from the gardens

 I made tomato sauce, I thought I had some in the pantry, rechecked and found ZERO, I had double the amount of tomatoes and tomato juices though. There was very little "water" after running through the mill and letting it sit over night in the frig. I got 41 pints, both canners are on the stove as I play catch up on the computer. I will make catsup/ketchup next harvest.

I have froze eggplant, halved bell peppers for the sausage apple stuffing muffins I already have in the freezer, bell peppers diced (stir fries, 123 pasta, potatoes O'Brein, Philly steak subs and pizza), green beans the size of the width of my thumb to use in stirfries when I pulled the plants. I got some hamburger on sale and make patties, froze them then vacuum bagged them. Got hotdogs on sale, kept 2 packages whole, took the other 3 and broke down into 2 hotdogs vacuumed bagged as Hubby prefers brats (not me). So we can have what we prefer.

I got hotdog buns, hamburger buns and French bread on sale. Vacuum bagged them in amounts we would use and froze them. 

We pulled the all the cucumber vines and the onions are now curing. Onions didn't get very big (too wet, then too dry then too wet again) Since we are back into a dry spell I pulled them. Figured when I only need a little bit I could use them for that. Will look to Amish to see if anyone is selling some or buy from store as needed.

We have 2 canteloupe and 1 watermelon and 1 red kur winter squash harvested.

I need to find apples since ours rotten on the tree. Hubby got them off so that mess is dealt with.

We decided on 2 hams, 2 turkeys and 1 prime rib (Christmas Eve) is the only meat we need to buy.

I pulled up the current USDA food plans...for our age Thrify is $495.90, Low is $540.90, Moderate is $672.90 and Liberal is $803.80.

We pay for our eating out from the grocery budget (including tips) We come in between Low and Moderate.

We would like to be between Thrift and Low.

 We looked at what we order to go or eat out. Wendy's and Burger King so we now have frozen hamburgers and buns, I have raspberry lemonade mix and strawberry lemonade mix. We don't really care for regular French fries unless they are loaded. So I bought sweet potatoes to make them into French fries in the air fryer. 

We will be looking at the rest, some of it is we are out on appts. Others is both are worn out. I have canned more soups to help with that side. 

Stay safe

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

Welcome to my insane world.

 I stepped up to the window and caught this

I am slowly (in my opinion) recovering. The work load crushed Hubby. I was pretty much sleeping on the bathroom floor for 3 days. I can't remember having the dry heaves so bad or the gas being like labor contractions. Hubby did take over to M what was coming in the garden and told her I was down. I only lost so peaches he forgot.... Really really not bad. 

I have canning, dehyrating and freezing to do. Forget housework at this point. I will clean the sinks and toilets. I did wash all my bedding as I ran a fever of 102(normal for me is 97.9) for 2 days. Took me all day as I dried it on the line then tossed in dryer to "heat" it for germs.

Hubby was going to finish cutting up the last of the wood E had brought up last year he gave us, when E stopped him and told him his brother needed someone to go get supplies for E's mom. Hubby went over and talked him, phone calls made so orders would be ready to be picked up... sounds easy right? HELL NO. 

What should have been a 2 hr. run became a 5 hr run. One company forgot to pull part of the order and they go had make the trip to go get it from other company. Then Hubby was listening to the Brother explain what he was trying to do in the new wash room when Hubby caught that how he was going to run the water wasn't going to work and they sat down with the store guy and worked that out (added an hour). Then as they were getting ready to come home found a message on Hubby's phone that the other brother had a piece of equipment they needed so not too much out of way to swing by and get it RIGHT?  It is when he was in the middle of a project himself USING IT.Being good brother and friend, they helped him finish it before hauling the equipment off. Hubby took 4 messages for E over pallets his is building. E charged the company $5 for each message they had Hubby take when he had Just TALKED TO THEM from our home phone.

SO last night after things quieted down he looked around and admitted he could not handle the house if he was by himself. I told him to not worry about it, he could have E fix the front bay when the orginial owner lived while he built the house for him and rent the rest for one of the Amish. Electric to barn is separate from house so the house could go off grid and the barn be on grid. I did tell him that he wouldn't need to garden. A few of the Amish have started doing some canning for elderly Englishers and I was sure M and the girls would do that for him.

I know what I should be doing today... I don't know what I will be doing today. 

Exhausted...sick

 The basement is dry and pretreated to keep any mold from happening.

BUT it's a wreck. We lost just under $1,000. of food and items. Didn't put claim on insurance. 

Will need to replace main drain tile (the one that connects to barn,pump house and house) and drains to pond as it couldn't handle that amount of rain (6.5 inches an hour, we got almost 4). Hubby talked to the plumber that lives 2 houses down. He has single ground level home, had water in the house and garage. E's had water in basement but his brother had it going through his barn like a creek and his dad had it in his work shop...they live up on a hill that doesn't even get flooded when the Scioto floods at the bottom of the hill.

