Jason closes his journal... Thanks!! I love you!!

[TanksHill]

Ok Let's see here...

Glad you got your wiring and insulation is in check. Is the Soft Touch fibreglass? r-3 in the whole house? How do yo keep it warm with those cold winters? The windows are fab. We have dual glazed with e glass throughout the house. It makes a huge difference. The house we took down had horrible windows. Double pane vertical sliders that had most of the original weights and strings. They leaked like they weren't even there. good windows make all the difference.

When you talked about the switch to no where all I could visualize is some poor fool down the road wondering why his lights kept turning on and off.

I love having a full freezer. Almost so much I am thinking about getting another. Most of my food is store bought but I am a bargain hunter. So when I find a good deal I stock up big time. It is a great feeling of satisfaction knowing you have plenty to take care of your family. Geesh, it must feel even better to have caught, hunted, prepared and processed all that goodness yourself.

Great Job.

Pretty soon spring will be here and it will be time to plant again. Any plans for the veggie garden?

gina

 

[Wifezilla]

 

[lorihadams]

Good job MP! I think about 3/4 of the stuff in my freezer is meat that we killed and processed ourselves. I just found out that my granny is going to give me her 22 cubic ft chest freezer cause she wants to get an upright one cause of her back issues. I am planning a bigger garden so that I can freeze some veggies this year too, I can't wait! Feels good doesn't it!

Did you ever see the commercial where the couple is trying to figure out where the switch in the kitchen goes too and it controls the neighbor's garage door? Everytime they flick the switch the door goes up and down on top of her car hood... pretty funny, your switch to nowhere made me think of it and laugh!

 

[TanksHill]

I remember that commercial. Smooshed the guys car rigt?

 

[modern_pioneer]

Yes, the switch to no where is now solved and I am pleased as well as feel safer about the switches. I am doing some wiring in the office right now, more outlet boxes. I am not worried about basic wiring, it was the 12 volt transformers that threw me a loop.

Yup, R-3, and to think back in the day that was good. The soft touch stuff feels like some form of poly or like material. If your going to be doing a big job the cost verses traditional approach, it isn't worth the extra money, considering you could buy 3 times more traditional material for the same amount of money. Plenty of drafts here, thou I have R-40 in the attic now. That has help a lot, and with the old windows, they have plastic over them right now to help seal off the drafts. So its one step at a time, and doing almost all the work myself, I am saving big time. The living will be next to put in new insulation but the HUGE window will remain until I get the extra 6k to have the one we want made and put in. I will replace the windows in the four bedrooms in the very near future as they are all the same size and only cost 350.00 each.

Garden plans......

Well yes, and gotta at least thank every one here for helping me put my thinking cap on when planning it this year. I started to think more about the nutritional value of the food I am growing. I have eaten more corn and green beans this year than ever with the added space Paul Sr. gave me last year. So I have decided to add more types of veggies such as Okra, califlower, pinto beans, parsnips, leeks, turnips, rutabaga, and some others. I also have eaten enough peas to due me the rest of the year. So this year a lot less corn, green beans, and peas which will free up more space to grow other stuff.

I decided to grow my peas up the privacy fence I built beside my shop this year. I grew the luffa squash last year which didn't do well like all my other squash because of the amount of rain. Do you remeber my bean tree? I had so many green beans that I gave about a 3/4 bushel to a local church which helps at the local food kitchen. My garlic has done well this winter, and I will add more winter crops once my garden fence goes up in a few months. I did my best to keep the deer out over the last few years, and of coarse that is a battle. So I now have enough post to put one up. I will rent a post hole digger and use the money from my SS fund.

Lori made us a quilt for xmas, and Joshua had asked for it almost right away. We sleep with heavy down duvets, but Joshua doesn't like them and has traditional blankets. The quilt Lori made is on top of his blankets and says he is warmer. Speaking of Joshuas room, I built his bed a few years ago because he wanted a loft bed. He has since grown a couple inches and still loves it. He has a desk under it as well as a book shelf that I also built.

Mentioning the freezer food thing again, it did make me feel good as if all the hard work I have done is now smiling back at me. I know that the food I made/grew/gathered/hunted/fished is all good for me. I know that lard isn't a good thing but small amounts fat is okay. I eat plenty of beans and fiber to pull the fat from my system and I do have my blood work done once a year. Since growing my own food and stopped buying "processed food" or fast food, I have lost almost 30 pounds in three years. I did gain 11 back since I quit smoking but I am working on that as well.

Because I do have a lot of some food, I am finding clever ways to fix and eat it differently. I put corn, peppers and onions in my cornbread now, well I call it pan bread, recipe from my Country Wisdom book.

 

[TanksHill]

Variety is the spice of life, at least thats what I am told. I have had the same thing happen with my gardens. We eat soooo much zucchini in the summers. I am really trying to diversify.

When you put that r 40 in the attic did you use rolls or have it blown in? My dh says we have insulation up there but we also sheeted over it for storage. Not sure I believe him.

Looks like your son has claimed the quilt. I saw some pictures of quilts Punkin made as well. Such talent. I am thinking about trying to learn. Maybe I'll work on one this spring.

have a great day.

gina

 

[rty007]

(homemade sausage, bologna, and kielbasa)

hi there folks

I am kind of the new guy, even though I have been lurking around for quite some time now, but did not participate. So please do not greet me all here or we're gonna hijack the topic.
Anyways... I finally wrote something, couse I am what you folks would probably call a Polak I mean a young lad from Poland. Reading your post, I stumbled upon "kielbasa" and I was like... "heeeey i know that word " so i was wondering is there a difference between what you folks call a "sausage" and what you call "kielbasa".

 

[modern_pioneer]

(homemade sausage, bologna, and kielbasa)

hi there folks

I am kind of the new guy, even though I have been lurking around for quite some time now, but did not participate. So please do not greet me all here or we're gonna hijack the topic.
Anyways... I finally wrote something, couse I am what you folks would probably call a Polak I mean a young lad from Poland. Reading your post, I stumbled upon "kielbasa" and I was like... "heeeey i know that word " so i was wondering is there a difference between what you folks call a "sausage" and what you call "kielbasa".

Sausage here is ground pork, is finely ground and mixed with spices depending on the type of meal it is going to eaten at. For breakfast I like a garlic/pepper or maple flavored in a patty form. I make lunch and dinner sausage which is much stronger/hotter flavors as it is the meat portion on the meal.

I make my Kielbasa from pork/beef/venison and keep the spices simple like salt/pepper/paprika and minced garlic. Here in my area, there is a very strong German influence as many familys are from Germany who settled here. However, saying that, also here is some other very strong bloodlines including french, italian, polish, and the list goes on. There are many parts in Pittsburgh where the groups of ethnic people live together. I had mention going to the Strip District some time ago in my journal, this is a place where ethnic lifestyles come together and goods can be bought that come from all over the world, even Poland.

Tell us how you make your Kielbasa? I am interested in learning your recipe.

 

[Dace]

Congrats on the full freezer.....that is quite an accomplishment!

 

[rty007]

Sure will when i'll have some more time