Love the picture of Madge!!

Popping in to check on everyone and see how you are holding up. This weather.........nevermind, I have no words lol. I'm supposed to be packing to get ready to sell our home but I can't because this weather has me so cold I don't want to move once I get warm. We lost power yesterday morning for about a couple hours then this morning too as part of the rolling outages. I would be ok with it honestly if I had a fireplace to keep me warm. But, since we are on well water and aerobic septic tank, it makes things a bit trickier on what we can/can't do. Put a heater in the garage with our well pressure tank so the lines don't freeze there and so far we've been good, thankfully! Been limiting our water usage because of our septic and going out every morning since last week to make sure I have at least one sprinkler that is spraying water. Otherwise, I'd have to call the septic people and have them pump some of our water out at a wallet cruncher. But so far, we're holding steady. Told the kids quick showers and haven't ran any laundry.

Kim, I feel horrible for those of you in Texas because you really are not even close to being equipped for something like this and rightfully so. We were looking at moving to Waco a few weeks ago and I am SO glad we didn't right now. Also, all the animals down there. :(

Now the city of OKC is limiting water usage and turning off lines. They were saying it's because thousands of people have frozen lines but there are tons of people saying their lines are not frozen? Can't give exact details but hospitals are having big issues right now because of it.

I got really upset with the city tonight though because the Thunder still played their game even though everyone else is dealing with the rolling outages. Ridiculous honestly.

I need a few groceries but can't get out. Hopefully I'll be able to run Sunday and grab a few things. Hubs barely got out of the drive yesterday. He has to go in because he's in the medical field. We actually bought a Subaru last March and it has done well since it's all wheel drive and has an x-mode that stabilizes the drive in ice/snow.

I hope you all are staying warm. This weekend should thaw us out, hopefully.

I'm going far off into oddball philosophical land, but I do seek other's opinions on my midnight thoughts.
It occurs to me, that I feel much less safe and secure in my home/county/state/nation, that I ever have before.
I'm sure a lot of it is the political climate, the coronavirus, and the polar vortex. But is it all? (I don't know)
What do you folks think? (now on topic for second) It really does make me want to grow more of my own food that's for sure! But I simply can't do that in town, with limited space and the lawn patrol (which I've ran afoul of every year since I lived here, because I do not really want a typical lawn).

Danny it isn't just you. I got the urge, and planted much much more than normal last spring, and plan to at least double that this spring (if it ever gets to spring).

All that was edibles.

I see yours and others posts on flowers.... but have to be honest, those are way down on my list.

I grew up in Germany.

We always had a garden that produced for our family of 7. My mother canned, both my grandmothers canned... and once I got to Oklahoma I learned to can the Merican way. ;)

Just the last 20 years, of which only 10 are truly happy years.. I hadn't canned much, nor grown much.

I feel, after seeing the empty shelves last spring and summer I have to take care of myself. Because, like I always tell others:

You are the most important person you know, and:

if I don't take care of myself who will.

On that note, I have posted a couple emergency posts on facebook and I will share them here, in a new thread.

Keep warm, keep your head straight, and take care of yourself.

Moni

Shades of last Feb:

https://www.google.com/search?q=broccoli+sprouts+cancer&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS689US690&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=bbRa-JEqOaCexM%253A%252CsaZ_BMowQExF3M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kT8tA8uhddKNqKDD1RvPz4Wg94p7A&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjb1IaHsMjnAhUCEqwKHWyqA_wQ9QEwAHoECAUQAw

https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/1f22accb0e4b57f0_9-6022/home-design.jpg

https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/cd7265460e4df600_9-7559/home-design.jpg

Eat yer broccoli sprouts...( and you don't even need your power on , just a little water for rinsing)

HU

Danny, I feel just like you, I have been talking to Madge for a few month about living somewhere else. She does not like the idea near as much as I do. I did go to Mexico 20+ years ago to see how I would like living there. I liked the people, but not so much the country. The parts I was in was too hot and dry. I think I would have liked it better farther south. I feel too old and beat up now to go anywhere.

I am so sick of our political mess. I think the Covid mess has my brain screwed up, but Covid is everywhere. I watch videos several times a week about life in other countries, but that is something I should have acted on years ago.

I should count my blessings. I have a wonderful wife, I live in a not so great mobile home, but at this point it is warm and dry, I have been out of debt for over 30 years, have more land and equipment than I can care for. I think this place would make a great homestead . There are probably a lot of people that would like to trade places with me, but I dont feel that I would want to trade places with anyone. I think that politics, covid, failing health, and extended family all add up to why I get these feelings. When the weather straightens up, and I can get out and play in the dirt I will feel much better.

I wish that some of y'all living close, I have good land and an artesian well on the back of the property, we could all share a very large garden.

Larry your place sounds really good for a homestead... but I'll stick to my city plot home stead.. I can walk to grocery store, braums, even Home Depot only can't buy big things there...

Politics suck just about world wide, just like COVID.... and then, in some places it's a language barrier... At my age I would not want to learn language number 3...

