Watcha doing today?

[Jeepers]

Thank you to your GS Littlesister! I'm going to take my laptop to sons house to see if I can have any luck on their internet first. If I have time, I'd like to go get the T-Mobile box for internet at my house. I only plan to be there for a few days though. 

[Jeepers]

Midnightmom, I don't even know where Google Drive is. I've had documents sent to me on my phone and I couldn't find them in my phone. I know where they are in the computer and on the thumb drive but that's it. GS would have better luck accessing anything than I would. 

[snapshotmiki]

Hope that Littlesister's GS can help get you straightened out @Jeepers!

 

Bo and I walked at 645 this morning.
Then went to a friend's yard sale.
Home and walked dogs.
Only thing left on my list is to make gummies.

[euphrasyne]

If you have a google account (it is free) Just click on docs in the from the app list and choose that program to open the file.  You can do similar with excel which is google sheets.  I prefer excel, but the last round of updates to it is making me rethink that.  

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, if your son can't get it figured out, just let me know and my GS can help. He started to type what needed to be done but he said the way it is he would need to talk to you to explain where and what needs to be done to transfer and get to what you need to your phone. 

 

DD took me out to lunch for my birthday and we went to all the shops around here. We spent the whole day out shopping.  Ok, I have officially started my Christmas shopping.  I bought some wooding toys for the baby that are like puzzles. So, she can us those to learn her shapes and some books. She loves her books. We are starting to work with her though she just turned 9 months a few days ago. We all have started working with her. She's not there yet but she will be. I am really tired. All that walking was good, but my knee is very sore right now. I bought me a mat that I can use to do some of the exercises that the doctor gave me for physical therapy at home. Couldn't do them on a hard wood floor. So, I have been doing all but the ones I needed to be on floor for. Will start doing those tomorrow. 

 

Might start canning the chicken tomorrow and get that out of the way. Then start in on Monday morning canning the roast and veggies and then the Boston butts on maybe Wednesday. Will need a break in between to do housework.  Need to clean bathrooms and wash clothes at some point this week. 

[Mt_Rider]

Hmmm.....  Happy Bday, Littlesister!   

 

Well, I think the rides on Tues and Friday this week were a good idea.  Definitely glad I didn't ride today.  Thunderstorms are kinda rumbling in big blotches on the map of our western states.  We dodge between the storms to get things like Road Walks With Dog, etc done.  So far, the rain would have put out any forest fires that might be started by a lightning strike.    Legs were much improved today but fatigue was high.   

 

We had some real excitement here last nite.  Remember:  tiny cabin. Too much STUFF.  70# DOG......frantically and gleefully running all over trying to catch The Mouse!  Pretty hilarious tho she tipped over a few piles/stacks.  Running thru all 3 rooms...not the bathroom.  Dodging here and there.  Waiting on one side of a bed....when I saw the thing cross the living room.    But she caught up with it.  Finally we all went to bed.  DH and I both slept late.  I went in the bathroom and when I came out - SHE GOT IT!  There it was and she was tail-waggin' with glee!  "See....I told you I'd get that thing!"  So it got tossed outside for someone else to eat it.  No blood - must have pounced it to death.  OK then.  No need cat!     Ya don't want to get in her way tho....single minded focus. 

 

MtRider   

[Jeepers]

Thanks Littlesister! Will do. It would be easier for me too. 

 

Euphrasyne, I do have a Google account on my phone. I didn't see where I could access anything though. I've never done anything with it. And I've never set up Cloud. 

 

At this point I'm thinking of just taking the computer in to the Geek Squad and telling them to get me so I can work off line with Word. That's really all I want for right now. So I can access my Word documents. 

 

Mt. Rider, glad you are doing well with your riding. Also glad pupster got the dreaded mouse. At least she didn't deposit it in your bed.  

