So Daughter 4 and I decided to thunk daughter 1 and 2 as their birthdays are coming up. Daughter 1 had already did her's early as she is out of state during her birthday and Daughter 2 told me to remind her again.

Nephew had his final testing to see if he is rejecting his lung transplant. We get the results this coming week.

Hubby's uncle had heart issues and was in hospital 2 days then his younger brother had heart issues and is in and out with testing for it.

E's father is coming back from Mexico, he will have to go back to finish having the knee replaced in a month. Found his knee had calciufied to the metal plate that had been put in years ago and had to deal that first because it was what was causing his infection.

Our drugstore and my Part D had called to let me know that I need to have my meds changed as the ones I am on have serious side effects...My doctor is having a fit that he was never notified of that issue and was glad I brought it to his attention. 

Hubby had trimmed tree branchs off a tree that he and E had cut down, went to toss the branch, tripped and the branch caught his glasses and took them off his face. We hunted for 2 hrs and never found them so had to go order him new glasses... thankful we had just had our vision appts so he didn't incur that expense also. I told him he was very lucky that it didn't take his eye and asked where his protective eye goggles were... laying on the tractor as he took them off when he wasn't actually cutting... I think he will keep them on after this. 

 

Updates

 5 yr old not doing well, having strokes, seizures, cardiac arrest. Mother won't leave room has blacked out 3 times.. next time they will transport her whether she wants to go or not as she's at a children's hospital. Hasn't been eating even though Son 2 has been making sure she has the money to eat. He's struggling because they are not married so he can't be in ICU with them. 

Nephew had his last test about his lungs, gets all results in Nov. He's holding steady.

Friend's cousin's hubby sees cardiologist today, he has congestion heart failure and some other issues like COPD. Hoping for plan of treatment.

MIL has congestion heart failure, got 40 lbs of water weight off and she's doing better... late 80s.

Hubby's uncle had heart issues and was in hospital twice for it.

Hubby's younger brother had heart attack but doing okay even though he is battling his wife (retired nurse) as he doesn't like any medical treatment.

E's Dad, who has helped us with many things especially advice is in Mexico having knee replacement (half the cost of US, Amish don't have insurance). Surgery was yesterday and we still have not heard from E as we know he will call us to talk to his wife plus we will do the rounds of telling the rest of the family.

We had a 18 month old die in Amish community. Snuck out of the house was supposed to be napping and ran behind a van that was backing up. Died instantly.Driver thought they hit the dog and got out and found the child. She had just dropped off his sibling as he is disabled and gets picked up for school with a van. She's in hospital as she could not cope with it. The Amish man we bought our house from said between the ages of 1-2 yrs they have problems with the children running up to cars, moving buggys, up behind horse (and get kicked) equipment and he was thankful that Hubby always asks where the kids are or tells them to go to Da or Ma, older sibling. 

I am not sure if anyone is getting any rest, might be passing out due to exhaustion.

GOD give me strength ..frugal moments

 5 yr old is still in hospital, not waking up, bounces from one issue to the next. Everyone on this side is now broke trying to pay copays (horrible insurance that she thought would save her money and she is broke ). Now the hospital wants to try things that the insurance will not pay for as it is experiental WHICH MEANS they want her to pay for it completely... like she hasn't worked in a month and you think she has money?. Son2 had a friend have that procedure and said to not go that route. Does not help that Son 2 is off work, on medical for mental illness, is to go back to work on Monday, and his finacee is by herself with 5 yr old in ICU. She's struggling to hold on herself. And he is off the walls because this isn't what he signed up for (please God give me strength to not reach through the phone and nail his butt) Give me strength for those middle to the night calls, thinking someone died , my heart jumps and my soul shutters but it's just the boy as we call son2 complaining about life.

Nephew has one more test in Nov. to see if he is rejecting his lung transplants. 

Hubby's uncle had a heart attack, now back home and on meds but family is checking on him as he lives alone.

Sister of my heart has a family member in for heart troubles and will be driving 3 hrs to see a cardologist. And we thought 90 minutes for a doctor was bad.

