2019-APRIL Prepping Updates

Had several nice days in the 60's so I plowed under about 15 acres so I can plant the corn, still have a lot to plow yet.

Helped the wife clean up the yard, probably will have to start mowing grass in a week or two.

Garlic and onions are doing great.

Had a cookout yesterday for the daughters (39) and granddaughters (15) birthday's, hotdogs, burgers, fire baked potatoes and cast iron chilli. Oh and some BEER!

Taking the wife out for lunch, I need to stop at tractor supply anyway, happy wife/happy life.

Husband got the last of the components for the permanent setup of the generator in the garage. He and an electrician friend will be doing the installation (including venting).

I've cleaned out the kitchen freezer and reorganized the pantry freezer so we can eat up the last of what we grew last year before this year's harvest in summer/fall.

I found a bunch of herbs I'd frozen, the baggies they were in had faded ink, so I put them all in small canning jars and marked the tops. The cilantro smelled heavenly...

We blocked off our front porch with a bunch of 12 inch boards because the neighbor's cat, who had her baby in our heated cat house, is now dealing with an adventurous kitten. Now the kitten has a safe area to play without falling off the porch or going out into the yard to be hawk bait. Eventually, I will give them back to the neighbor.

Moved all the indoor plants back outdoors, but we may have a freeze at the end of the week, so I may be moving them all back inside! Capricious weather!

Grocery shopping today (no yard sales).

Stocked up on what we'd used over the week and...
4 cans of chicken noodle soup
3 yards fabric for a laundry bag for kid
3 $2 items for grand-niece's craft box
4 sets of mason jar lids

LTS:

Re-supplying the med kits

2 bottles alcohol
2 spray nozzles for the alcohol
1 bottle betadine
1 pack of gauze
1 bottle of charcoal capsules

I case of dog food

Also bought two new folding camp chairs. Our old ones are now over 25 years old and starting to show their age. Don't want someone falling through the old, sun-damaged fabric.

Local store had their brand charcoal on sale two 15.4 bags for $8.50, they only had 5 double bags left, now it's in my shed.

Finished plowing the fields, still have to run the discs' and then I'll start planting, corn, oats and
soybeans.

Started my tomato, pepper and cabbage plants, the other seeds I'll plant directly in the ground come mid May.

Pick some wild scallion tops and leeks, had some ham, egg, leek and scallions scrambled this morning, boy was it good. Going out later to pick some more leeks.

One of the kids came to visit. Had a plan to shop here because a lot of dry goods and household supplies are super expensive in that part of the country (lives around the DC area). She also wanted to stock up on plants for her windowsill, it is large and perfect for growing some herbs and a peppers. While shopping she found coffee plants at Walmart, of all places!!

She bought a variety of plants, ornamental, herbs, a jalapeno pepper, and I also gave her one of my lime tree starts. We re-potted everything, and loaded them into her car. They made it back to her windowsill just fine.

She also stocked up on toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, cleaning supplies, oatmeal, hot chocolate and a few other dry goods.

I gave her an 1847 Oregon Trail sourdough start, and showed her how to make sourdough bread using the 5 minute artisan method. It is now safely residing in her fridge, bubbling away.

Husband and I did a preliminary grocery run for ourselves:

5 coffee plants
1 basil plant (mine died)
Potting soil and 6 pots
2 big bowls with lids (to replace bowl I gave to kid)

Husband has also been restocking the medical kit, and acquired a wound stapler and some staples, another scalpel set, and a few other things.

I started another set of lime seeds, they are not germinating much - I've now planted 24 seeds and got 5 small plants, one of which I gave to the kid.

Grocery shopping and yard sales today.

Grocery shopping:

Restocked what we used
4 plastic storage boxes for the kid's stuff we're keeping
Bungee cord with hooks on each end
6 plastic water trays for the plants

Yard sales:

55 cup coffee maker (restaurant size) - $3
(Been looking for one for a while for when family is here)

4 rubber car mats for our Corolla - $8

7 heavy duty, 3 pocket butcher's aprons - $7

A satisfying day.

Was down at our camp for a couple of days, cleaned up the yard, mowed the grass and cut up some firewood. Sat around the fire, listened to the  60's and drank a few brews. Garlic and onions down there are doing good.

Stopped at save-a-lot on the way home and picked up 10 pound of navy beans and rice, will seal in quart jars with 02 and moisture packs.

Just got done mowing the grass at home before the rain starts, again.

Got a 20% off coupon at a pet meds online store so I ordered some more fish antibiotics, gotta make sure our fish are healthy in an emergency.

There were some great sales at our local supermarket so topped off all of our pasta supplies and got some more tuna and pasta sauce. Now I just have to rearrange things in the stockpile so things are organized...

Took half my sourdough starter and started another batch for one of the neighbors. I've been feeding it daily so she'll have a good amount.

Cleaned out the upright freezer yesterday. Not a lot of waste, but some. I also found a lot of prepped meals that somehow got shoved to the back, so Husband and I will be enjoying several homemade pre-made dishes over the next few weeks - paella, spaghetti, enchildadas, refried beans, lasagna, etc...

Despite the bad weather that delayed our planting, Husband finally was able to plant some things. We have no idea if they'll grow to fruition due to the lateness in getting them in the ground, but we got them for free, so worth a shot. One raised bed is potatoes, the other is broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.

Its still raining looks like I will have to try growing rice..

Also on the upside I was able to trade for a Singer Red-Eye treadle sewing machine. Its in really good shape for its age it turned 101 yrs old this year..

Awesome trade, Dave!

Husband re-potted veggies today - 2 tomato plants, a bell pepper, a squash and a cucumber plant. I will grow these on the back deck, to keep them from the garden critters who take half my crops.

We did our grocery run and yard sales yesterday.

Grocery:

Restocked what we used

LTS:
2 boxes of baking soda
Small flashlight with solar charger
Vodka

Yard sales:

Glass jug with handle - $2
Play kitchen muffin tin and cake pan for niece - $1
Small Coach purse for my Mom - $4

I spent today sorting through items my kid brought from the down-sizing of her apartment. Some items were given to neighbors and friends today. Other items were boxed up for mailing. Some was set aside for other people to pick up.

I will be posting some items on our local sale group, too. The rest will probably be gotten rid of via our own yard sale and when that is over, any leftovers will go to the charity shop.

Been on the run all weekend. The one daughter and her family came in for a long weekend from Colorado. Haven't seen them in almost a year. Boy do those grandkids grow fast. They have three, a 8 year old daughter and a set of twin boys, 5 YO, they're a handful.

Had three calves in three days, only one left to birth.

Had a shindig at the house with all the kids, their spouses and the grandkids. Everyone had a good time.

Had a heavy frost last night, didn't seem to hurt any of the fruit trees.