 

I'm not feeling great today. Hot, passing out and a little nauseous. And it isn't hot here. I'm just hoping I'm not coming down with the bug going around.  C-19. Ugh. I still haven't received the final moving estimate, but I'm still planning to make the Indy trip the end of the week. That is if they come. If I'm sick I won't go around sons. Go, let the mover guys in and come right back the next day if I'm sick. 

 

I've decided I don't think I can do the attic. I'm going to search the web and see if I can get help. I wouldn't mind helping but I don't think I can go up there and pack up stuff and then carry it all down by myself. It will take two people. One at the top and one at the bottom. And I can't very well hide it from an inspector that will have to check up there. 

[Becca_Anne]

Jeepers glad you're getting help with the attic and I hope you feel better soon! My word doesn't work offline anymore It only works when connected with the internet. 

Mt Rider good dog you have there and at least you found the mouse!

Littlesister so great you are exposing the baby to books so early hopefully she learns to love reading 

I processed last summers tomatoes today, 4 gallon bags of frozen whole tomatoes = 1 gal bag of tomato sauce. I'll spice it when I am ready to use it but it freed up a lot of one shelf in my upright freezer.  Hoping to process the tomatoes as I go along this year and freeze the sauce. I was planning on learning to can it this year but I can't buy the jars right now so that will be good enough. I'm going to plant more zucchini and squash today in hopes I get some this year since bugs got the first batch.

 

[Littlesister]

Canning potatoes and chicken today. figure since I have so much to can, I would start on it today.

 

Thank you Jeepers, my BD is Monday, but DD came in yesterday for a day of shopping and lunch. We went to some specialty stores that she doesn't have where she is in NC. And to Chuck a Mucks seafood restaurant in Rescue.  Nice country setting on the water. And in one shop I found some educational baby toys so I can now say I have officially started my Christmas shopping. 

 

DGD and her DH are taking the baby to DD's house next weekend for her to babysit. She is taken her DH to a concert for his birthday. So, they will drop off the baby and come back Friday as the concert is in VA Beach. Then they will drive back to NC on Sat. or Sun. to pick the baby back up. 

 

DD said yesterday they are looking into buying a house in Kerr Dam. She plans on selling the one she has as she works from home and her DH is looking for a new job as something is going on where he works. I do know something is going on with McLean in VA which is the main company he works for. So just in case they fold he is already looking around in the Kerr Dam area. They are a food distribution center. They will be retiring there if they find a house there. So, I might maybe after GS has moved out of my house go check the area out. I know it is a really nice area and low population, but I was hoping to maybe move closer to the mountains, but not up in the mountains. But will check it out. 

[Littlesister]

I think I missed a couple of post.  I am just very tired this afternoon. Been a long day and GS is cooking dinner. Which means I am going to have a mess to clean up after he's done. It never fails. He does not clean up the kitchen only does the cooking. 

 

Jeepers, I am glad you have decided to get help for the attic. Getting things out of there is not the easiest thing to do. I hope you aren't coming down with anything. It's a good reason to not go up in the attic. 

 

Mt. Rider, glad the pup got the mouse. You don't need those in the house. But it is that time of year.  My next-door neighbor said her rat is back on her back porch. She said it has torn out 2 of her screens now. 

 

Looks like everyone is getting busy now with canning as the gardens come in. I didn't do a garden, but I do have 3 freezers that are literally overflowing. So that is what I am going to be working on this whole week.

[Jeepers]

  Becca-Anne, that's interesting about your Word not working offline. I wonder if that coulld be the issue with mine. Could be.  

 

im not really feeling much better. Not really very sick. Mostly just 'off.' It's 5:00 PM and I just woke up. I slept ALL day. Sheeesh. My Metformin finally became available at the pharmacy yesterday evening. I had to message my doctor twice that I was out and then it was on back order for 2 days. Pharmacy closes at 5:00 today so I woke up as they were closing. Tomorrow will have to do. 

