We were supposed to pick up groceries from Walmart earlier, and couldn't get up the slight incline onto the main Whitehorn road. Sheesh--what sissy vehicles we have. So I called Walmart and told them to hang onto our order, we'd get there sooner or later. Looks like it'll be later. I've been in OK since Feb. 2015, and this is the third time I've seen snow here. I think. First time was a month after I moved here. Today's snow is the most snow of the 3. The cats and Titan are sissies, too. So are Garry and I.

Happy birthday, Larry! Wish we had an Olive Garden nearby. I do love their salads. Yep, it's 33 here, too.

Caveman diet here, too, Rebecca. Chili this evening, inspired by the weather.

Cliff moved to Tulsa in 2011, the winter after our last big snowstorm. Since then we really haven't had snow. Maybe a dusting but nothing that sticks. So every time the weatherman says snow I hope for a blizzard, just so he'll shut up.

Worked on prepping the stuff that needs stratification today. Since I have so many that are really old, I started with the 2017 & older. I figure they may not sprout, so what harm is there in planting way more than I need? If anything, I'll put a "free plants" sign up again & pass them along to neighbors.

Happy Birthday Larry

Wow, what a story Nancy on the older thread.

I did pretty well nothing today... besides the walk around the grounds this morning taking FB pictures and then once around the block.

Took just about as long to suit up as it did to do the walk around.

Sure looks nice out, and I am sure glad I don't have to drive anywhere.

Moni

Nancy, you missed the bigger snow storms in 2010 - 2013. There was even one year we had a full blown blizzard on Christmas Eve. It made traveling to my Mom's for Christmas very difficult.

The Eat Right for Your Blood Type diet addresses the hunter/gather diet (Type 0) vs. the the development of the Type A blood type which is the agricultural lifestyle that came later. If this is true, I don't know.

We certainly had snow but it's not really sticking. It's slowly melting. BUT, it is getting cold now so that may stop. School was cancelled for tomorrow so I'll take a day off from my other job too and stay home bake some bread and cookies. I have so many vacation days left that I'll never be able to use them all anyway. Vacations days are nice....but sometimes not possible. Things have to be done.

Larry, AB blood is sort of rare. One of your parents is A and one is B. According to the "Eat Right" diet, AB is the newest blood type to develop. I think you're supposed to eat smaller meals more often...and eat meat separately from grains.

Larry

Beef has changed

i get grass fed grass finished beef from a small rancher. It is amazing. I ate some regular grocery store beef the Other day at my daughters. I could not get past the smell. So different.

Okay, you all sold me. I need to call Meats n More here in Wagoner to talk to them about their meat sources. Thanks.

SESE seeds arrived today. Anyone want a packet of Tromboncino? lol

And I just bought myself another Christmas present. After reviewing and comparing stand food mixers, I found one of the cheaper Kitchen Aids that Consumer Reports graded as highly as the more expensive ones. I tell you, I've put off buying a stand mixer all these years, telling myself it's not worth it when I don't use a mixer all that often. And so every time I've gone into cookie binge mode, I groan, struggling with the hand mixer. I am SO done with that. Especially since I decided to begin making cookies every other month to send off to folks. I am so poor now. Now I have to clean out the kitchen cabinets to find a place for my new cookie-making supplies and either the food processor or mixer.

Seed Savers Exchange catalogue today--it's a beauty. But I'm determined to notify all these companies and say "Do not send catalogues!" Maybe I won't notify these guys, Prairie Moon, Missouri Wild Flowers, and Native American Seeds.

Jen, I forget where Cliff moved from?

Okay, on to cleaning.

Kim, I have a hard time with most meats. I think they all stink, some just a little, some very much. When I was young and we would butcher out own meat, beef smelled the worse, chicken, and then pork. I could handle the pork pretty well, but Madge wont eat pork. Even when my step dad would give us beef he would raise and have butchered, we did not like that. I like a small amount of meat as seasoning. We had stew the past 2 or 3 days, it was wonderful, but not with a lot of meat. I like for Madge to use about 1/2 of a steak and a tub full of veggies, with the meat cut into small pieces.

Nancy, I have a Kitchen Aid mixer out in the shop. Madge uses them pretty hard. They have a gear in them that is designed to be the weak spot, and strip before it damages anything. I was going to repair it with a new gear, but I think her kids needed something to get her for Christmas, and bought her a new mixer. The new mixer cost at least $250, a new gear $5 to $10. With very little maintenance those mixers will last forever.

I think most of you will agree that when you get old, you already have about every thing you need, and no place to store it. Madge and I both have new stuff still in the box it came in. By the time we need it, it will be obsolete. It serves the kids right, when we are gone they are going to have to haul off all the excess toys we have, but it is nice to be loved.