No matter what... Oklahoma is still affordable... going north would be not that hot in the summer, going south we just found out is not that helpful....

I'll stick around. Just need to hold out till it warms up. Then I'll start some seeds, eventually my clay will be almost dry enough again to dig in... an get more Bermuda grass out... and plant seeds and then plants.

It will happen. We just need to stay positive.

Moni

PS, look what someone said about Texas:

To the 2 million homes in Texas without power right now. To the millions covered in snow, who cannot keep their houses warm during freezing temperatures.

To Karen and Joe, in North Texas, who can see their breath vapor while lying in bed; who are eating cold cans of tuna in the dark, covered in blankets; who are constantly telling their anxious children, “Everything will be okay.”

To Lynn, the single mother with a 6-month-old who was so cold last night she crawled into her idling car parked in the driveway; who cranked the heater and cradled her child; who stayed there until three in the morning until her vehicle ran out of gas.

To elderly Miss Susan, who invited 14 neighbors into her house to share the warmth of her fireplace. She turned it into a party with games, music, and everything.

To Rod, the 32-year-old in Houston who opened his home to three homeless guys he found on the street. Rod welcomed them into his living room and showed them to his gas fireplace. Rod gave them new clothes, hot showers, then fired up his outdoor grill and barbecued a rack of Saint Louis ribs. They ate supper by candlelight.

And to those same long-bearded men who slept in Rod’s living room last night. They were men who, just yesterday, had snow encrusted whiskers and ice-covered eyebrows. As I write this, they are asleep on Rod’s floor, buried beneath a Pikes Peak of quilts, nestled beside a glowing hearth, enjoying full stomachs.

To the 27,229 homeless men and women in the state of Texas who are lost tonight. Most of them are people who have no family ties. Some are mentally ill. Each one is lonely. Almost all have been forced to huddle against buildings, in ditches, or in tents, simply to overcome below-zero wind chills.

To the emergency workers, the EMTs, the sheriff departments, the police officers, the doctors, nurses, firemen, and good Samaritans who comb the streets, alleyways, rural highways, and Texas suburbs looking for adults, kids, or lost animals who need help.

To any who find themselves asleep on the floors of Texas churches, community centers, furniture stores, or makeshift warming shelters.

To the 500 who sought refuge at a Houston facility last night just to stay alive. And to every single Texas person who helps run these 35 impromptu warming shelters throughout the Lonestar State.

To the families of the deceased.

To the family of the older woman and three children who lost power in Houston, who tried to warm themselves but caused an accidental gas fire and died.

To the 13 kids in Fort Worth who were admitted to Cook Children’s Medical Center with carbon monoxide poisoning because their families tried to heat their homes with gas stoves, open ovens, generators, or propane.

To the family members of the two men found near Houston, who were frozen to death on the side of the road.

And to those outside Texas, enduring hard times.

To the family of the Kentucky man whose vehicle ran off an icy highway and flipped.

To the family of the man near Starkville, Mississippi, whose vehicle overturned on an icy road and killed him.

To the family of the little boy in west Tennessee who fell into an ice-covered pond during a winter storm.

To the 250,000 who lost power throughout Appalachia.

To the 200,000 in Oregon who were without electricity from an ice storm.

To the 4 million people who lost power in Mexico.

To the residents of Brunswick County, North Carolina, who endured an EF3 tornado with hardly any warning beforehand; a storm with 160 mph winds; a tornado that killed people, wrecked a county, and destroyed dozens of homes.

To the hordes of school systems that were forced to close; from Chicago to Alabama; from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

To the people who lost power in Oklahoma City, during 8-degree weather.

To those in Nebraska whose power went off during 23-below-zero temperatures—the coldest within 25 years.

To anyone in America reading this right now, who is worried about where life is going. Who doesn’t know what’s happening. Who never knows what’s happening.

To anyone who has ever nailed a smile to their face during this pandemic era, choked back tears, and pretended like everything was fine.

To mothers who wake up in the middle of the night with overwhelming anxiety, who feel as though the world is crashing down on them. To fathers who feel like this past year has tested the stuff they’re made of, who feel they’ve failed.

To anyone who has ever been strong enough to look their children in the eyes and say, “Everything will be okay,” even when they themselves weren’t sure.

And to you. Especially to you.

God bless you.

I've been depressed. Of course I lost my father, but I can't DO anything till the weather clears. Funeral home says it's been taking a week to get permission to cremate.

I need to get tax papers ready, but I'm not in a state of mind to do that.

I need to NOT be worried that my grandchildren will be without heat in this weather. DIL made it safely to her mother's in Arkansas and is waiting for better roads to come back home.

I need to sit on the patio and put dirt in solo cups.

Safe? Let me put it this way, Danny, as a child I played outdoors till called in for dinner, Mother didn't worry about me. My kids played in the neighborhood with perhaps a few more worries like walking to school in groups. My grandkids can't do this, not even in a small town like Owasso.