 

I saw one place online, in the county below mine, who said they do house cleanouts. They didn't mention attics but I'll give them a call Monday, tomorrow. Plan B will be to talk to a realtor to see who they might know. I really want to "get this show on the road." I don't want to go to Indy this week because I want to get stuff done here. I have a dr. appointment, meds are coming due, I want to see about the attic and I want to get my eyes checked and get the number for a realtor. I still have chicken to can no later than tomorrow. Thanks to the cooler weather the past two weeks. I have been able to keep up with the new shrub weeding/watering. The front of the house looks...sellable. 

 

 

 

 

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, those steps look exactly like my old ones. The new steps now have rails on both sides and the steps are 4 inches deep. Much easier to get in and out. With those steps, yes hire someone to get that stuff out for you. Then you can go through it on the floor. Those steps are not made with safety in mind. No rails and small steps. 

 

 

[Jeepers]

Exactly Littlesister. I didn't really realize just how steep they were until I looked at the picture. And there is no working light up there right now. It is made so much worse by the top five steps being blocked. You can only get a fraction of your foot on the narrow step. I can't do it. I'll pay the next people to deal with it if I have too. Heck with D-ex's typewriters that I'm going to have to store that he will never come get any way.    I would like to see if grannies bowl is up there. Not enough to break my neck over though. 

[Mt_Rider]

IF you get help, Jeepers, I would strongly suggest attaching a PULLEY (securely!!!)  above the hole.  Then lower things down on a hook or basket or 4-corners of a tarp or whatever works for any particular item.  We have this arrangement for getting our grocery bags, etc up from car to house entrance on 2nd floor - which I've mentioned before.  I created that when DH had the blood clot in lung but we've really benefited from it since then.  It would be safer for anyone helping ...but you might have to get creative in just exactly HOW to attach something to the rope.  No one is going to be really safe on THAT ladder .......so one at the top loading pulley and letting it down slowly.  One at the bottom to unload however the THING is attached.  Bucket for small stuff.  We use a large carabiner for a hook attached to the rope -- grocery bags and such are easily put on there and taken off. We can unload pretty fast with that system and no one has to go up/down/up/down the stairs.  Takes two people tho....

 

Another safe(r) arrangement would be possible if you have a very tall, large, and sturdy table to place under that hole.  One is in the attic handing down things to the person on the STURDY table.  But with your balance issues getting set off by craning your neck looking up and down, you might fall off the table.    Handing down from the hole would also set off your TAPS...TOPS....POTS...       What was that?  Anyway, keep that in mind as you decide how to handle the attic.   

 

DH and I watched church on-line today.  "Our church" is in Hawai'i.  Just happens that we like this particular pastor.  Then I fell asleep for a while.  Could not get it together.  Didn't walk tonite but finally did reach mom and we talked for an hour.  As usual.  DD2 once heard that we always talk like that - daily - for the past 30 yrs.  What do you find to talk about??????     Anything/everything.  It keeps both of us thinking.  Sometimes she's trying to remember something from the 40's or 60's ....  I just google it.  Well, Duck it.  Keeps her from being frustrated by her inability to remember all of her 90+ years on the planet.    She does set the bar high.  She says things like:  Oh I was completely lazy today.  To which I respond:  You DO remember that you're retired, right????    Farmers wife - worked hard and yeah, take a break and do only what you want to do.  Except remember to go down to eat!   

 

MtRider  ...yeah....  

[Mother]

5 hours ago, Mt_Rider said:

What do you find to talk about??????  

My Mom and I talked almost daily for that number of years and many more too.  We never ran out of subjects to talk about. I gathered so much wisdom from those talks, learned about my ancestors, spent countless hours trying to remember a certain person’s name  (we were both bad at names), learned new recipes and old ones too, discussed and solved politics and the woes of the world, exchanged tidbits of the way our day was going, laughed over silly things and cried over hurts and loses.  She was my best friend and I still miss her.  Thankfully I hear her words in my mind each time I have something I think I would share with her.  I thank the Lord every day for the the gift of having my Mom for over 96 years.  