Well, I grilled a T-bone in the snow just a few minutes ago. It was better than any steak I've bought in years (I tend to buy them seldom due to pricing (like $18/lb) here).
Conversely, Larry, I found pork to be the most disagreeable smelling, well actually chicken. But THAT (for me) is due to the medications constantly fed chickens in the water, and probably pork too, being mass-produced as it is.

Danny, I have butchered very little since I was a kid, all the animals had no medical used on them at that time. Maybe I just got use to the smell of pork. I did not like the smell of anything freshly butchered, the cooking smell was not as bad. While I am thinking about it, rabbit did not smell good either, but since I did not like the smell, I would not kill them. It seems to me that liver and onions, and fish cooking is pretty bad to smell up the kitchen.

I need to stop talking about cooking, we are trying to only eat one meal a day, and just snack on some type of fruit or vegetable when we take our medicine.

Maybe you shouldn't eat meat (aka that diet), I try to listen when my body is telling me something. Usually a craving indicates something I need (well no one probably needs a chocolate pie, but other cravings), because I think I can feel that it was a right choice afterwards.

Nancy, you'll love your mixer. It makes cookie baking SO nice. Mine sits unused during the summer, though.

Danny, what medicines are fed to chickens in their water?

Mine don't get medicine. If I'm "on it" I'll add a tbsp of apple cider vinegar to their water but I'm rarely "on it". I'm mostly just getting through the day...the week...life.

I'm glad you're enjoying your food!

Larry, out of curiosity, I looked up what meat an AB blood type should eat. The books says to eat mutton, lamb, rabbit, turkey, and several types of fish. It says to NOT eat beef, chicken, duck, goose, pork, veal, venison, quail, and shellfish.

Like I've said before, I have no idea if this diet is legit. It's just interesting.

I baked several of the Seminole pumpkins from last year. I have 3 jars of puree in the freezer now. We still have at least a dozen more pumpkins. Y'all, I know I've said this many times, but that pumpkin is amazing.

I'm wondering if we will have another snow day tomorrow. It was a bit ridiculous to be out of school today because the roads were fine. I went to NG because we were out of honey. And to Bath and Body Works because their Vanilla Birch candles were back in stock. I can't do most candles because they give me a headache, but that one is lovely. That and the Twisted Peppermint. Anything with peppermint essential oil is LOVE to me.

Tonight we had chili. Honestly everything came from the garden except the beef and the spices. Black beans, brown beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, pepper and onions from the freezer, and garlic.

If I could ever get my life together, I could make my own spices.

I ate a bit of the chili, but beef just doesn't sit well on my stomach--even the grass finished.

Most of the lettuce in the hinged hoop looks great still. The Jericho romaine might have been bitten some from the cold. It is a variety that does well in the warmer weather anyways. Rick and I draped a frost cloth over the hoop. There's insect netting on the hoop too (obviously don't need that currently), and it's permanently attached. I've been pleased to find that I can harvest a week's worth of lettuce and it lasts for the week. Also, the turnips are really sweet and pleasant right now. I chopped one up for my salad at lunch. The Daikon radishes are sweet too. And I let them get way too big.

More snow is headed our way!

I can go without chocolate, or meat... but I LOVE LOVE LOVE cheese and bread and veggies.

Oh, I can only go without chocolate if I don't have any in the house. Otherwise all bets are off.

Did a run to Dallas with a friend... she wanted to go to IKEA. Guess what this BIG spender bought....

LOL

a wooden spoon. Yup, that's all I bought. Really. One of those with a flat end... which means, when you stir stuff you have a bigger surface you stir.

I only went with her, cause I liked the idea to get out of the house... :)

We had a super nice visit.

Oh, yes, she is the only one that I spend time with, without a mask. Neither of us go out in crowed places, or with several people. I trust her to be safe.

Moni

PS, my cold frames are still covered... aka, with a snow layer.

Moni

you passed right by me

It was really just a quick run to IKEA with Esther... and no extra stops. :(

Moni

Here's a link on what may be fed to the chicken at any time, and let me tell you, the water (or used to be) is blue also. I have no idea what is constantly fed to them, but you can count on anti-biotics being in the mix constantly. Also growth accelerators.

https://poultry.extension.org/articles/feeds-and-feeding-of-poultry/feed-additives-for-poultry/drugs-approved-for-use-in-conventional-poultry-production/

The most recent time I've been in a commercial poultry operation was about thirty years ago....and even then, it was gruesome. Many of them unable to walk, due to how fast their bodies are made to grow to gargantuan size (6 weeks was the full production time last I checked). There are always dead chickens (oh..and chickens are cannibals). The smell would knock you down (though that's mainly the ammonia in their excrement).