I would grow food in containers Danny. If you could grow anything, what would it be? I know you have preferences. Swiss Chard makes a pretty plant, so do sweet potatoes. Stick a flower in the pot with it and call it decorative. Surely the yard police allow a couple of tomato plants. Jewels of Opar are edible and pretty flowers. There's also sprouts and microgreens like HU mentioned. can't remember if you like mushrooms. They're pretty good on protein and will give you vitamin d if you put them in the sun a little while before cooking.

Melissa, is that the septic system that sprays bleach water periodically? We had that one place I worked. never even thought about weather like this. Good Luck.

I saw a meme on FB that said Norway, Russia and couple of other places manage wind turbines that don't freeze, why is it Texas's are freezing? The same reason all the water mains in Tulsa are breaking. We don't plan for this kind of weather, we don't maintain for this kind of weather. We don't insulate attics with pipes even in commercial buildings. A month from now we'll forget about it. This will happen again one day.

Wednesday. If we can just make it to the weekend.

Thanks, Moni, that puts things into prospective. I do have a lot to be thankful for.

I got out a bit awhile ago, its up to 21 degrees and no wind. It felt nice outside. Madge had put a lot of food out and we have happy birds everywhere. I tried starting 2 of my tractors, only one would start, its a 44 year old German made John Deere that does not even have glow plugs to help in cold weather starting ( I like German built Items). It is out beside the driveway warming up now. I will push the snow off the driveway so I can go to get my second Covid shot tomorrow. I will also make a bare spot so the birds can get a little grit, and maybe play in the mud when things warm a little. We have a running creek just south of the house, so the critters always have plenty water.

I feel so much better when I can get out and do something. I may even have to go to the shop and get some potting soil and start some seed this afternoon.

Moni--that was wonderful! I don't suppose you can share a link of it on FB? Thank you.

We have a daughter and son-in-law in Rockport TX. . . she said there's no water or power and that people are sleeping in cars that are warmer than their homes. I'm so worried about all of the people in TX.

Here at Whitehorn, we have been leading a blessed life through the weather. We have Lake Region Electric and have not yet had any outages. And we still have water. Yesterday we chanced driving to town to pick up groceries. The roads out here had thankfully been packed down with snow vs ice so that was a good thing. The rest of the way was fine. They had 8 items crossed off our list, but I didn't believe them, so we went into the store after getting the pick-up items into the car. The only thing they were REALLY out of was birdseed. The rest, we found. And so we have been very lucky during this hard time.

I AM fit to be tied about the USPS being shut down "temporarily" in Tulsa. I wonder how many of my seeds/plants/onions/asparagus won't make it here. Bad timing indeed.

Otherwise, we're fine. I am so sorry so many of you are having a difficult time. Love, hugs, and prayers to everyone.

Amy, that's just it. THIS ISN'T NORMAL WINTER WEATHER. That is why all this can happen... and people have the "not happening to me syndrome". I had insulation blown in to my walls... I think, by the second winter here. Had it done at the last house too.

No way did I want freezing pipes.... I also have all my vents covered up with foam insulation board.

We just have to prepare better.

Moni

PS, Amy, take a pan, your soil, and go to an indoor room with hardwood or tile floor, and do your cups. Dirt/soil can be swept up. :)

Moni, that had me in tears at the very end. There aren't enough words to describe the last year and the impact it's had on every single individual in the world whether some are worse than others, it's impacted all.

Amy, our aerobic septic does not spray bleach water. Some systems do use bleach but it doesn't spray it out. Ours uses tabs but they aren't bleach and we have to flush bacteria packs each month down the toilet into the system to keep it from stinking when it does spray. It wouldn't harm you if you got sprayed, but you don't want to just frolic in it. This morning I got up and immediately heard a septic alarm going off. Our whole HOA is on aerobic systems so it could've been anyone, but nope, it was ours. I hurried and got hubs his coffee since he was dialing into a meeting first thing. Then I got dressed fast and ran outside, turned the alarm off and checked the sprinkler. Yep, sure enough it was froze. Darn it, it has been just fine till this morning. Took my homemade deicer out and sprayed the sprinkler head then went back in and grabbed a bucket of hot water and poured over it. I actually poured 2 over it. Waited a bit and it finally started to spray, thank goodness!!

Some days I am so busy that the day flies by and then some days I just sit here wondering what to do, where to start and trying to hold back my emotions. Some days I wonder about loved ones that aren't here any longer and what they would've thought about our world as it is today.

I want a sort of normalcy again. I want to not worry as much because I am a natural worrier and developed an ulcer that had me seriously thinking I was having a heart attack back in November. I want to be able to go to the doctor like I need to without worrying. I want to want to start seeds but right now, I don't even want to think about it. One thing I think I am going to start doing again is journaling my thoughts. I stopped doing it because I got so emotional I couldn't get through a dang page, lol. It's good to come here and know that other people feel the same way and aren't afraid to say it.