E went with his parents and sibling with her hubby with infant to Mexico for his Dad's surgery. We got a call about 8 hrs after he left, landslide happened and they were sitting in Chicago. Tracks are blocked, hospital said they will work him in when he gets there..His family is checking in with us daily to see if we have an update.

Hubby's truck needed front linkage (helps you steer) $4200

Hubby's hearing aids are needing replaced as the doctor is now limping them along$4500 *better than the $7000 Son 2 just spent for his replacement.

The garden beds are cleaned. I am planting garlic that came in. Hubby started putting the new beds together so when we can buy raised bed garden soil we can put them in the gardens.

I have tomatoes ripening on the table in barn. I don't need any more of tomato stuff so I am just canning it as juice. I have pumpkins waiting in the barn also.

The vegopod needs harvested and possible replanted

I still need to clean up the berry patch but if I don't get to it, it's okay as long as I get it done by Feb. when I do the pruning anyways.

The mums and 4 hanging pots are still doing good.We were given a small mum  as M said they kept forgetting to water it since they are not use to having anything in pots. 

All the wood is in for this year and we have a good solid week's worth in house and on porch.Hubby has 5 trees down that E helped take down that he can start cutting off limbs etc to cut for next year's wood. Temps are bouncing, might get a warm day and tomorrow be cold and back to warm the next day so we are using the furnance. 

I filled the low items in pantry from my stock. Had 3 pastas needed to buy as I was almost out of that type. Was completely out of condensed milk and evaporated milk . Got those on sale (figured it was going to be a wait until on sale thing). IF I find chocolate condense milk , we use it to make fudge.

Hubby used my Kroger's points for diesel. Saved $1/ gal.

I saved $54.50 on groceries, I plan on using my shelf stable milk so we won't be going after milk in two weeks. Even with the stock up of pasta and canned milks I came in under the budget for this month with groceries. I bought eggs from Amish so I know where they come from. 

Charlotte now has to get in the front seat of the Silverado for rides as Hubby broke the handle to the back seat door. Too much rust to replace. 

We know we will have 2 increases on property tax, I will be surprised if the new replacement tax and the new additional one doesn't pass since its' to help disabled kids. My Mortgage company gave us a ballpark figure of what it would cost if it passes so I set the budget for that.Figured if it doesn't pass I will still put that extra on the mortgage. I will be redoing the budget to put in the tax increase, hearing aids and rebuilding the savings from paying the truck repair.

I still need to do the deep cleaning.I have been decluttering. 
All the winter curtians are up. I need to flip summer bedding for winter in the 4 lofts. I already did mine and the furniture throws. Hubby moved his bipap to the desk and is now sleeping in the recliner of the couch. Found I was right that the desk keeps the heat from the wood stove off him so he doesn't get so hot. I also put a rotating fan across the room so if he needs it on he can just turn it on,

I bought a new lamp so I can sit and read in the front room. Hubby likes it better than what he has at his desk. He worked a couple days hauling beans for Amish so gave me the earnings to buy his the same type of lamp. I can then take his old lamp up to the sewing area as I have been making due with the poor lighting in that area. 

Have a blessed day and a good night's sleep.

Weather weird and being frugal

 First it was warm, then the temperature dropped 20 degrees and started raining which was not in the forecast at all for us... Since it was 55℉ at noon we started this

I even cooked supper of corn beef hash and peas on it.  We found the wood we have this year produces a hotter fire and the outside temp also went back up some.

 So use less wood. This is what we were burning

Yes, just scraps of wood from the sawmill and from where Hubby cut wood to size for our stove. We have 12 of these containers full.

Hubby decided at 9:30 pm he was going to let it go out because the house was up to 85℉, he added the powder we have to fight cresote (we also have cresote logs) before letting it go out... it's going on 4 AM and it's still 77℉. 

The weather forecast has changed for this coming week. We were suppose to get below 32℉... not seeing that as of today in the forecast.