Chickens used to take about 4 months to reach slaughter size, not six weeks.
I know I keep preaching the same song, but the taste of a chicken raised with access to bugs, grass, and whatever else they forage in a natural landscape, will blow your socks off if you have a discerning palette at least. They actually don't taste like cardboard and are not all greasy with globs of fat.

Jennifer. . . . please research essential oils toxicity to cats. I was going to begin using them since I found out the candles weren't safe for us. . . but a friend alerted me to the toxicity. https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/a-scent-sitive-subject-essential-oil-diffusers-and-your-cat/

Not much going on here. Grandkids loved the snow.

Happy belated birthday, Larry!

Aldi's chicken is supposed to be antibiotic free, but it's still pretty fatty. I read something about meat chickens. Might have even been something Dawn wrote. Anyway, the breeds they use have been bred to have huge breasts that will make them unable to walk if they go past harvest age. Dorothy's book put me off meat chickens when she talked about cleaning them the first time. I'm not even going to read Danny's link, LOL. I know they gave the calves growth hormones on the ranch. The boss used to save 2 or 3 calves for personal use and those didn't get the hormones. Grain fed cattle have a different kind of fat than grass fed, probably makes them taste greasier Larry.

Most of the garden is under snow cover. The Chard and Brussels sprouts stick up higher. Don't know how they'll fare when the snow melts.

H/J I really want covered hoops. Not really hoops, but boxes. 4x4 boxes. Maybe 3 feet tall. Have to be tall enough the dog won't be tempted to jump on them. My beds are 4x8, so 2 boxes to a bed. I want them moveable. Cattle panels might get in the way. Maybe they need to open from the top. There are so many projects though, probably not going to happen. Maybe Ron would make them if I promised to grow zucchini.

Happy Tuesday.

Ikea is so fun, Moni!

A good wooden spoon is something to be excited about.

Danny, the Cornish X chickens have been developed to grow fast--they are made to have no personality and just a large appetite. Even if you wanted to keep them as a pet, their bones are too weak to keep up with their size. It's a horribly sad thing. Having said that, maybe some of you saw the hen that either Dale or Carrie posted on social media? It is a Cornish X. They harvested most of their CXs but two of their hens have a sweet personality so they kept them. They are giant and not having any issues yet.

Many people will raise them and harvest them before health issues begin....and the birds are allowed to eat bugs and live on grass, etc. We have a few of them in our freezer right now. They were purchased from a friend who ran out of freezer room. They were well cared for during their short lives.

I have a bantam Dark Cornish rooster. And the little boy who just died was a Dark Cornish and so is Wynnie the young girl I just moved to the main coop. They don't have the issues that the Cornish X has. They are slower growers. Supposedly they make excellent meat birds. I told Tom that if he wanted to keep a meat flock, that those two could be the beginning of it. I would need to get a few more Dark Cornish hens and keep them separate from the other chickens, which are just for eggs and pets.

My chickens have a large yard for when we're home and a coop with a decent sized attached and covered run. Bugs are a little more scarce right now in the winter, but they still look for them. Because I do it the "natural way" and don't add light to the coop in the winter, they aren't laying eggs right now. And I've gone through my stash. I buy free range eggs from NG in December and part of January typically, but their yolks aren't as yellow as my own chicken's eggs.

Nancy, luckily I haven't had cats with respiratory issues. I use essential oils but do not run the diffuser 24/7. Honestly, I'm so sensitive to such things, that many essential oils I cannot tolerate in the diffuser. I have certain ones. When I'm sick, I like Breathe Ease. It is wonderful. There's a few other too, but most I can't do in a diffuser. Before I knew that oils could be harmful to pets, I ran Breathe Ease in a diffuser for a sick hen--Marjorie. She was one of my originals. She stayed in the hall bathroom for 2 days with that diffuser running the entire time. On Day 3, she stood up and was ready to go back to the coop.

There's always simmer pots. That is probably the "healthiest" way to go. And they can smell so nice.

I'm about ready to head home for the day but dread going out to the car. It's covered in snow. Brrr!

I hate anything scented. They make my throat feel like its closing. Laundry aisle at Sam's gives me an immediate headache. My husband brought home lavender and peppermint essential oils the other day. Glad I didn't use them. I think he just wants the house to smell better.

It's not snowing here. Yet. Maybe it will skip us. But then there will be mud.