Now OKC is having water issues. We didn't get much sleep because of all the emergency texts/calls. There are water main breaks all over wreaking havoc in the hospitals not to mention creating sheets of ice in the road. Oklahoma Natural Gas just said nothing has changed as far as usage and saying to keep reducing the usage. OG&E said there are some outages and not related to rolling outages and said that the Southwest Power Pool has rolled back to phase 1 but far from being out of the woods. They are saying continue to conserve energy usage as well. There are almost 250 homeless people in the shelter from last night. I can't even imagine.

Checked the temp just now and it's 21 degrees, so there's that.

My word since my dad passed back in 2007 (we actually had a horrible ice storm that winter) is hope. Always clinging to HOPE.

I came over to talk about seed starting, and here y’all are getting all philosophical on me.

But I’m feeling the sudden urgency to get seeds in soil...like NOW. Anyone else?

Springdale has a set of city policies (and a group to enforce) that have very vague language about upkeep of property. They come through at least once a year and bother pretty much everyone with notes and threats of fines if XYZ aren't remedied. The local president of the WIld Ones said, 'And that's why I don't live in Springdale.'.

I just posted a picture of peppers and tomatoes I started too early--last year and the year before. Last year, mid-Feb. Year before, Feb. 1. So NO. I got so tired of dragging those things in and out and in and out. . . and then ended up topping them all, and repotting, burying both the tomatoes and peppers, and planted the tops, also.

For me, just greens and slow-growing things like coleus, alyssum, petunias.. . . if you all can think of other slow-growing flowers, remind me, please?

Nancy, I’m going with cool weather flowers like snapdragons and calendula.

Seriously, y’all, the more cleaning I do, the more seeds I’m finding. It’s nuts.

Melissa EONS ago, when phones were still hard wired I got in the habit to turn it off at night. Now a days, I put it on airplane mode.

Honest, my sanity and the option to sleep are more important to me. All the texts can be read in the morning, when you turn it back to normal.

Rebecca no, no need to sew seeds at the moment. To cold, PERIOD. ;)

for me anyway.

The water issue at my house is different... I more or less caused it... with my complaining for letting the water run down the street for days. Now, they are working on it... and my street has no water.

Well, at least I do take my own advice, and have two buckets of water in the bathtub and about 5 gallons for drinking in gallon jugs and 1/2 gallon canning jars.

I'll take a spit bath this evening if the current situation continues. :)

Moni

10/4! Thanks for the heads up. Maybe nasturtiums, too. . .

Checking in before I "try" to head to bed at a decent time tonight.

Rebecca, I cracked up when I read your post, lol.

Moni, my husband can't turn his phone off. He runs the laboratory at one of the Integris hospitals in OKC. He was on call last night and with all the water main issues, they didn't have water and it was a mess!! They still don't have water tonight. :(

Nancy, not sure if they are considered "slow growers" but they always are for me and that is cosmos. They always seem to bloom late for me. Maybe it's just me? IDK but they do and I still love them and grow them every year. Mine get so big, at least 4' tall and they bring in lots of pollinators.

I need a new soup to try. Anyone have any good recipes? Vegetarian?

butternut squash soup. Sorry, don't have a real recipe... I wing such meals. :)

Jennifer I am sure you are totally fine.

Jenifer, I dont see how you could offend anyone. I remember seeing a tractor burning video, I could not see it well, but I really thought nothing of it. I have never been offended by any of your stuff. If anyone gets offended, they get offended by them selves, a person has to make a choice to be offended.

My sense of humor is more off beat than anyone on this forum, I hope I never say anything that would open the door for someone to get offended, but I know that I might, and maybe I have.

I think we all need you on the forum, and besides, if you are not here, Amy and I will have to man the weirdo section alone.

Melissa, I tend to think the same thing with the purple/white cosmos (bipinnatus I believe is the species name). And after years of it (younger years), I finally realized it's not me, it's a photo period, they're a short day plant and will simply not start blooming before the day is fourteen hours or less long. So..you end up (or I did) with a massive green bush that suddenly (toward fall) bursts into spectacular bloom after months of being green. I believe some of the newer strains claim to have overcome this, but can't say. However, I am going to try a strain out this year..of the first time in ? 30 years? I haven't messed much with annuals for a long time, but I'm getting back into line with them in a small way.

Jennifer, you're certainly welcome to take a break, but in my vague disconnected memory, I don't recall any issue?

Well, two more nights of cold and we're inching up to near freezing again as a low...that'll be so warm. Even today, I was like...oh my so much warmer (despite being in the teens).

HJ don't go! I can't think of anything you've posted that people could take offense. I think sometimes we're our own worst critics. I know I'm constantly second guessing things I've said or done, thinking I'm a goober.

Jennifer , you just got a case of the winter blahs ...like the rest of us.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33FD9EbSdLU&list=TLPQMTgwMjIwMjFw7cZA82fALA&index=1

HU

HJ, take a break if you feel you need to. But I don’t recall ever seeing anything remotely offensive from you, ever. I think you’re perfectly fine. Is there someone telling you this?

