SSDreamin Blessings and curses

[~gd]

Thank you so much for the hugs, they were much appreciated.
My brother, who helped me raise Chris, made an statement that I'll share here: "We put a lot of time and effort into that kid. I hope God is pleased with the results." Me too.

This weekend, I accomplished almost nothing. I had to throw a basket of tomatoes out to the chickens, because I didn't get around to them. DH tried to get some stuff done around here, but we had a very welcome interruption by some old friends and spent the better part of the day visiting. She was fascinated by all the different things I had been trying to do. I enjoyed explaining the processes and, hopefully planted a seed of self sufficiency in their minds! Of course, Ice Cream was the center of attention. Our friends are city people, trying to move to the country for a better life for them and their son, and were quite taken with the idea of a cow, the size of a large dog, providing for their dairy needs. 'She' also loved the idea of using an edible landscape, as I pointed out our different plantings. I hope they choose to pursue a more self sufficient lifestyle, very soon.

We did go pick up a new wood stove for the new house yesterday afternoon. DH was very disappointed to find that United States Woodstove Co.'s stoves are made in China! Otherwise, it seems like a nice stove, able to heat the majority of the house, nice and tight and with a top to do limited cooking on if needed.

The pod person and I did up another batch of hash browns last night and let them dry overnight. I'm trying to find out if I can mash some potatoes, plain, then spread them on sheets and dry them. That way, I can rehydrate them, as needed, and just add butter and milk for mashed potatoes? I've done the same type of thing for pumpkin and squash, but as yet can't find anything that says it'll work for potatoes. Wonder if they'll be too grainy? Maybe I'll try a test batch today.

Way back in the 1960's I was in the Navy, no peeling potatoes out to sea! Every night the cook would figure the potatoes for the next day. and we would dump them in a huge pot of water to rehydrate overnight. Opps I forgot to mention that 'them' were dehydrated. As such they were about 1/8" thick squares, 3/8" in the other dimensions, hard as rocks. After rehydration they were 3/16 x 9/16 x 9/16 and firm like raw potatoes would be. The cooks would treat just like raw potatoes. Parboil them for breakfast homefries, deep fat fry for odd but tasty french fries, boil and mash them or use as is for soups or stew. I was surprised to learn that their use dated all the way back to the Civil War where Union ground troops hated them because of the time they needed for rehydration, and if you tried to rush that step they would remain rock hard in the center.

The point I was trying to make is try dehydration first, and cook as you want to later, I think it will work better for you.

Oh yes people are still buying houses in this market but it is a Buyers market not a Sellers market. Just about anything can sell if the price is right. Lots of bargins for buyers but expect to take a beating if selling. I Just sold my NY state home because the taxes were eating me alive. got about 2/3 of what I could if I had sold before the market crashed. Sold to Older couple who wanted a smaller house out in the country since they no longer had jobs to drive to. Good Luck with your sale.

 

[FarmerChick]

boy my area is a buyers market for sure and those people who can buy aren't buying much.

down the road on the market is a nice home...on the market at least 3 yrs now. Must be way too high in asking is all I can think.
plus it had 'price reduced' for a while...now it says 'new lower price' with a new realitor sign. Every time I drive by I thank god my house is paid for and thank goodness I don't have any reason to have to put my place on the market

Plus banks are hard now on new mortgages. They have clamped down....when they 'let anyone have tons of money' that could hardly be repaid...geez, what got us into this mess....now they are barely giving out mortgages without meeting tons of requirements now.
which is a good thing, but hurts alot of people also.

ugh ya can't win lol

 

[SSDreamin]

We do have the advantage of owning this house outright, so can sell it on land contract, if necessary. I have come to hate L/C's lately though, when we are the holder

Due to the cruddy economy, we chose to just take the beating: we're asking under what we paid, even though we got it as a foreclosure and spent a lot fixing it's issues. I just don't see anyone being able to get a mortgage on it (it's a dblwd on acreage).

I am sorely disappointed in my bread results last night! First batch fell Told DH we will refer to that batch as biscuit bread - it tastes good, is only 2-3 inches tall and will be sliced and used as biscuits. The second batch - different recipe, yeast proofed before adding - barely cleared the top of the pan! Ugh! Frustrating!! So, to cheer myself up, I made some wanna-be-Krispy-Kreme doughnuts. Finished them so late, I had to wait until this morning to try one. OK. I won't go out of my way to make them, but not bad. Guess I'm just a cake doughnut kind of girl

Washing ALL of DS's bedding and hanging it out on the line today in the heavy wind we're having. Will brace myself for the response when he gets home - I entered his 'domain' without permission!

 

[SSDreamin]

Issues, issues. Been spending this whole week trying to 'put out fires'. DH is hitting a wall, so burnt out with driving 3 hours home, loading up things, 3 hours to new house, unload and TRY to accomplish something constructive, 3 hours home, next to no sleep, another 3 hour drive before beginning the 10-12 hour a day work week. He felt bad not moving forward, but I didn't. Spending a quasi normal weekend together as a family was so nice!

Having some issues with the well guy Picked this company so I wouldn't, and now... Also realized we were supposed to buy a bladder tank and have it up there waiting when they came to pull the pipe. Oops! Had to buy it here and have FIL pick it up there, which sounds simple enough, but ended up complicated. Needed to decide on the size/brand of tank. Then I had to find a place HERE that also had a store THERE that had it. You wouldn't think that would be an issue, but it was. I then had to go into the store here and pay for it. Well, this store said THAT store had to have 'credit' for the purchase, so the manager here had to confirm I was who I said I was, then read off my info to the manager there, who rang it up there. Ended up taking almost half an hour to process the transaction! Once done, my FIL just had to show ID and pick it up. Now, rain is preventing the guy from being able to start work and he has begun giving me grief about problems he hasn't even found yet. Bummer.