I still have 5 garden beds to clear, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes and bell peppers. Pumpkins will be harvested also. The last of the garlic I ordered to plant should be in Monday so that will be done also.

We have green tomatoes, so I plan to have fried green tomatoes this week. We have cabbage... so maybe cabbage steaks from middle of cabbage and fried cabbage with fried potatoes and cole slaw from the rest of the cabbage. 

Bellpeppers will be diced and put in freezer. I will make more tomato sauce as Son2 asked for help with groceries. He goes back to work Tuesday after being off work on medical for 2 months. He told his doctor if he didn't go back to work his mom and finacee was going to strangle him . He is such a negative person when he has no purpose. AND since he couldn't be with finacee due to covid, he couldn't even help her besides help with the bills and get her money for food so she could eat.

 Hubby has refilled the older beds with raised bed soil. We will have to save up again to buy more soil for the new garden raised beds.

I look at what we have fresh to eat, then what needs used up... those 2 thoughts have helped with meal planning. I can be honest neither of us is interested in anything with tomatoes as they have ran us over. This week of fried green tomatoes is okay as we haven't had them for awhile.

Nephew with transplanted lungs did his last round of IV steroids. He goes back in for pulmonary testing on the 21st to see if it was just a nasty bug in his lungs or if he is starting to reject the lungs. Praying it was a nasty bug.

Son 2's finacee's 5 yr old son has had 3 surgeries for brain bleeds and a herniated disk surgery from the whiplash in the accident. The surgeon is hoping that fixes it all. Son2 and momma are both broke financially. She has horrible insurance from work on top of being off work now for a solid month due to covid herself, covid for the child and now this accident. They were supposed to get married next month but have backed it off and will set date after child gets released.

His grandparents found out that the car that rear ended them had NO insurance as required by the state of Ohio. Grandfather is still off work and the grandmother has no car to get to work as it totalled hers so has been using her hubby's until he gets back to work. They are broke also since can't go to work. Lawyer will have to deal with the mess. 

Son 2 is cutting what he can, didn't realize he was nickle and diming himself. Saw a YouTube of Clara Cannucciari (died 2013) done by her grandson Christopher Cannucciari of Depression Cooking... he was going on and on about it until I sent him a photo of her cook book (Clara's Kitchen) and told him that he grew up with some of her meals LOL.

Hubby's uncle ended up in ER, thought he was passing blood in his stool, he's eating too high of iron diet and has the intestinal virus I had at beginning of year. We all were thankful that was all it was.

We put the deck furniture in the barn. Hubby prepped the pump house for winter.

I still need to finish fall cleaning but that will be done after garden and berry patch has been dealt with. Maybe next 2 wks.

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

Saving money

 As tempting as it is to wipe out the savings and pay the truck repair and new hearing aids... I told Hubby I would try to just crunch the budget and see how much I can scrape up before pulling the savings. We will put it on a credit card  for the points and some time before it's due.

The furnace is on from 9 pm to 7 am at 72℉. From 7 AM to 9 PM it is off. We have used 1% of our propane for 3 wks. Hubby isn't going to turn on the pump house heater until it drops to 33 ℉. Right now the temperature in it is 57 ℉.  We used 20% less propane than we did last year. We will start the wood stove this weekend. 

We used Good RX Gold to cover medication that is tier 3 and tier 4 on our regular Part D. When the lady checking us out saw the cost of my one med her eyes widened, $389. Her mouth dropped open when she put the Good Rx number in and $29.99 was the costs. She decided to enroll her parents when she got home.  Between both our meds we saved $401.00 I moved that amount to savings I put back for medical as our Good RX Gold membership is due next month.

We got our eyes checked at Walmart, cheapest around here. Neither of us needed new glasses and I had found 3 sets in computer case I used to take to Son2's when he was going to Annual Training that I can't remember when I got them, must be over 7 yrs ago as Walmart didn't have them on my record but they are close enough to what I wear now I can use them also. She put stickies on the cases so I would know what was for computer and what was for reading. I used the credit card to pay for it even though that money is sitting in checking so I could get the points.