Agree with all above. . . HJ. . . I feel like you're all friends. I know the past year has been hard on most of us, probably harder than some of us are willing to admit. For example, I'm so used to being alone with just GDW that I find I have pangs of anxiety when I'm out and about. That can't be good! Well, take care of yourself. If you think you need to step away, okay--but I'd say your presence is valuable.

I’ve decided to give up winter for Lent.

No one is irrelevant H/J. I think of this as a group of friends. I don't always comment on everyone's posts, but I read them all. I'm "listening". We care about you.

Larry and I man the weirdo section! LOL.

posting here is a bit like journaling, isn't it. We talk about life as much as gardening. These are longer posts than FB. We all ramble sometimes, especially me! I think we get to know people better here.

I will be ok friends. I hope Moni's water is back. I hope you all have power. I laugh at Rebecca finding seeds cleaning. I think there's some that fell behind my TV a while back.

I'm not sure how seed starting will work this year. I used to do it when Ron was at work. In the kitchen, which is his domain since retirement. I was hoping the greenhouse would be up so I could do it there, warm and cozy when it was cold. But it's not. The last batch was done on the patio on a nice day. We'll have nice days again. They're saying as early as next week, though I haven't checked the weather today.

{{Hugs}} to all.

My weather station says 33*!!

Capital idea, Rebecca. I will, too.

Do you have a card table you could set up for starting them, Amy? I finally moved out here to my messy room and set up the card table, instead of having the dining room table cluttered up for weeks.

Who recommended RH Shumway's to me? Maybe nobody. Maybe I found them bo googling for horseradish. At any rate. they're in WI. I still have horseradish and asparagus to come from them, but got the cabbage seeds, today, along with two free packets--another tomato (Umberto Pear) and Pride of Wisconsin muskmelon. Can't imagine THAT being a winner in an OK garden, but we'll give it a try. Mammoth Red Rock Cabbage.

I was nervous about all the seeds yet to come when I read that Tulsa USPS Distribution Center is temporarily closed. SCARY--and I still have my Dixondale onions, new pepper seeds, asparagus from two different places, and the horseradish yet to come. I've got my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I was beside myself to see envelopes from RH Shumway, Select Seeds, Seed Savers, and my new favorite place, Strictly Medicinal Seeds, which will significantly up my herb growing game.

Yep, warmer. 25 with blue skies here today, and so the snow is melting on the roof. So thankful tomorrow should be above freezing. And am so worried about all in TX, but was amazed to see a 73 forecast for Dallas next Wednesday. Yes, we have one day that's supposed to be 59 next week, Amy, which is good with me!

Okay, Melissa and Danny, cosmos, too. I only tried cosmos last year here for the first time. And I was so concerned about tithonia, sedum, milkweed in that sunny bed, I really didn't pay much attention to the cosmos. They produced spectacularly at the school, though. What's not to love about cosmos, right?

You all, we're having corned. beef and cabbage for dinner, and the smell is KILLING me. It smells SO good! Melissa. . . I've never been much of a soup person, but fixed taco soup and hamburger soup just in the past couple weeks, and they were yummy. Have you ever made French Onion soup? I need to order some ovenproof casserole dishes so I can make it. GDW says he has NEVER eaten it! Oh--and here's a fun one: Beer Cheese soup. I'd never tasted it until I moved to MN. One of Minnesota's really tasty menu items. They serve it with popcorn sprinkled on top. And there's yummy cream of mushroom soup, broccoli/cheese soup, tomato soup.

Oh and now I'm all about growing more peppers. What'd I say--this would be the year of herbs. . . . well, and peppers. DRAT. But I am excited about the new peppers I ordered, including the super long Thunder Mountain Longhorn, Jimmy Nardello's Italian, Aleppo, and the Ros de Mallorca. It's an illness.

Danny--peppers might be something you could consider. The Jimmy Nardello and Thunder Mountain are supposed to have beautiful 10" long red peppers, so would be pretty as an ornamental. . .and I'm growing Midnight Fire, which is an ornamental--the plants get to be 1 1/2-2" tall--and they are quite pretty with colorful (fiery hot) peppers--I wasn't interested in their Scoville rating, though, since I just wanted them as an ornamental.

Larry, I don't know about offbeat--but surely you are FUNNY! You and Madge stay warm. Well, why would I say that--she's clearly immune to the cold! lol

I feel so smart now, HU, knowing what the foghorn is! And, HJ, you need to get back here.

Best to all.

Temp is up to 32, we are having a heat wave. Ft. Smith to be up to 56 on the 28.

I need to go find my potatoes and cut then up, I had forgotten about them.

I also need to go make tracks in the yard, I am tired of sitting in this house.

Well, I got out and made tracks in the lawn, pushed more snow off the driveway, and drove the rtv over to wildlife garden, I drove around the edge, I saw a lot of critter tracks, but could not see where they were eating anything. The birds, or some kind of critter is getting into the mulch pile, I expect it is birds looking for seeds.

I am so, so, sorry. It looks a though I have been Excommunicated, or the rest of you have been raptured. either way, I MISS you.