I'm with you Amy. I absolutely hate having to go down aisles in stores with laundry detergent or scented candles. They always throw my asthma in the forefront, give me a headache, etc.

I haven't been able to tolerate strong aftershave or perfume (on others), or scented deodorants (on me) for years. Scented oils would probably kill me.

It's snowing here. Started around 9:30, while I was walking to Big Lots for a battery for my step counter. It was about to quit on me. Next I walked to BRAUMS for milk, and then home. It was glorious out... but no snow on the ground yet. I am still super careful with my back, and will not go out walking where it could be icy. Here is what my yard looked like 5 hours ago:

and now:

am baking... that is such a nice warm activity when it looks like above outside. :)

Moni

Moni, I took the dogs for a walk in the snow. It wasn't slippery. Thank goodness. I very much enjoyed the walk. It's cold but pretty. I'm SO glad you're being careful about with your back.

I feel like I need to say this: Just because I talk about stuff and am intrigued by it, it doesn't mean that I believe in it...or much less trying to convince someone else to believe in it. (Blood type diet, Rh neg blood, etc.) I am interested in so many things. There's so much to think about and learn about. I'm definitely not a one-track mind type of person. And it is hard to find people who are interested in discussing so many different things...especially outrageous, out-of-the-box things. It slips out of my brain and into my mouth and/or typing fingers at times. :D

I'm with y'all on the strongly perfumed laundry soaps. Tide, Downy--those types of laundry products are too strong for me too. However, I can do some of the Melaleuca fragranced ones. They smell clean but not strong. I'm grateful that I can tolerate a few scents.

Essential oils aren't the same as scented oils, though. Essential oils are just plant oils with nothing added to them (unless you want to dilute them with a carrier oil like coconut oil and the fractionated coconut oil has no scent). However, they can be very strong. Oddly, some are even used for headache medicine. I know some people who will put a drop of basil essential oil on their forehead to help with a headache.

Essential oils are potent for sure. A distiller is used to remove the oils from whatever plant you wish to work with. It's something I would really like to do. I don't have a distiller and let's be real...my time is so limited. There's just not enough hours in the day to do all the things I want to do. I want to do it all!

And that is a problem.

But, yes, essential oils are completely plant, but can be strong. And some people are allergic to some plants. Certain flowers give off a fragrance that gives me a headache in fact.

When I diffuse oils, I go very light. Just a drop or two. A good one for this time of year is a drop of clove and a drop of orange. And, of course, peppermint. If my stomach is upset, I'll add a drop of it to my tea or water. Just a drop.

I'm rambling again.

We have a snow day tomorrow so I'll take another day off from my other job too.

I use lavendar oil for my migraine, it's one of the few things that can help keep it at bay. Fortunately I don't have the debilitating type, they're mild enough that i can control them with over the counter remedies. I have noticed they got more frequent as I get older, but more mild too.

Our roommate has been appointed as the official christmas gift keeper. Cliff asked her to hide what he got me, trying to be sneaky about it, and then I asked her to hide his gift in her closet with mine. So now she's the only one allowed to answer the door when packages are delivered.

Department of Public Safety declared a reduction in services for the county today, which means all state offices closed early. It seems silly to get a snow day when you're working from home, but I'll take it.

Reminds me of a discussion we had last winter

https://www.newson6.com/story/5fd934d1fd555a0bbc7a8685/snow-ice-cream

HU

My grandma made the best snow ice cream. I wish I'd gotten her recipe, all I remember was vanilla and a fresh egg from "the chicken lady". Older woman lived across from the courthouse that had dozens of chickens. Small town and long before city ordinances to dictate what people did with their property.

My Dad's snow ice cream wasn't very good. We ate it because he made it....and because it was cool.

Megan had a picture of her snow ice cream on fb. It looked good.

Kitchen clean up done. Presents wrapped. "Old, cleaning towels washed. We have a ton of them and they've been piling up for weeks. HU, there is one that had pepper jelly on it. We must have used it in the shop during jelly making.

What is everyone fixing for holiday meals? Most of us will have smaller gatherings this year....and I'm thinking it's a time to do something different or extra special. Even if you're alone or there's just two of you. Make it special. We need it this year.

We're doing Solstice on Sunday instead of Monday. It will just be the three of us, M & M and Mom. I'm considering doing a traditional Solstice type of meal since there will be so few of us: Lamb Bake, winter squash soup, kale/cranberry salad, rosemary beer bread, and spice cakes with cinnamon frosting.

We'll do some type of "santa fe" soup for Christmas Day. Easy.

My sister in law comes in on the 24th and stays thru the 27th so I'll need to come up with some meals. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day brunches are planned....but that's it.