[Littlesister]

I remember my mom and my older sister exchanging recipes all the time. Then after her passing several years ago, my sister would mail me a bunch of old recipes my mom used to make.  They lived in Lynchburg so DH and I would go to Lynchburg almost every weekend. My sister lived with my mom at the time. Neither of them worked outside the home. My sister never married and was disabled so collected SSI but was not enough to live on her own with. But it worked out as they were able to help each other out and then on weekends DH and I would take them to the store and help out with things around the apartment. Now both are gone. My mom was not a good cook and never did a garden. My dad was a commercial artist and never did a garden either. But I never understood how my mom lived on a farm and was never interested in gardening or canning. Not really much of anything interested here. She just did what she felt like doing each day. But she did cook some things really well. And those are the recipes I have now.  She used to make butterscotch pudding a lot from scratch and that was really good. Since I grew up staying at my grandparents' house all during the summer months when school was out, I guess I caught the farming bug. I love to garden, can food, and so much more. I still want to get some land but at my age now. Not sure if I could handle a huge garden anymore.  My DH had farming in his blood and if he didn't have that stroke, we would have had a farm where I would be living now instead of where I am. But I guess the Lord had other plans for us. But it didn't stop us from having gardens. Where there is a will there is a way.  

Today I am canning all day.  

[themartianchick]

3 hours ago, Mother said:

My Mom and I talked almost daily for that number of years and many more too.  We never ran out of subjects to talk about. I gathered so much wisdom from those talks, learned about my ancestors, spent countless hours trying to remember a certain person’s name  (we were both bad at names), learned new recipes and old ones too, discussed and solved politics and the woes of the world, exchanged tidbits of the way our day was going, laughed over silly things and cried over hurts and loses.  She was my best friend and I still miss her.  Thankfully I hear her words in my mind each time I have something I think I would share with her.  I thank the Lord every day for the the gift of having my Mom for over 96 years.  

This could almost describe the relationship that I had with my Mom. I spent 4 and 1/2 years taking care of her in an apartment, so we didn't talk on the phone much by then. I am actually grateful that we didn't speak by phone because it would have been really difficult to get used to not being able to pick up the phone. I still see things every day that I want to share with her or that I imagine her reaction to. Living in her home with Dad conjures up a lot of memories. Her legacy and touch are everywhere.

[Littlesister]

I have the last canner full on and that is the last one for tonight. Will start again in the morning. I thought I was doing good with no spam calls for over a week. I think they made up for it today. One call after the other and now on my cell phone as well.  And still no planes flying over the house. It has been so quiet without the planes. But it won't last much longer. 

[Jeepers]

My mother died when she was 38 years old. I still miss her and remember her voice and laugh. She missed out on my adult years and her grandson and great grandson. At least my DH was around her a lot and loved her too. He is the only person that I can talk to, who actually knew her. 

 

Oops, I still have some cousins who knew her. I got lost in my own pity party.  

 

 

Edited July 22 by Jeepers
Remembered my family.

[themartianchick]

1 hour ago, Littlesister said:

I have the last canner full on and that is the last one for tonight. Will start again in the morning. I thought I was doing good with no spam calls for over a week. I think they made up for it today. One call after the other and now on my cell phone as well.  And still no planes flying over the house. It has been so quiet without the planes. But it won't last much longer. 

Dad's land line got fixed today. Almost immediately, the spam calls began. It was crazy. I even told Dad that I preferred it when the phone was dead. 

[Jeepers]

I am tired in my mind and body. The mover never texted an exact quote, so I called them today. Ugh. $9,866. I think that's too much but not much I can do about it. I want moved. It's the distance that is the killer. They want half now and half when they unload. Fair. So when I gave them my charge card info everything was fine. Except when it wasn't. I got a notice from my bank that my card was denied due to suspicious fraud. I know they are on top of things but this is the third time in a month my card has been frozen. The moving company didn't contact me so I don't even know if they realize it. I texted them what happened and to try to send it through again. I'm going to be watching my bank statement very closely to make sure I was only charged once. Crimony. One good about putting it all on my card is I'll get some cash back at the end of the month. 