I used my points on credit cards to pay towards the card bill saving total of $22.00. 

Hubby needed some odds and ends from Amazon. I used my points to pay for it that was on my Amazon card.

Hubby got fuel at Kroger's. He had put the gas cans in the bed of the truck. Using my points from Kroger's and my Kroger credit card, he saved 75¢per gallon. That was $15.00 savings.

I didn't go to the store for anything. We will need milk. 

Hubby put his brake sensor repair and his oil change on his credit card. Called and asked me which one got the best points. LOL. 

I got a medical bill so paid it, then they came back and told me that they didn't catch that I had medigap and it paid it so they refunded my money to my credit card. Should cover the Advent candles I just ordered. 

I did comparison of what we have for Part D. We use AARP Medigap. I will be staying with WellCare. Hubby is changing to WellCare from Aetna as they increased from $5.30 to over $40. So that will be changed after Oct 15th.

I am off all of my prescription meds except 1 due to really bad side effects. One I was taking for bone health, it actually causes bones to break. My doctor was flipping over that news.  I am not saving there as my meds costs me nothing but I am not taking OTC meds for the pain that was being caused so I am saving on that part.

Charlotte in wanting me to go out with her. 
Prayers prayers and more prayers.

Blessed be

update on 2 of family and what we got done.

 Nephew was on antibotics for a week, now on day 2 of 3 days of IV steroids. In Nov they will check his lungs  to see if it's infection or if he is rejecting his transplant lungs.

5 yr Old is son 2's finacee son. He has had 3 seizures and a very light stroke. Went back into surgery late last night for the 3rd time, was back in ICU afterwards. Now he is coming off sedation very slowly but has started running a fever so they are worried he has sepsis since he had covid/flu/pneumonia 10 days before the accident. I talked to financee on the phone. She thanked us for helping her financially as we paid 2 copays for testing and sent her money so she can eat since she is stuck in the hospital. If she leaves she can't come back. She choose a cheap Affordable care plan and didn't think about it requiring her to pay co pay for all testing. Son2 is covering her cell phone and her car insurance and some of the testing. She is self employed. She is thankful. She was crying when she started talking to me but laughing when she hung up. She was passing nephew's name to the hospital preacher when he came in. A friend asked their preacher to also check on her and VA requested on Son's behalf that a local chaplain check on her. They can get in ICU if not been sick where we can't even though we haven't been sick. Son2 also was sick when grandson to be was sick and he is off work on medical. Hopes to get cleared today to go back to work (Finacee and us to as he is bored and driving everyone crazy).

We got the softener salt delivered. Should have enough salt to get us to spring. I told the guy he was our last fill for winter and he laughed and said he was taking his load home also and it was his as the wood is in. He has family in Tampa, St Pete  and Clearwater. Son 2 's friend has parents in Tampa and couldn't get out (needed ambulance to transport). They wrote their names, birthdays and next of kin phone number on their bodies so if they didn't make it, they still could be ID'd. Just makes me want to cry.

I canned 3 quarts of tomato juice from the bed we cleared the other day and the table at barn where tomatoes are finishing ripening. 

I filled the night time wood rack in house. Hubby finished spliting some night time wood so instead of taking to wood shed and then moving again, he just put it in the rack on front porch. So that rack is half full.

I filled one of the two wood racks for day wood (lighter weight, doesn't last as long as night wood) filled a 5 gallon bucket with small limbs Hubby cut up and filled a old plastic dish washing tub with scab wood that was mostly bark.

We will finish filling the racks today or tomorrow as we are expecting a scattered frost this morning and a good solid frost (might be killing frost) on Sunday morning.  So gardens will be finish being cleared by then unless I cover the bell peppers. Because it's messy to clear half frosted tomatoes plants.

I finished dehydrating the basil so I have enough for the year. 

Hubby turned 66 yesterday. He spent the morning getting the short in brake light fixed at dealership, got oil change etc. Decided to have them go over everything since winter was coming up soon. Good thing he did as the steering linkage (what turns the front wheels) was in need of replacement $4500... better to have found it before it broke when he was driving even though that is an OUCH on the finances. It's safe to drive for a bit. He scheduled it for the 16th. They should have all the parts in by then.