I am going to take my sweetie out to eat, and maybe look at a seed rack or two. If all of town has been raptured, I will steal all the seeds I can find. I will have to pick out all the heat and drought tolerant seed, those may be the only ones I can get to grow. I will have to start building a shade and storing some water.

I should not make jokes about things like that, it may be coming sooner than we think, I may still may need to hoard toilet paper.

Is there a cure for cabin fever?

LOL. . . good one. Where are you going to eat? I like that idea. And good thinking grabbing seeds from raptured stores. Me, I need to finish this Sudoku before I do anything else. Later!

Guess I got left behind too, Larry. Curse of being the youngest, I'm always left behind lol.

I remember this thread began as a garden journal, everyone posting what was going on in their gardens. Then one day someone posted something personal and others followed suit. Eventually it morphed into a garden journal, diary, and old fashioned chat with the neighbors. And I think that's what makes groups like this so special. Despite what some think, the bonds formed online are just as strong as those formed face to face.

It appears keeping the portable greenhouse in the garage is going to work just fine. I found ice forming inside one day but the plants didn't get too cold (I dont think they did anyways). I brought the ones that had germinated inside for a couple nights just in case. HJ, thanks again by the way. Those lights you gave me are what did it. I just had 2 plugged in & they put off enough heat to keep everything alive. So I think plugging in a few more would've kept everything toasty.

Need to see what I haven't started yet & get a few more things under the lights this weekend. I know I haven't started tomatillos or eggplant, so I know I'm missing a few others.

I started tomato seed Wednesday. I have the thermostat in the house on 68 daytime and 65 at night, I'm thinking these seeds are gonna need higher temps to germinate. I don't have a heating pad. I would set them on the heat/a/c vent, but I need the air from the vent.

Its always something. Maybe I can up the thermostat tomorrow.

You can pick up heat mats from Amazon, Lynn, 10x20" for $13.00. You probably have a lot more seeds than would fit on just one, though. Still. . . once bought, then you have them. I'm a sissy. Having frozen for 30 years in Minneapolis winters, I prefer not to do that any more. We keep the thermostat at 73, which suits us both--though we did turn it down to 71 when the electric asked us to earlier in the week. In the summer, however, we turn the AC up to 80-85. I just happened to realize that I'll no doubt be having to use mine. I got a 20x48 inch one a few years ago. . . can't remember how much it was. . . thinking $35-40 or so. I use it for tomatoes and peppers and maybe a few persnickety other herbs and/or flowers. The only ones that get to stay there after all have germinated are the peppers.

I wish one of you would tell me the secret to growing tomatillos. I DID buy a new packet of seeds from Victory and will give them one more try this year. While the tomatoes remain relatively unscathed by aphids, the tomatillos get riddled. This year I think I'll plant a bunch--maybe half a dozen--see if the sheer numbers will outlast the bugs. And will be more attentive to damage in the early stages. Last year I thought we were going to have some produce, but the fruits all fizzled out.

Do any of you grow robust beautiful healthy ones?

Jen--what kind of lights are you using in the garage?

How long have you been on this group? Sounds like a long time, eh? Though I much newer than most of you, I consider myself so fortunate to have found the group--and Dawn-- in 2016. I just lurked for the first year, since we were really just getting started with building the beds in the yard and the raised beds. I remember us taking the leap in November 2016--ordering app. 350 cement blocks from Lowe's. . . and then seeking help from this group for how to fill them. I didn't want to sink Garry's money into them, since he wasn't really even sure this would be something he'd want to do, so was trying to be very frugal. I know it has been hard for a lot of us--probably most of us--going on since she died. But here we are, and I'm glad we have gone on.

It's worth it just to be thinking of Larry and Madge grabbing seeds from all the stores whose employees and owners have been raptured.

I was going to begin planting seeds in earnest yesterday. . . but it took me a lot of time just to catalog all the seeds that arrived in the mail, and then get them into their proper families and then to update my spreadsheet. . . and then before I knew it, was time to tend to dinner. . .BTW, the corned beef was out of this world. And I fried the cabbage instead of adding it to the pot--and it was also out of this world. :) Here I go--not even gonna check for typos. I am beside myself--we're supposed to have a high of 33 today. Bet it's considerably warmer in the sunny areas. Tiny seemed to think so--he was just out for a couple hours in the sun. His first extended venture since last weekend.

Stay safe, stay warm, everyone.

I am soooo lonely... I soooo want out.... I will get out later, I need olive oil, apple cider vinegar, milk would be nice, tastes better than milk powder in my breakfast.... also want fresh fruit and veggies.

Oh, yeah, I also need destilled water for my humidifier.

Thus, if I get out, I should also make a path to my shed, and get the two shelves out I used before for a growing shelf... and I should get the seeds out... and I should plant some.

Thanks for the nudge everyone.

Above all, it would be nice to see life people, and leave the property. I am bored with walking laps in my house.

TTYL

Moni

I saw a 3 month forecast yesterday that said warmer and drier than normal. Be prepared. I predict the weather is going to be extreme this year.