Ethan leaves on the 27th too and won't be home for his BD or epiphany. :(

Oh, I got an email from SESE that said their catalogs are being mailed and their 2021 stuff will be available soon.

Larry, doing okay? How's everyone else?

Jennifer, I am doing fine, been having a lot of Dr. appointments, and will need to wear a heart monitor for a few days, but I am not really having any new problems. When you get to the age of Madge and me, the chances of going to the Dr. more often is greater. Madge is going to to town for medicine now. I have my medicine sent in the mail.

It had been too cold for me to play outside. Its 36* now, that is about as warm as it has been in the past few days. I think I will try to start my RTV and go to the wildlife garden. We are supposed to have someone come and pick greens Fri. and I want to try to find the best spot to pick. I think we have plenty here at the house, but just in case, I want to have a "back up spot" to go.

Well, I just got back from the wildlife garden. 36 degrees is just too cold for me to enjoy the outside. The deer are working the garden pretty hard. A lot of greens have been picked, or bitten off. I have told a lot of people to just help them selves, so I cant tell just what the deer are eating, except I cant find any winter pea vines, or a lot of rye grass. It was too muddy to check close.

The rtv started fine. It does have glow plugs like most diesels gave to aid in cold weather starting.

I stood outside for nearly 3 hours (on ice) spotting my tree-trimmer. He was sent solo (on what was estimated a 2 man job). I felt like I didn't want him to have an accident and me be in the house unaware of it. However, my feet were hurting so bad from cold and it was getting dark..and his hands were killing him (same reason)...so I said lets call it a night.

The trees are down...but there's cleanup to do (and chainsaw work).

Danny that was good of you to stand by... and I am glad, the major job part is done.

I am thinking I will take the snow off my cold frames today... and see, what the stuff under looks like.

Moni

My cilantro survived the 18* night, i think it was Sunday night. I'm shocked. Its planted below a south facing brick wall. Looks like it will take one of those 10* or below nights to take it out.

Well, I lost a post to the internet gremlins.

Danny, since it was estimated as a 2 man job and you were the 2nd man, are they going to discount what the 2nd man would have been paid? Ron fired some plumbers who were going to run the drain from the roof and he considered their setup unsafe. He told them he didn't want to get sued if they got hurt.

Lynn, I've got a purple salvia that continued to bloom even though the snow bent it over. It is now upright again. I need a yard full of these. It also looks like the Chard is going to stand back up and keep going. I believe this variety is Bionda Di Lyon Swiss Chard, which I got at Baker Creek. It doesn't have pretty red ribs like some but it sure is sturdy.

Going to post before I lose it again.

When is Ethan's birthday, HJ? I'm sorry he won't be there for it. I think it will be just GDW and me for Christmas. Kinda sad, but . . . . I like your idea of something special for Christmas. Maybe . . . I was just checking out steak companies online. There were some great-looking meats. Then I had my conscience pricked. GDW and I can wait a month or two for a special dinner. I just had an inspiration to make several small lasagna panfuls for people around town, and I must say, I loved that idea even more than special steaks--so that's what I'm going to be doing. I'll make ours special by adding French bread and a nice salad.

My sister-in-law sent an email about how besieged the USPS is with record packages, and how Fed Ex and UPS have offloaded some of their own packages to the USPS. I wonder if the post offices that that been put out of service ever got going again. Well, so SIL went this email to her kids and me saying she wasn't going to mail anything til January, under the circumstances, so we could all expect Christmas in January. I thought that was a great idea. I had already arranged for presents to the kids in Mpls, but have a freezer full of cookies that I was going to mail to all the kids and a few others. I've now decided to hold off on those, also. They'll be fine in the freezer til next month. I'll get rid of some of the cookies by gifting locally.

I have some purple salvia in that raised bed next to the car/boat port, Amy, but that's the only place it's sunny enough--unless I decide to turn some of the veggie garden space into flowers. And by gosh, I might.

I liked Amy's thought that you should get a discount on the tree cutting, Danny. Something to consider, no?

Brrr. I'm considering going out to get the mail, but don't have shoes on--just slipper socks that are work to get off. GDW has his boots on, but he's sawing logs in his recliner. Sigh. Either I wait until he wakes up, go out in my slippers, or put my shoes on. Any guesses? LOL.

Have a super day, all!

My chard "Bright Lights". I think, still looks okay, but you can tell everything has been bit. I really cant say that I have lost any winter stuff yet. The deer are starting to hit everything harder, especially the rye grass and winter peas.