Then he went to get his hearing aids cleaned and tweaked as they were beeping in his ears... He needs to replace them by the end of the year as they are over 4 yrs old and are not staying charged more than 8 hours. $4200.... seems to be the magic number of OUCHs.

I will be going over the budget today, paying bills and figuring out next year's budget. 

Prayers Prayers and more Prayers

Blessed be

Frugalness done (since I am not sleeping)

 Hubby replaced some of the oil lamp wicks and filled all the lamps. E paid for our oil because Hubby pulled his wood wagon out of the ditch the other night. Horses slide on the wet payment the wagon went off the edge and down the ditch. It's not got a good berm in that area. 

E and his oldest son started replacing the wood shed roof. Got half done before the hurricane winds and rain came through (in Ohio so not as bad as down south). E told Hubby where to get the metal roofing from and it was half of what Hubby had priced at the lumber yard. They got some work to finish up (the kind that pays the bills) and then they will finish it. Wouldn't take any money for  it because we let them cut ice for their entire family from our pond for their ice houses and make blocks of ice in our freezer so they can make ice cream. 

The furnace is on only at night and at 70. It's too warm during the day to start the wood stove.We have 20% more propane in the tank than we did this time last year. Most likely to go to wood stove mid month. Right now the nights are cool enough but the days are in 70s so the house warms up.  

 We cleaned 10 more beds in the gardens. Only 8 more to go. I canned another 5 qrts of tomato sauce. I mentioned to Son2 that I had over a year's amount and wasn't sure where I could put what was coming in as ALL my shelves are full. He suggested in the corner of the pantry where the wood smoker chips used to be  and put the sauce jars back in canning jar boxes. I put a board down (I don't put jars on cement) and made sure the box would fit.  He mentioned he might need groceries as the medical bills are horrible. His fiancee has lousy insurance but it comes with her job. I would not be surprised if they move up when they are getting married as they were looking at a year from now just because of medical bills. 

I got the comparison for my part D... Wellcare. Still the best for me. 

Will be doing Hubby's today as he got frustrated with it and decided I could handle it (I usually do LOL)

We will continue with AARP medigap and Medicare as it was really good for us.

Front room has been deep cleaned and the winter curtains and throw blankets (I don't think we will use them with the wood stove) are in it. 

Hubby put a shelf up over his hanging clothes in bathroom for his Ham Radio odds and ends which was taking a good chunk of the floor and making it hard to sweep the floor. I also moved the garden seeds to south loft where I store them during the winter. I will finish sorting them during the winter. That cleared the one small table (used to be my desk with no drawers). Since Hubby moved his Ham radio extras stuff I was able to move the printer and table down enough for the hamper to put the extra furniture covers and throws in it and it not be in front of a window. I moved Daddy's chair to the bedroom and moved Mother's rocker from bedroom to front room.  Charlotte sleeps in both. Rocker took up less room so I could move my glider over and we brought in a barrel?pot? hummm think pot for a 5 yr old fruit tree... filled with odds and ends of wood for small fires or just to pop the heat up some to sit where the glider was. Then I was able to put the small stand that holds the ash bucket and welder sleeves (so we don't burn our arms as Hubby has little feeling in his forearms and legs) at the end of his desk where the glider was. Now we have plenty of room for the 3 racks we have for wood in house.  He did bring some up to the front porch for in case we need it before next week. We plan to load more of the wood inside and on front porch this week. 

I went through the meds, personal items, cleaning products including ridx for septic tank, paper goods, dog items, nonfood (foil, bags etc) and rechecked the inventory list of food. I need canned mushrooms.  I do buy fresh once a month but I use a lot of the canned kind the rest of the month. I checked my yeast in the freezer and my flours . I was low on dental sticks for Charlotte so I ordered them. Ordered the ridx pods, meds and bandages also. The rest is good for a year or longer. I don't think we will need filters for the humidifers

I made 5 gallons of laundry soap and then used part of it to scrub some rubbermaids that Hubby was given that were filthy. He is using them in the barn.