Hubby ordered canning jar boxes from Uline as that was a big hit. He cleaned an area that he is moving all the extra jars to the barn as it didn't get any water what so ever. Pump house did and we had to replace the monitor there.

I have canned 36 quarts of pasta sauce... Stil need 16 qrts and 26 pints, plus plain sauce, tom juice and maybe some tomatoes... fire roasted if I have enough.

BUT I am down with food posioning...SIGH stale fritos, yeah I know they tasted stale but I was hungry and didn't want to stop what I was doing to fix something so now I am down anyways. Hubby said it reminded him of one of my really bad Crohn's attackes.... I said no where close as I am almost recovered if I REST for at least today and then only do  little starting tomorrow. He suggested I put canning jar boxes together LOL. 

I did pay the bills, paid extra on mortgage. Not as much as I wanted but considering what I had to replace in the flood it was still a good month.  Was not fun to run back and forth from computer to bathroom. 

Prayers for peace

Blessed Be

OH MY GOD Basement flooded

 I screamed at Hubby we have water coming in the basement...  I was in the bathroom and could hear the sound of rushing water . The thunderstorm had just started. Within 15 minutes we had the ENTIRE basement flood with water up to my ankles. Sump pump was working over time. We have 2 drains, one for the Amish put in for their washer and the other in bottom of basement ramp. Hubby opened the door to the ramp thinking the drain in the house was plugged and found water COMING UP the drain. The entire house and barn is on that drain line, it couldn't handle the rain coming down. He went to the pond to check the line and it was GUSHING. He grabbed the pond pump and started pumping water out of the basement, I used the broom, we finished it with the dry/wet vac and fans. Took an hour , water was out .  ...He pulled up the app he has on his phone with our home weather station. It was raining at the hardest point 6 1/2 inches per hour. We got almost 4 inches in 30 minutes. Window seal gave and he thinks the pipe he just put in blew. Took us an hour to get most of the water out.Our alarm to the pump house kept going off... water was back up there also. He is going to check the propane tank as it looked to be leaning some.

Poor Charlotte, she was in her "den" a bed tucked in between some of the shelving units against a door which water was coming through. I did put the laundry rubber mat and a blanket there after Hubby got the water sucked up and we "dried" that area for her as it was suppose to storm off and on all night. 

I was just finishing cleaning the pantry and only had the bucket room left to do...SIGH

Now I have to take everything out, treat to stop any mold from growing, make sure what is saved is good. My canning jars that were in boxes are going have to be pitched...boxes pitched not the jars. I will have to figure another way to store them or buy new boxes. Rugs and Charlotte's bed will need to be cleaned and dried.

E and M were not home, I am willing to bet since they had water the last storm when we had water in our basement (nothing like this and it was due to drain going bad), they came home to water in their basement. We were suppose to have went to a gathering and decided against it. It would have been a lot worse if we hadn't been home. 

SO this week is clean the basement and go through every single thing and moving 3 freezers and 2 frigs and several shelving units to clean under them while starting to can tomatoes. 

SIGH

Thank you July is over SIGH.

 I thought this past week would never end. Storms  at night rolled through (but not enough rain of course) and Charlotte paces, thundershirt helped but she still paced but didn't pant like she used to. As long as I sat in my rocking chair in the dining room she was fine, she go back to the basement to her "den" but if I got up even to go to the bathroom she was back up the stairs pacing. Hubby started laughing as he heard me tell her I was going to the potty and I would be right back as she was coming up the stairs. Like being up with a baby that has it's days and nights flipped.

Wood that still needs cut for this winter

BUT that is the last of it. 

The only thing left to do on the wood shed is the roof, E made it clear he would be helping with that. Hubby is going to thunk him this week since oats have been shocked and hay just finished. 

Hubby hauled hay for HB, his father in law gave Hubby a pane of glass for helping his family (HB paid Hubby) as he found out we have a broken pane. E said he would put it in as he is replacing one of his own and has the caulking anyways. 

I canned Roma green beans and 9 half pints of cherry syrup. We bought milk.

I am cleaning the pantry and trying to fill in the holes in the food storage.

Hubby decided he was keeping the treated lumber beds instead of burning them, he wants to stack them so they are deeper, me put liner in them and then fill them. Since I already bought metal beds to replace them I asked what he was going to grow in them. He told me to figure something out. 

I finished the seed order for next year (actually 2 yrs at least). I focused my usual spring planting, what I will grow (using grow cart) for summer and then fall planting. Adding what I can put in cold storage (aka root cellar) which will be more under stairs , attic, bottom of basement ramp etc. I ordered more winter squash as I know we can take the extra over to the produce auction.

Covid is going around so we are trying to stay home (kids run around and don't care if they get it but will warn us they have been exposed). We have a few medical appts so know to mask up and use hand sanitizer. Lysol the house on a regular bases.

Hope all is well and good.

Prayers

Blessed Be