The weather looks much better today, it is 50 degrees now. While it was about 48 degrees I took Madge and our little dog for a ride in the rtv. Our little dog, a yorkie, thinks it is his job to kill every other 4 legged creature on this earth. I took them out to check on the cows, they are really dropping calves like crazy now. I would think the cows should be calving in the spring, but I guess the fellow that rents this place has a different game plan. We found one cow that had just had a calf. I did not get close to any of them because I did not want to scare them, the baby was still trying to stand up. One area had babies and mamas stretched out in the sun, the looked dead, but moved when we got closer. I love being around the cattle and playing in the dirt, well it would be playing in the mud now.

Madge and I decided that we will not buy gifts this year, we will give to families in need, we know too many old folks, and young folks that can use a little help.

We are still eating out of our fall garden, but things are not growing fast. We need to find someone to give pumpkins and sweet potatoes to. It is so easy to grow an excess of food, but that may change with the world in the shape it is in, but we were never guaranteed tomorrow anyway.

I really need to find new ways to fix some of the stuff we have on hand, sometimes a hamburger and fries looks so good, but I cant find seeds anywhere, the hamburger seeds were probably the first to sell out.

No, Larry, I feel that the milkshake seeds (esp the chocolate ones) were the first to sell out, but hamburger and fries seeds were not much behind them.

It's nice to see the ground again. Several nights in the low 20s have finished off some of the lingering anomalies (passion fruit vines, cannas, witch hazel leaves). It won't be but two months (or so) before the first spring crocus are probably in bloom. I will look forward to it.

Well, I waited all day for that young man to show back up and finish up (cleanup mostly)...and I'm still waiting. Yet again, I'm being reminded that trusting someone to do what they said (I'll be here at 8 am..), was foolish. *sigh* I hate this...I wish for the older days where a man's word was good.

Danny, glad your trees are down but sorry they didn't send enough people for the job.

Lynn, cilantro is tough. Except in the heat.

Nancy, Ethan's BD is January 5. He was 3 weeks early.

I like your idea about making lasagnas. That's great!

I don't have much to talk about. It's been a long day and I just finally sat down. I had an errand to run after work and then came home and made a dinner that was more complicated than it looked, but it was very good. I should have know that any recipe that requires white wine is gonna be complicated. It was turkey tetrazzini. I froze a lot of our leftover Thanksgiving turkey. It would have been easier if I had used a "cream of" soup, but I just don't like those (unless they're homemade). This one required that you make you're own "gravy" with a bit of flour, white wine and heavy cream. I did get to use garden garlic and green peas.

THEN, I decided to make a bit more candy--just the chocolate covered pretzels.

THEN, I decided to clip the dogs' nails and give poor Kane a bath. Then the litterboxes needed attention.

Now, I just want to sit. It feels nice.

HU is coming over tomorrow after work and we'll check the hoops. We only have about an hour after getting off work and dark. But, it's enough time. I just hope it's not too windy.

In about a week and a half, I'll start planning Garden 2021. That's exciting to think about. I'm always a little sad after Christmas, but planning a garden is a mood elevator.

I had a few minutes when I was eating lunch to look online at some lights for my light shelf. I gotta do that better this year. It was so rigged up last year.

Anyway...I can't focus too much on it this week.

I finally contacted the owner of the tree service this morning. The guy is finishing job now. Owner wanted to know why I paid him before he was finished (check made out to owner) because he got a different story than I told him. I said I was trying to be nice to him, and well, it didn't seem to work out well.

He showed up is chainsawing away, didn't knock on door or anything, so I assume there are resentments. Oh well, I was nice...I spotted him, I brought him a bottle of water, I suggested he quit for the night when it was dark, cold, and his hands were mostly frozen (as my feet were). He promises to come back at 8 am the next morning..and as you know...two days of no show. *sigh*

Danny I made the same mistake earlier this year. Handy man was HIGHLY recommended... and I paid, (before the work was done) the amount of the window... but it turned out he never ordered it. I got lucky, and got my money back.

Lesson learned... and the fellow is off several peoples recommendations lists.

Moni

Yes, I know the lesson of don't pay till the work is done, I broke it because he said he really had hoped to get paid tonight. I was a softie..and guess where it got me.

The world is a frustrating place, Danny. I am fighting with chrome today. Every time I try to use it I get a black screen. So I'm in Firefox and it's just enough different too be confusing and houzz keeps trying to send me to the app.

We have one lawn chair with a cushion on the patio. The Sasquatch is sitting in it watching for the squirrel. The male dog, who hates the squirrel even more has more fat and fur and just lays in the snow also waiting for his chance.

H/J, come clip my dogs nails! I can't get on the floor to do it. Sometimes daughter will do it, but she was pregnant and DIL will, but haven't seen her much. We have the vet do Sasquatch. Male dog chews his own, beagles are much too long.