I checked to make sure we had the savings where we need it (always want more) and the budget is on target.  We start this month on the new budget. 

Prayers for 2 family members

 Nephew who had a double lung transplant 5 yrs ago is having issues. Tests have been ran and they are waiting for results. Has to go in 3 days in a row for steroid infusion treatment. Not sure if he has picked up an infection or if his body is now rejecting the lungs. At least OSU is making arrangements for the local hospital to do the treatments so they don't have to drive 2 1/2 hrs to do that and then pay for motel.

Son2's fiancee's 5 yr old austic son was in a car accident with his grandparents. Grandparents are recovering at home, he is in hospital with a brain bleed from hitting his head on the Ipad he was reading during the accident. Also has whiplash so a bruise on the brain on the back of brain also but it's not bleeding. Going in to surgery this morning. Because the entire family including Son2 just had covid (test negative now) only his mother can be with him and she can't even meet them in parking lot. Hospital has rule no visitors that had covid in last 30 days. So she is there with no support. Their internet sucks(which means she is off work as she works from home) and you can't get much signal on cell phone. Limited usuage of room phone is set by hours the child is supposed to be sleeping. SIGH. 

rosuvastatin side effects

 confusion, muscle and joint pain, headache, weakness, dizziness, stomache pain,nausa, constipation, diarrhea, (HA HA NOT),sore throat, joint pain, cough, fatigue, hives/itching (yep), indigestion, bloating,irregular heart beat (part of my heart failure) , diabetes with liver damage (already had hepititis as a child caught at a children's hospital so liver is already damaged)

Lisinopril/ Hydrochlorothiazide side effects

 nausa, weakness, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breathe, trouble swallowing, 

heart arrhythmia (I already have heart failure) blurred vision, heart burn, fever, chest pain, diarrhea (I have Crohns), confusion, chest pain, constipation (isn't that nice?) small  sores rash that doesn't heal, cramps, back pain (have deformed spine from birth) 

Alendronate sodium side effects

 Alendronate sodium ... taken to help keep bones healthy..

side effects

Unusual thigh bone breaks (mine cracked then cracked my hip) 

Sever jaw bone issues (can't get a tooth inplant because of it) 

bone joint and muscle pain

Esophagus problems (I have trouble swallowing at times)

Low calcium levels (Low calcium levels, also known as hypocalcemia, can cause a number of health problems, including: 

• Neuromuscular irritability: Symptoms include tingling, numbness, and fatigue in the extremities and around the mouth. 
• Muscle spasms: Muscle cramps, spasms, and twitches can occur in the hands, fingers, face, throat, and arms. Spasms in the throat can make it hard to breathe. 
• Seizures: Usually only occur in severe cases of hypocalcemia. 
• Heart problems: Abnormal heart rhythms, fainting, and even heart failure can occur. Low calcium levels are also linked to an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest. 
• Kidney problems: Kidney stones and kidney failure can occur. 
Poor oral health: Teeth can become more susceptible to decay and loosening. 
Cataracts: Calcium deficiency is a factor in the development of cataracts. 
Osteoporosis: Calcium deficiency is a factor in the development of osteoporosis, a condition that causes bones to become weak and brittle. 

LORD

Please be with the sick kids and ones that are struggling pay their bills especially since they are in Springfield OH and dealing with bomb threats and fear of bomb threats even after they have stopped. While at work and school. Schools should be a safe place to be. 

Please give us wisdom to manage the finances  and still continue to work towards being able to live our life out here. 

Give us the strength to finish getting the gardens in, clearing beds and planting the fall garlic. 

Give us the energy to get the deep cleaning and minor repairs done before winter hits.

Bless our Amish neighbors for coming over to redo the roof on the wood shed, making sure we were safe and had no flooding in the basement when the rain poured and sent over ice cream, pie and bread more than once. 

Be with those that are struggling, that are celebrating good times and all in between. 