I had yellow cosmos volunteering on July 5, 2018 (the date of the pic). They were crowding out tomatoes.

In case you hadn't seen, Nancy, postal service operations resumed on Tuesday.

I guess what I need to do first is pull the seeds out and figure out what I need to start indoors. Ron's retirement is hard, LOL. I used to do all MY stuff when he was at work. We are famous for getting in each others way. He has decided we have projects for today. ::eyeroll:: I should teach HIM to do it. Announce we have the seed project today. Ha ha ha ha ha.

My weather station currently reads 42. It is 5 feet off the ground and in the sun (as was instructed) Tulsa National weather service says 27. I like my numbers better. Ron says there is open water in the drainage ditch, which is good for the birds.

It's Friday. Now that Ron doesn't work I have to remind myself what day it is. I have a pill I only take Mon, Wed and Friday, so I need to know.

Have a thawing weekend.

It's been Friday (for me) since Wednesday. This is Friday the Third. Being totally totally isolated makes all days exactly the same. I am planning on at least the mile long drive to the nearest grocery store today. More to get out than to buy groceries actually.

I'm anxiously waiting to see both what the outside temps did to plants (my tentative judgement yesterday was favorable) and what I did last night leaving my Thanksgiving sprouted false sunflowers in the windowsill overnight (we hit zero). They looked limp earlier today..but I'm hopeful it isn't 'Syonara'. Must be hopeful, right ?

Hahaha, I love it--Friday the third!

Amy, I had NOT heard! Thank you so much. I was so nervous about all the things that might be in transit. That's a relief!

You could quick plant some more just in case, Danny. ? Have you got other stuff started?

I got so far on the planting as to have gotten the card table cleared off of everything that is not seed-starting-related. I got the first batch of Jimmy mix into the big blue enamel pot. Today, I will add the hot water and PLANT stuff.

And lol, Moni, that's about how MY seed-starting is going. I SHOULD plant some.

How Garry has the days under control--we have a big wall calendar next to the stove cabinets. Every morning he gets up, makes coffee, and puts a big X on the current day with his mark-a-lot. WOW--works like magic! What WOULD I do without him--I'd be talking about Friday the 3rds all the time.

I didn't like that 3-month forecast, Amy. Could you please find a more pleasant source?

Jimmy mix? LOL Jiffy mix.

Well, we just got back from Ft. Smith. We went to the Farmers Co-op first, I picked up a few small packs of seed, seed potatoes and a 50# bad of bird food. I have a total of near 40# of potatoes to plant.

We also took the stuff we had on hand of our little fur babies to the vet's. They give things like that to other pet owners. Madge and I both say that we don't want another pet. We loved the little boy we had, but we are afraid that our next pet may out live us, and we would be concerned it might miss us as much as we miss the one we had. We have a beautiful grave site for our little boy, we will make it prettier when the weather gets better.

I think that I have 3 heat mats, one large one and two small ones. I really like them, they help get seeds started sooner. I never took my light shelf down, it is set up in the center bedroom, but I have a ton of junk in there that I need to move out. I need very little heat once I get plants started. I have six light tubes on each of my two shelves. I can put 4 flats on heat pads and 8 flats under lights, that is more than I need. Where I fall short is having space after the plants get a little size on them. My neighbor has a nice greenhouse, and the idea is that I start plants and then take them to his greenhouse, it is only 1/4 mile from me.

Oh, Nancy, we ate at Western Sizzlin.

I did manage to go to the grocery store (and as forecast I spent only $20)...didn't need much, was mainly just to get out.

As to the false sunflowers, I planted all 20ish seeds and had good germination in November. The good news is they seem to have recovered completely as temps warmed up.

Oh yeah, I have japanese primrose (experiment/Plants Delight says it will live here), yellow form of echinacea, and european marsh gladiolus that all have sprouted. No annuals...not starting them till March (started too early last year). Of course that's not far away now..though it feels like it is. I still have in the windowsill (till they go dormant) cyclamen hybrids that germinated Jan 2019. I may have to grow more bulbs...those were fun with constant growth since they germinated (no dormancy). I have lycoris hybrids in media, but no above ground growth (since early Nov), we're (seed producer) not quite sure if I'll see spring foliage or not till fall. But they'll also stay inside for a year after they germinate, before they're big enough to be planted in the garden. Consider that I have about 20 seeds for the price of one semi-mature bulb, and the surprise of what comes from seed, of course the downside of 4 years to see a bloom..lol.

All those baby orchids in 2 1/2 inch pot with spagnum moss, that have to be watered about twice a week (and maybe more when heater is running so much as lately). Everything dries out so fast with the heat running so much as the last week. I'm trying to be better about fertilizing (instead of almost never) this year..and things are appreciating frequent weak feeding.