 

I called a man about the attic. I know I can't do it. He actually came out today. He will clear it out and haul it away for $700. Oh. Heck. Yeah! Next week at the latest. I have a bad feeling that I was about to get get hurt on that job. 

 

I got the chicken that I took out of the freezer Friday, sautéed and ready to can tomorrow. It was still frosty. It got too late to can it today. I could have canned it raw but I don't like ugly chicken. It's still pink on the inside but the juices are sealed in. Or so they say. I think I'm only going to get 5 pints. Or maybe 10 half pints. I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking of just using it as a side for dipping. So half pints would be good. I think. 

[Littlesister]

Glad you were able to find someone to get all that stuff out of the attic. That will make it so much easier for you to go through before he hauls it all off.  

I am now waiting for the pressure to go down on the canner so I can get the jars out. Talking about being tired both mentally and physically. I am beat. I hope I sleep good tonight. Going to finish up the baby food tomorrow, then take a break to get bathrooms cleaned and clothes washed. Then on Thursday, I will be canning 3 Boston Butts. I bought another one today when I had to run get more 4 oz. jars. For 99 cents a pound, that is like cheap meat these days. Couldn't pass that up. I will be canning some for me, and also for the baby and then also make barbeque with some of it. 

[Jeepers]

I just might go get some more of those chicken breasts if I don't think I have enough. Out Of The Ordinary recommended them and they look so good. No hormones or anything else bad that I can't think of right now. Gerber brand. 

 

I still have hamburger in the freezer to can though. 

 

I already talked to D-ex, son and grandson tonight so I'm going to take an ambien and => 

 

 

[Mt_Rider]

10 hours ago, themartianchick said:

because it would have been really difficult to get used to not being able to pick up the phone.

....yeah, I know that day is coming for me - sooner than later.    But until then, the tradition continues.  My bro calls her almost every day too - has since the folks were here in CO.  He calls while driving home in D.C. traffic.  Keeps his blood pressure down a bit. 

 

Quiet day.....not sure what I even did today.  Finally got into the health portal to check a few things.  I kept getting knocked off and had to get in again ....with a new number code each time.    

 

Walked with dog -   They dug up our road!  When did that happen and I didn't even hear it????  I have my hearing aids in today.  They didn't finish either so there's a long ridge in the middle of one side of the road.  And they've taken a 4' space out of the ditch towards our place....making it part of the road.  This is a very short road.  Only a couple miles long so what's with widening it?  I stuck a long stem from a thistle plant - bright purple flower on top - into a drain culvert hole that they need to NOT FILL IN!  Else our road will be swimming.  That drain under the road feeds into our pond.  I'm sure everyone here would rather see that water in our pond and off of the gravel road!  Course we don't have actual "gravel roads' like in the midwest.  They are just the "dirt" that is CO.  DG = decomposing granite   And there is enough pulverized granite to qualify as "dirt".  The "fines" as the dirt guy said.  A lot of fines along that stretch of road cuz it's a low spot....thus, the pond.  DUST is another term for that!   

 

Glad you're taking out a "life insurance policy" for the attic, Jeepers.  $700 is cheap for saving "life and limb" !   

 

MtRider    

[Littlesister]

I agree about the life insurance policy. It is worth the money to have someone get that stuff down. That would be a long fall and not in a good way.

 

Canning again today. I am out of the 4oz jars again and not going to buy more so going with the 1/2 pints and she can have leftovers the next day. 

 

GS did crack his finger and severely sprained it. I just splint it and wasn't easy on him. Doing stupid stuff will get you in trouble or hurt. He and his boss were throwing cases of bleach at each other. Having fun at work is one thing but not when it causes injury to someone. They are lucky those bottles didn't break.  I didn't get to bed till after 4am and I am tired today.