I don't remember where I got that purple salvia. I know it survived a couple of years of neglect.

I need to get busy here. You all have a nice weekend.

I am also a sucker for paying too soon. I try to live my life as "owe know one " and it bites very often. We seem to want to help people that seem to need help, often the reason they need help is because they dont try hard enough to help them selves. I was raised that "a man is no better than his word ", If that is the case, we sure have a lot of people that need some training. I have told my kids honesty and dignity are free, there is no reason you cant have a ton of it. It seems to me that today's values just dont measure up to what we were raised by.

Today is a beautiful day, I need to be out working, but it is really wet here.

I need to get some cars nails trimmed, they are jumping up on everything that has a seat on it and digging their claws into the sear or armrest. I cant catch them, and hate to shoot them. I dont think anyone out here has their animals "fixed", and we have no animal control. I have tried to call to get them in a shelter, but all are full. Maybe I need to plant some cats, but with my luck they would grow and reproduce.

Lol, trimmer update. He mostly cleaned it up today (after I communicated with owner), however, he left me a 4 foot x 6 radius pile (pic) and two smaller piles. Being as he never spoke to me today, left without a word, I don't know if he will return today, tomorrow, next week, or never. Better and better!

Btw that's in my driveway....but I don't put car in garage often.

Hi Y'all.

Oddly the brassicas seem to be developing even during Persephone...slowly, though.

Amy, trimming nails sucks. Tom petted Josi and and I trimmed. I put Kane in the bathtub and put peanut butter on the tub walls to distract him while I trimmed. I am mostly flexible enough to do this.

Not much to add. Just "Hi".

Oh, I got the kombucha going again.

Must be your mini-Aussie, too. Wait--do you have two of them?

HJ--my son Wade--his birthday is Dec. 29, so when you mentioned Ethan's upcoming, I had to know! You understand. Wade was also 3 weeks early!

Larry and Danny, no exactly a fool for paying too early here, but Amy can attest to my wild freakout session the other day about when I totally accidentally ordered the wrong $100-item from Kitchenaid. Showed the picture of a bright shiny red mixer (with an attachment) I had already been looking at and priced, for app. $95.00. I almost fainted! The sale was for a very limited time so I signed in and bought it on the spot, without looking at the TEXT that the sale was for the attachment only, about 5 minutes later. I quick tried to contact them--they gave only two options for contact, either live chat or phone number. I tried live chat first--when it said my wait time was an hour, then called. I was on hold for 4 hours and on live chat hold for those same 4 hours. I was NEARLY ballistic then. I got the nicest customer service gent ever, a fella from Kentucky. He was GREAT. I quickly told him the problem, he laughed, said he'd fix it. Well of course, he came back on the line and said he was so sorry but the item was already in the shipping dock. Nothing he could do. So he'd send me a Fed Ex label and when the item arrived, I could send it back with the label, and then they'd process the refund. It should "only" take about six weeks. I absolutely lost it. Cussed a couple times loudly. Cussed out the company. He stuck with me, let my tantrum play out. In the end I apologized profusely to HIM, but told him if he cared to pass it on, if Kitchenaid valued stockholders' profits and CEO's salaries more than customer service (he had told me with Covid 19 they had let a tremendous number of customer service reps go--how stupid was THAT--they could have made a killing with online sales, yet weren't farsighted enough to realize that, so just cut the bottom line work force), then they could count on me to never ever ever order a Kitchenaid item.

Well, the next day I explored alternate mixers. . . there really isn't a great alternate. Further, I was SO ashamed of myself for losing my temper. I failed on so many levels that day. And there's this. When so many people are hit SO hard financially because of Covid 19, here I am thinking I "need" a $300 stand mixer. So multiple lessons learned that day. I can wait the ornery 6 weeks or so for my refund (by the way, I don't know who my nice customer service person sent the Fed Ex label to but it wasn't to me. . . . . . LOL all I could do at this point was laugh.) And in fact, I decided to use whatever excess money I might have to cook up meals for folks. Not trying to appear to be a good person; just trying to encourage all of you to do the same.

My buddies/the directors of Lincoln--now have Covid 19. I'm not surprised--I'm only surprised they didn't get it earlier. But it's especially sad now, because they are such traveling emissaries to all the disadvantaged and poor families in town. (And those folks are suffering mightily $$$ and in terms of risks.) They know them all and know where they all live--no one else does. I asked them this evening when we talked, if I could get some addresses for a couple of those, and who else I should deliver to. . . they suggested 4-5 others. I agreed--they'll send me the addresses. Such a blow right at Christmas time. And of course, I'm so worried about my friends. Covid 19 is creeping in closer to all of us, I think. My kids up in Mpls, a family of 4. Their daughter doesn't live at home, but at age 21, with her boyfriend. Out of those 5 folks, 4 of them have had Covid since Thanksgiving. Granddaughter is the only one who didn't yet. DIL sounds worrisome. . . high BP, headaches still, lethargy (she's normally the most energetic person I know.)