Next, I received a cancellation notice in the mail, from our insurance company. First had to figure out WHICH policy they were cancelling, then why. That took days! Apparently, someone from the insurance company went to our new house for an 'inspection' and read the sticker on the front door, that we haven't scraped off yet, saying 'This property has been inspected and found to be vacant' and took it at its word. They then told us that, unless we put gutters all the way around the house, we cannot have insurance. Gutters. On a house that has an almost three foot overhang, ALL THE WAY AROUND THE HOUSE. Lets be polite and just say I lost it on them! They were also concerned about a broken window. I explained that yes, its on the list. WAY down the list! DH figures they don't want to insure the house and I tend to agree. I kept getting comments about 'the amount you insist it be insured for' - which is HALF its replacement cost, and 'market value'. I pay good money for replacement cost insurance and, when they balk, I compromise by half, and now they make ridiculous demands for repairs. SO tired of dealing with people. Having said that, I am shopping for a new company to transfer all our policies to. What fun. Wish THEM luck with me in this mood

In news closer to home, all the rain lately has begun to flood certain parts of our yard and turn other parts into rivers. One of the rivers is Ice Cream's hutch Couldn't do anything about it in the middle of the night, so I piled the straw to it, trying to make a dry layer above the rush of water. Of-course, after doing that she walked in, sniffed around, then peed on the fresh layer of bedding. I am thinking I might put down a thick layer of pea gravel, then lay down a thick layer of new bedding. Can't get the pea gravel until DH returns with my truck. I'm sure, if she was a full size cow, this wouldn't be such an issue, but she's so tiny. We have read up and are beginning to realize she may be a micro-mini, not a miniature. I don't mind, but it does mean we have to take some extra precautions this winter. It also means her offspring will bring a higher price, so I guess that is an up side. Either way, she is my little sweetheart and I adore her DH marvels at how attached she is to me - follows me like a puppy everywhere I go in the yard, begging for attention!

Cleaning up the last of the garden. Just have carrots and the permanent plantings left in the ground. Broke down and turned on the heat yesterday, but still no frost. Rain has brought wind that took what was left of the fall leaves and spread them in a soggy layer over my entire yard, so I'll have plenty to do when it dries out here! Other than the few I've wrapped in newspaper and boxed up as an experiment, all the green tomatoes I picked last week, when we had a frost advisory, have ripened and been strained. Will take those, plus the others I put in the freezer over the summer, into the crock pot today and start tomato paste. Hope it works out better this time

Hope everyone's week has gone smoother than mine!

 

[Marianne]

Holy Cow! Hang in there. Some days aren't as bad as others, ya know?

Screw insurance companies. We didn't insure our new home until we had to borrow some money against it. Oh wait. No, I called them when we had a tornado heading this way. Nothing like waiting till the last minute. But we're building this house by ourselves and figured we could handle anything that hit us. Anyway, I hate 'em. /rant before it becomes one.

Take a deep breath and remember that this too, shall pass. Soon, I hope.

 

[SSDreamin]

Thank you Marianne! DH insists on insurance. We have been through a house fire, where we lost everything (well, the load of work clothes that I forgot to take out of the dryer made it through untouched ) and, at that time we had no insurance. It was a very steep climb back to 'normal' and he refuses to ever go without again. I have been a terrible slacker and haven't called any companies yet. Dreading the hassle, and we have until the "official" cancellation date of November 19th.

The well guy came, spent two days working on the well, with my Saint of a FIL overseeing things so I didn't have to make the drive. Pipe was not just horrendously clogged, but very pitted and looked about ready to break through with the slightest pressure. SO, new pipe, new check valve, cleaned injector (I think that's what it's called), new pressure switch, new pressure tank (will use old, non bladder tank as a solar pre-heater for the w/h, I hope!), new plumbing to the house and a thorough check of the pump. Whew! Gave us a fair price AND knew the neighbor, so that helped.

My wonderful brother showed up right after we arrived, with help, and redid the gas lines. We are all ready for propane!

Added bonus: the inside plumbing problem we thought we had never materialized, so all is good with that! Need to do some work on the shower, and the kitchen sink is clogged up and may have to be replaced, but I can live with that!

Found a couple bags of river rock behind one of our sheds. Put that down in Ice Creams hutch, then a thick layer of straw. She was very happy and, after heavy rains last night, I checked it today and the straw was still dry! So proud of myself! Was worried she may have trouble walking on it, or getting small stones stuck in her hooves, but so far, so good!

 

[FarmerChick]

wow you got 'the busy' all over you!

 

[SSDreamin]

OK, I have to fess up to my own stupidity. I fell down a flight of stairs. Left a rash on my back, but mostly hurt my 'pride'. Think I scared DS#2 and the dog out of their wits! Managed to get myself up and finish my chores, but man do I hurt! Slow moving, can't find a comfortable position: sitting, standing OR laying down. Needless to say, nothing is getting done

Sad to say, this isn't the first time I've fell down a flight of stairs. The time before, I sprained my ankle. Can you sprain your backside? If you can, I definitely did!

Guess that's what comes with being all legs and no coordination!

 

[Wannabefree]

Better have that tush checked out It could be fractured tail bone or something. Meanwhile eat a handful of walnuts to prevent the muscle soreness. And BE CAREFUL!! We like ya bein around here Don't go killin' yourself!

 

[SSDreamin]

I was surprised, with all the cushioning, it wound up hurt

Didn't know about walnuts - will have to get some out of the freezer to munch on. Wish I'd known yesterday, I overloaded on almonds and pumpkin seeds Mmmmm, pumpkin seeds...