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be 

 

Clearing the gardens... thoughts on meds

I cleared  18 (half of the 36) garden beds, Hubby prepped 5 of them that I marked for the garlic coming in to plant next week. Then cleared out the old potato beds since he was going to have a fire of scraps of tree limbs etc burning in the hole he dug to keep the fire contained. UNLIKE E's fire that came across and started to come in our yard. We caught it happening, Hubby dealt with it while I got E to come help. Two of his fence posts got burnt a little. I told him next time to say something to us so we could help keep an eye on it. He had to go up to his house as one of the kids had problems with calves. We had NO wind when he started it, 15 minutes later wind was close to 10 mph. We have fire extinguishers and water hose so we had it back under control instead of calling fire dept. He said he might have Hubby dig him a trash burn hole like Hubby did for us.

Winter squash and last of watermelon harvested.

Cabbages harvested before the bugs eat them.

Probably lost all of the brussels sprouts as the bugs went nuts over them even after we repeatedly treated them.

There's a little bit of broccoli ready and more bell peppers turning (I can't eat green which is unripe anyways (I did not know that). 

Pumpkins are still growing and slowly turning. Last count was 7 and they are huge. Won't need to grow them next year.

Tomatoes are starting to dry up and bugs are starting to eat the skin of them due to no rain and since I KNOW the deep well is getting low (we get an odor when it does and E told us 2 weeks ago he picked up the odor when filling his 1000 gallon tank for his horses and cattle (same underground spring).  I won't be watering gardens. I am watering the mums I have along with heart flower garden and the vegapod. Dog water is going on flowers pots that the hummingbirds are still eating from. 

I harvested tomato seeds for next year. 

I was making apple cider molasses when it blew up all over the stove. Glad it was off and had been for awhile but an air pocket must have developed and when I stirred it to help it cool down , it "exploded",it was nasty. Thankful I was not taking supper out of the oven when it happened. I had a deep fryer blow up on me when I was 18. Do NOT want to go through it again. I have one more burner to finish cleaning. I can say, I would rather scrub at grease than syrup.

I still need 5 pints of tomato sauce and instead of 8 qrts of pasta sauce I am going to do 16 pints instead for when we are having ravioli when I would not need as much sauce.

I bought potatoes from an Amish lady, they are small so I will still need to buy baking potatoes. Hubby mentioned wanting to try Hasselback potatoes and English Jacket potatoes.

I still want 2 acorn squashes, 1 large butternut for autumn stew *I grew baby butternut* and 2 spaghetti squash. That will give me 1 winter squash per week until March.

Son2 brought up a way to use extra buns. Hotdog buns can become garlic bread, hamburger buns and sub buns can become mini pizzas.  Last night we used the leftover sub buns for pizza using my pizza sauce (had 1 didn't seal). I need to focus on what I can use in another meal in a different way to lower waste or what gets shoved in freezer and forgotten.

I talked to my pharmacist about my meds when I got a warning of side effects from a med I have been taking for 25 yrs. It's suppose to help prevent bone breaks... it can cause thigh bone breaks along with bone along with jaw bone problems so I couldn't get a dental implant for the tooth I broke, joint and muscle pain and low calcium (which you need for strong bones). They looked up my other 2 meds , both cause bone, joint and muscle pain along with stomach/lower back pain. That pain triggers my Crohn's. 

Talked to my doctor, I understand he looks at what the meds does help but for now on I have to also ask what is the side effects. Meds that cause bone fractures and any kind of pain is not something I want to take. I am off those meds until I see him in 3 months. I have to now take my BP 3 times a day as he is wondering if the bouncing of my BP is coming from the side effects.

Need to go finish scrubbing the stove so I can get back to canning. 

Blessed Be

Prayers for peace and truths.  

UPDATE

 49 days to election !!!!!

I am going back to gardens to finish taking them down and get the last of it processed.

Neither of us is watching more than the weather. 

I have turned off my latest updates for my local news due to Lies from JD Vance and Trump... I am more upset with JD. 

SICK AND TIRED

 

I have been independant, Republican and Democratic...