This Christmas season is especially important to me this year, with so many people hurting. Nothing could make me feel better than to ease the burden a tiny bit for them. God bless us all.

Only one Aussie Nancy...I was glad to include him for scale (sorta).

On non-tree trimming news, I screwed up my financial courage (yes, just like your KitchenAid, I didn't NEED it) and purchased a nostalgic country ham. I am looking forward to having ham, gravy, and biscuits in the morning (artery hardening for sure), but I remember the aroma of the smokehouse when my grandfather used to hang and cure his own hams...whee, so tasty, but quite an adventure for those that don't understand a country ham isn't quite like those watery things you get in grocery stores. More like bacon (dry and even maybe a bit hard) when sliced, though the aging process gives it a unique flavor. Mine is *drool* brown sugar cured.

Well, seems I blinked and, POOF! here a thread that's almost too long for me to digest! I read and think, "Ah, I can comment on this detail." Then I see something else which is of interest, think the same thing, and ... forget what it was I was going to comment on in the first place!

About meat chickens: the original Cornish was a large fighting breed. Because it was a fighting breed it waa very muscular, particularly in the breast and for the same reason it was exceedingly hardy and vigorous. Hence it was crossed into meat breads to produce the modern commerical Cornish cross. Today's version only resembles its forefathers in that it is meaty.

Someone once gave me a couple of these birds which had been raised for 1 1/2 years on regular chicken feed. They were the size of turkeys and the meat was good, though they were somewhat deformed in the legs.

For some years our neighbor raised chickens for a commercial company. Fryers went to slaughter at 4 weeks of age. Broilers were ready at 6 weeks.

Our family raises a breed of chicken which was developed in the 1800s from a Cornish cross, but back then "Cornish" looked a lot differently than today. The Buckeye is a blocky bird with extra large thighs. It's a fantastic meat bird, but on pasture (with supplemental food) it takes 5 months to reach butchering size.

My wife purchased a freeze dryer this year. That was her splurge on a gadget.

I got a tractor and spent much of the summer getting it fixed and a front end loader attached. Can't believe how much the tractor is helping me with my work on the farm. Here's a photo of how it has helped with doing firewood.

By the way, and I don't mean to embarrass Larry, back in 2010 I was going through some really hard times financially, and otherwise. I was struggling to bring in firewood for our needs (we heat with wood) using a wheelbarrow. Larry got us a cart for our riding lawn mower. That was the beginning of mechanization for our family farm. We used it all the time for years and still have it an use it on occasion

Here's a photo of Jerreth (and a friend) showing off the cart.

.

OKC
area friends... do you want/need some FREE mulch? I got a load from
chipdrop two days ago... and have a WHOLE lot more than I need. Please
feel free to come and get a pickup load or more.

worked for a lot on Thursday, and a WHOLE lot more yesterday... but still have way to much... that I don't really want to relocate to the back yard. This is Saturday morning:

I did manage to make a path for the mail person... narrow but walk-able. :)

Moni

George, I am glad you we able to use the cart. I had one also, mine was about 2/3 the size of yours. I had a lot of dirt and gravel work to do, so I bought a smaller one for myself, because I needed a steeper dump angle, plus I was afraid my mower would not pull a large load of dirt or gravel.

Below is a picture of my latest toy, it has a hydraulic dump bed. It is easier to get on than my tractors are. My daughter, and my neighbor have a side by side, they are a different brand, and they are also harder to get in and out of. I had this out this morning looking for a place to mount my cane and walker. I seldom use my cane or walker, but I expect the day is coming when I will be using them, maybe daily, I want to be ready.

I checked the wildlife garden this morning. I cant see any winter peas. I know that the winter peas are growing, because I have them in my south garden and a strip across the lawn. The deer are not hitting the stuff I have planted in the lawn near as hard as they are the stuff I have planted out near cover. I think it was Dawn that I saw posting about a decoy garden several years ago. I think it helps, but it does not cure critter invasions.

That is awesome Moni. Mulch for ever. We got some at the Denton garden and still have huge pile.

Larry that looks like a great new toy.

I need to contact the electric company here and beg for another load.

And yep, I agree, that does look like an awesome new toy.