I was able to see the plants planted along my south foundation, which is most of my more tender plantings. Most look good, only one looks slightly worrying, but I won't know for till it gets really above freezing (today 33.9...not enough). And even if it does, it's only about a month before it would have died down anyway (fall bulb that has winter foliage..usually gone by end of March). If nothing really got hurt (which would almost be a miracle), I'll stop worrying about how hardy my plants really are. The hybrid snapdragons (supposed to be a short lived reseeding perennial) had 6-10 inch foliage that as of now, looks like it mostly went undamaged at -15F (amazing!), it may have set back bloom a few weeks on the larger growths, but doesn't look like any major damage.

Nancy, I bought my house in Tulsa in 2001 & started gardening the following spring. A year or so later I found gardenweb & started lurking. One of my earliest posts I asked about tomatoes from seed & Dawn offered to send "a few varieties".

Do any of you delight in growing chile peppers? I think I'm really going to branch out and begin growing more of them.

Wow Jen, so you're an oldtimer! You can't be that old! lol

And dinnertime here so will sign off. Oh, Danny, I look forward to seeing pictures of the flowers. PS: All--best snapdragons to grow?

Lol I'm....44? Gah, had to think on that.

Your question piqued my interest so I had to go digging. Dawn sent me the seeds in Feb 2009, so I guess I've been actively hanging around for 12 years. I know I was lurking around for a bit before that.

Hubs said he felt like the house was getting hot and I'm like no, no, it feels good. Of course I am so cold natured anyway. He said it was probably in the 50s and I did not believe him. Checked the weather and sure enough, 49°. After the last couple weeks we've had it's a nice change. Although, I'm not sure why I would even be surprised that we'd be this much warmer in one or two days. We can literally change by 30° in one day.

I got seeds from Dawn before as well. I was so excited!! I think it was in 2009 that I got mine too.

Moni, I've wanted to try butternut squash soup but have been hesitant. I need to take my own advice that I just gave my daughter the other day and that is how will you know if you like something or not unless you just try?! Maybe I'll look for a recipe.

Nancy, I've seen so many french onion soup recipes and they look really good. But, always been afraid the onion would be too overwhelming. Maybe I'll try that one too, lol.

Did I miss something? I have read back but haven't seen anything about what is going on with HJ. What happened? I can't imagine she said something offensive. I hope she doesn't go. :(

Chile peppers- I grew them one year and one year only. After I had a good harvest, I cut them up and chopped them to freeze. I should have wore gloves. I don't remember the type but they were hot and ended up burning my hands. They were pretty bad. I tried everything but ended up soaking my hands in milk with ice in it to make it colder. That helped. Never again will I mess with hot peppers without gloves.

Finally venturing out tomorrow to get some groceries after 2 weeks. My pantry looks bare, the fridge looks bare, there's no snacks, out of milk, no sweet potatoes which we eat a lot of, no regular potatoes, no chicken......good grief lol.

I think I'm going to clean up my shelves tomorrow in my garage and start some tomato seeds. Might throw in some other things too but have to check out my seed stash to see. We want to move closer into town but will have to move into an apartment for now till the housing market calms down. I will HAVE to have a balcony or small area for a few tomatoes, peppers, and basil at least. I love growing basil!! Although, I tried cinnamon basil and I do not like it. It's pretty but the taste is weird to me. Oh, corn, I really want to grow corn again. Wonder if I can grow it in a bucket?

I can't believe it , but I think part of my cilantro survived. Just looking at it from afar, I can't get close because of snow drifts. I will know for sure , probably Monday.

Melissa I like to take some garlic, and some onion and saute... then add peeled and seeded and cut up the squash pieces... saute a tiny bit more, then add chicken or beef broth and spices that sound good to you.... simmer till squash is very tender.

Mash just a bit with a potato masher, but leave pieces, serve with a nice piece of garlic toast.

YUM

:)

Moni

PS, pulled the frozen towels and blankets off my cold frames, but the frost blankets are still on there. Maybe tomorrow. ;)

A grand daughter is a Vegan, and made french fried sweet potatoes for us. I cant say they were bad. The same with pumpkin soup. When you grow up eating Irish potatoes Pinto been and corn bread, many other things taste a little strange. I want to learn to eat many more things than we eat now. I think seasoning has a lot to do with making food tasty.

My neighbor and I got out and burned a large brush pile today. He did all the work, I just drove the tractor to keep pushing the brush pile toward the center. I am so happy to have him around to help. We are going to work on our gardens together. I have more equipment than he does, but he is young enough to be my son, and a hard worker, retired with a lot of time.

Together my neighbor and I should have plenty of both Irish and sweet potatoes. We plan on about 140# of Irish seed potatoes, and all the sweet potato slips I can start. We will also grow a lot of butternut squash and pumpkins. We will try to grow a lot of other things also. I have a 100# of small grain to plant for a decoy garden for the wildlife. The millet and buckwheat, along with an electric fence, hopefully will keep the deer at bay.

Neighbor told me today that 2 of the deer herd that spend most of their time bedded down in the wildlife were killed on the hwy this year. We have about a 4 or 5 acre thicket in the wildlife garden I would like to know of a way to keep them off the hwy, but we have a lot of deer here, and it seems like not as many people hunt anymore, but there has been so much foul play that many people have there land posted.