LOL... when you have a family member call you

 in an anxiety attack and panicked and you got them doing slow breathing etc to calm them down as they lost their ONLY set of keys to car and need to leave for work...

After several , I already checked theres.. I reminded them that I was walking through their home in my head as if I lost the keys. ... Started laughing when I said check the stove, check the oven (yes I have put them their) check the frig (that was were Pop put his, Mother did the freezer) Daddy always hung his up . 

Check you badge for work... oh that is already on you???? then silence...when they checked the badge they remembered where they put the keys...

IN THEIR PANTS POCKET WHERE THEY PUT IT WHEN THEY PUT THEIR BADGE ON. 

We both laughed and they went to work.

short...

 still trying to get over this bug...

ordered blueberry plants due to last year's not doing very well. 

Propane company filled our tank as winter heating season is ending and the costs of propane is going up. We used 2200 gallons when we bought the house. From Feb. 1 2024 to Feb 25, 2025 we used 246.9 gallons.  Burned 1/2 ton coal and 6 cords of wood(about half that was scap from the sawmill)

I have finished sorting seeds. 

I ordered more dried beans as we consumed all the pintos and are low on small red bean, Great Northern, Navy and black beans.

Sap is running so Amish have tapped the maple trees so in a couple weeks I will be getting maple syrup for the year. 

We have ate enough that we have 1 chest deep freezer empty. Half the corn, asparagus and peas is gone also.

Take care 

GARDEN

 Okay, I am zone 6A... after March 15th I can plant IF GROUND IS 50℉. Dandelions should be up. 

I can plant collards, onion sets, peas, snow peas, radishes, spinach, turnips, beets, kale, cabbage, broccoli,carrots,kohbrabi, softneck garlic,  chard(aka Swiss chard) brussels sprouts, rutabagas and some lettuces.

I usually hold off on cabbage and grow Chinese cabbage instead, save full head cabbage for fall growing.  I take row cover out and set it up so if a late freeze or heavy frost comes in I can just toss covers over it within minutes. 

I can do leeks (have a couple times) Potatoes and mustard after the 25th. 

Since we are still in solid freezes, I held off a couple weeks before starting my seeds. I will be doing that this weekend and finishing up with setting up the gardens as it's to get in the forties..

Daddy and several of the Amish plant potatoes by Good Friday, I have always done it mid March 

Still trying to get rid of flu

 At least my potassium is stable. I am eating, Doc told me to eat what I craved and then wondered about me when Hubby told him I couldn't keep broth down but ate 1/4th of a Philly steak sub.... I am a strange one.

Got two more family that got cut off from survivor benefits of social security. They got lawyers. 

Got 3 cut off of Medicaid. One I never could understand how she qualified to begin with the other two are in Medicade nursing homes... so we wonder if something wasn't filed correctly. Used to be the county nursing home but changed hands 4 times in last 5 yrs.Daddy told them to not go there before he went in nursing home himself.

Son2 might get fired, even though he is a retired Army with almost 22 yrs and now 3 yrs at Airforce as civilian, because he changed position, he got promoted, he is considered probationary even with 9 months in the position which is exactly what he was doing in Army for last 10 yrs. He's definitely worried as he is single and will lose his home without work.I told him he can either move into barn with his cats or upstairs. He isn't going to be homeless. He is also worried about his medical as they are shutting the hospitals down in places due to staff being let go by goverment. I told him civialian is understaffed also, has been since pandemic... he just hasn't been sick so didn't realize until the past few months. Too young for retirement. 

Had my Straight Talk acct hacked and someone ordered a new phone. My credit card asked me to confirm the order. Nope Not ME. Even though I could use a new phone, I can't afford it at this time.

Amish are trying to figure out how to go to a medical Appt in Mexico with the border rerestrictions in place. They do NOT do photo id's.

My doctor ran 5 blood works and then told me to finish what ever I still had at home of OTC vitamins/meds etc stuff but not get more. I am now to the point I am growing my potassium, B etc (sweet potatoes, winter squash, Spinach Etc) so he figured I would be saving a good amount of money as that pretty much left me only a multivitamin if that. That is a savings of $838.90 (didn't realize it was that much myself) a year. Hubby is down 2 but went up one that matched the savings. 

 We have 2.5 tons of coal left but on low side of wood.

Tired but holding on

 

menu... OWN YOUR OWN... I had the flu... garden seeds..finances

 after dehydrating

50 lbs before dehydrating

This is a Dickinson pumpkin/squash (yes pumpkins are winter squash). It is the vartiety that Libby's pumpkin in the can is.

I actually got 2 of this size done of the pumpkins. Have 6 more yet to do but figured I would give it another day of making sure I am over the flu first as more than one of the kids/grandkids/greatgrandkids got it back within a few days. I told them to quit giving me that crap through the phone. 😲

Hubby finished up some of the odds and ends. Finally yesterday I fixed a grilled cheese and lunch meat sandwich. I ate 1/2 of one and called it good. He is having pot pie for supper tonight. I am not sure if I will.

BUT since I was sick, I went through the seeds, checked and rechecked what we had and what we needed vs what we wanted since we decided to grow more of our own food...Then decided with how things were going to order enough to go 3 yrs and focus on more heirloom, open pollinated and fewer hybrid favorites. 

Found about 1/ 4th of what I would have ordered not available at all or not available for 2025. A  few was from China (radishes) not available pretty much at any of the of where I shop, it's okay, I just ordered something else. Definitely reminded me of pandemic and trying to get seeds. At least I have enough canning jars. I usually order between 4 to 6 places. It took almost 10. I told Hubby I will pull 2/3rd of what I have,  split that in half and vacuum seal them and place them in freezer for next year and the following year. I will go back to making sure I have a "seed" plant in a container planted away from anything else so it doesn't cross pollionate. Been awhile since I have done that. Might get a I think I have a book on that subject. Might go to library and look for one. 

Since I am no longer grocery shopping every 2 wks. I am starting to feel homebound. A couple of the Amish ladies mentioned it as they had medical tell them it's not good. I told them in the old days my grandparents called it cabin fever and women would have mental issues due to it. My aunt suffered twice from it before my cousin started driving and got her out of the house every other week. 

After a couple of the kids read this...https://itreconomics.com/2030s-great-depression/... I understand their fear... 2 just lost their jobs due to Trumps cuts, one is looking to lose his along with his medical. Grandkid lost his survivor benefits.By time they battle for it back he will already have lost his medical he was paying himself. One working as custodian will lose hers if funding to schools ends or gets cut especially if they go pay to play as most in her area can't afford that and she's the last hired so would be the first fired...So in their eyes a Depression is coming.Even though we don't think it will get THAT bad, it's going to be hard... you can't keep running up debt and not pay the freaking bill off.  A recession is local (like only the USA), a Depression is global is the best way to get them to think of it. Or as I put it, quit doing Door Dash and COOK.

There are a couple things we would have liked to finish changing for wheelchair accessible but okay for now it's not getting done. 

I have to do the finances Wednesday. Electric bill is in early.... it's on the higher side...$150...minus the $15 for security light make it's $135.... I used the dryer for bedding, throws and such twice last month, it ran 4 hrs total (yes I kept track). 5 chest deep freezers, 3 refrigerators, 2 humidifiers running full time . Grow cart will be on. I had already saved the $$ for seeds...and part of the $$ for soil needed for the new garden beds.

Charlotte says it's nap time LOL