I will NOT put a felon who thinks it's fine to grab women privates even when they don't want that touch. I will not put a felon that thinks it's okay to not pay his fair share of taxes or hides how he pays off his affair with a porn star. I feel for his wife and young son.

I will NOT vote for JD Vance that is our state senator that is supposed to be HELPING our state NOT LYING .. THEY ARE HERE LEGALLY JD . My grandson couldn't go to school due to bomb threats while you brag about not verifying your facts and willing to lie to get attention.

Like Jim Jordan who has never passes a single law he did on his own though he as cosponsored some that did  pass. He has repeatedly voted against the farming bill that would help OHIO farmers. 

I will add that they should have been required to take drivers training before getting behind a wheel on their own, but really..we have  folk doing drag racing through Columbus and the cops are trying to deal with that.

The Election wasn't stolen but Trump and his GANG are trying to steal it with lying NOW.

From NBC https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/baseless-rumors-haitian-immigrants-threaten-unravel-springfield-ohio-rcna170513

 From 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians who fled political turmoil and violence in their home country have landed in Springfield over the past five years, arriving in the U.S. under a federal humanitarian program for migrants, according to the city. Others are in the U.S. on tourist visas and green cards.

“Many of them were professionals, ​​medical doctors, attorneys, teachers, engineers, you name it,” said Sophia Pierrelus, an immigration advocate who left the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince nearly two decades ago. “Culture shock happens for both Americans and Haitians.”

In the gardens for storage

 We have 9 red kuri squash, 3 possibly 4 dickinson pumpkins, and 6 baby butternut. 

I want to pick up 2 spaghetti squashs and 2 acorn squashs.  That should cover us of 1 squash each week from October to March.

My onions are the size of golf balls. I said something to M and she asked if I really needed a big onion... I got to thinking about that. Not really unless I am using it in something that I am canning. I usually cut a big onion in a thick slice for my casseroles etc. SO a golf ball size one or a couple of them would work just fine. I need to check which ones are cured and deal with putting them in storage.

Hubby checked garlic that has been curing. It's ready for storage also.

I have room for 8 qrts of pasta sauce, 10 pints of tomato sauce, 16 pints of ketchup/catsup and 16 half pints of pizza sauce.Then all the shelves are full.I need to organize the herbs and spices but that can wait until winter.

I am dehydrating the cherry tomatoes that are coming in.

I have room for 7 more meals of half bell peppers for stuffing and 1 gallon on diced bell peppers and 6 more meals of eggplant in the freezers. Then the freezers are full until we quit making ice for M to make ice cream. In the past week we have received chocolate and strawberry ice cream... she used the flavoring for kids' milk to make the ice cream. Was good. I added small frozen strawberries in ours.

Seeds I planted for fall garden in the garden beds did not sprout. I think the birds got them as we have noticed a lot more birds on the electric wire at the road. The ones I planted in the vegopod are doing well. I also have 3 cabbage plants started that I hope will grow for this winter. They are 90 to 120 days from seed.

I've already bought my seeds for next year except for flowers. I am still debating on growing my own or buying from Amish. The one that died I used to buy from, the young lady she trained is going to run the greenhouse with her sister for the widower. The other Amish I bought from told Hubby that she was going to 3 days a week as she has no one to help her since school started and the oldest girl got married and moved away.

Be safe

Prayers for peace

Blessed be 

current home pics

 

We are going to redo the gardens(berries are on other side of driveway with asparagus) and thinking of adding a green house. The one Amish family built one and the wife told Hubby that the vents work nice that it didn't get over heated during the 100 heat index days but it would need heat if trying to grow through the winter if we get a cold winter.

From a distance you can't tell we have a ramp on the front porch.

We have the roofing supplies for the wood shed (small red building to right of house) E is going to put it on. It doesn't leak so if he don't get to it this fall, it's okay. He is finishing up his wife's wash house, his mother's wash house and his sawmill building while harvesting hay, planting cover crop and waiting for the feed corn to finish ripening. LOL