Name Three Things - 2018

[Winchester]

A friend in New England had three freezers to feed her family of five: she and her husband and their three teenage sons. Those freezers were always full. Several years ago a hurricane hit (it might have been Sandy, but I don't remember) and the power went out and it was a long time til they got power back. They lost everything in those freezers. Everything. She was sick. They sold two of their freezers and, while she will make a little bit ahead, it's nothing like she used to do. I felt so bad for her.

We have two freezers that are pretty much full and I'll go through a period when I "shop" in the freezers and can go for weeks just cooking from the freezers. It scares me about power outages, although ours are usually during the winter.

Rick is off work today for the counter installation in the bathroom. I'm excited and can't wait to get home. We also got a text that our shower tiles are in, so he'll run down to pick them up. He's stopping at a plumbing store to look at shower doors. I don't care what he gets as long as it's not doors that run on a track (IMO, they're just mold-catchers waiting to happen). I want doors that open, not slide.

• Breakfast for the kids, Rick emptied the dishwasher, while I grabbed a shower and then cleaned everything out of the bathroom (rugs, my stuff, hair dryer, etc.)
• Must scoop boxes when I get home tonight
• A quick vacuum about the house

And I think that's pretty much it. We didn't go for groceries last night and I'm not too worried about it. We don't really need anything this week, so we're good to go. Rick said he may stop for bananas and yogurt.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

Take flannel sheets off the bed and put on the cotton ones. I love my one hundred percent cotton Threshold sheets from Target.
Take my CRV for an oil change.
Drop off some bank deposits, pay some bills.
Shop at the Hospice Thrift store for a pant set.

 

[Winchester]

Contractors coming in to finish up their part today. Rick is off work.

• Breakfast for the kids, grabbed a quick shower and got ready for work
• Did a bit of straightening up around the house, nothing major
• Laundry night and trash night (unless Rick gets to it during the day today.....please, please, please)

 

[Winchester]

We actually got to brush our teeth in the bathroom this morning! (It's the little things) Mollipop has been going through severe bathroom sink withdrawal; as soon as they connected the sinks yesterday, Molli ran into the bathroom, hopped in a sink and started rubbing against the faucet. The guys said they've never seen cats that are so social. They'd come in, open their toolboxes, and start working.....just that quickly, somebody would cruise into the bathroom and get into a tool box or rub against them. Muffin liked to go in, sit on the edge of the bathtub and "su-purr-vise". Molli jumping into the sink really made them laugh. Still need to install the lights above the mirrors. They'll start removing the bathtub and installing the shower in a couple of weeks. This is the renovation that never ends.

There was a mishap yesterday. When they were plumbing the sinks, one of the guys went into the basement to check for leaks. And he left the basement door wide open. Some time later, Rick went downstairs to take laundry from the dryer and he saw it. He walked over to the dryer and Molli jumped up on the dryer. He got her and put her upstairs. He went back to the dryer and Muffin came walking out from under his workbench. He got her, too, and put her upstairs. Then he went upstairs and did a head count. He told the guys that, under no circumstances. are the cats allowed in the basement and they need to be careful with shutting doors. Rick said that one guy said to the other one, something about "You're lucky Pam wasn't home; she'd be cutting your off! She's really protective when it comes to these cats." And when I got home, he walked out the hallway to me and said, "I didn't do it! I know better!" I picked Molli up and sat with her for a while and she told me all about her adventures.

And now? Molli hangs down at the basement door, meowing to be allowed into the basement! I'm serious. She was sitting at the basement door when I left for work this morning.

• Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, some general clean-up
• Mailed some letters on my way to work (and stopped at Dunkin' Donut for a blueberry muffin)
• Rick is bowling tonight, so while he's gone I'm going to start putting shelf paper in the new cabinet. Scoop the boxes, a quick vacuum and I think that will be it.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

excellent progress on your bathroom renovation, Winchester !



we got hit with very high gusty winds on wednesday in a wide area. my immediate area lost power for just under two hours that day, but others in the general area were still without power until today -- not sure if everyone in the area has power back yet. we did have another, related, power outage here today, for about an hour and a half. it was a transformer that blew today, likely related to the work on restoring power to everyone. this was a pretty serious outage for my general area.



today i did some reorganizing, general tidying up around the house, sliced a small frozen boneless ham and then vacuum sealed in portions and back into the freezer, and planned what i'll be making with the potatoes (see below). i washed the dishes, scooped the litter boxes, and have kept the wood stove going.

earlier this week i went to the produce auction and brought home: 15 boxes of Post shredded wheat (spoon size -- one of my favorite cereals) 16.4 ounce box for 70 cents per, two bottles of bbq sauce at 50 cents each (i have plans to use this with the cooked chicken i have in the freezer, and also to make a sauce using bbq sauce and grape jelly which will go with meatballs i have in the freezer), a 20 pound bag of white potatoes for $7, one package (of two 'ropes') of kielbasa at $2.75 (will be used to make kielbasa and scalloped potatoes, two baking dishes of it), three 5 lb chunks of bologna for $3 each (looked like it had been from a deli or sandwich place or such -- Wundabar brand. i used my heavy chef knife to cut those frozen chunks into 14 smaller/more usable for me chunks, then vacuum sealed and into the freezer. between this bologna and what i've already accumulated, i should be set with cold cuts through the summer now), two 12 ounce packages of cotto salami at 50 cents per, and 8 packages of hot dogs (24 ounces, with 20 hot dogs each) for $1.25 each.

 

[Winchester]

micknsnicks2mom What do you do with 20 pounds of potatoes? I got two 5-pound bags of potatoes when they were on sale at the store at B1G1. Kept one bag in the kitchen in the potato basket. The other bag went downstairs and was stored in the ice chest. Well, I forgot about them. And one morning, I went downstairs and, oh man, the smell was horrible. I kept thinking several mice must have gotten into the basement and died. I asked Rick about it and he looked at me and asked, "Did we ever use that other bag of potatoes?" And I realized what the smell was. I ran downstairs, opened the ice chest. Man, I thought I was going to die. The smell knocked my socks off. Rick got the potatoes to the compost pile and I disinfected the ice chest. Nasty it was. So now, unless I have specific plans for that many potatoes, I don't buy them in large quantities.

• Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher....and that's as far as I got
• Paper the shelves of the new cabinet in the bathroom and get those totes emptied out; that will probably take the morning.
• I'm going to spend the afternoon cleaning. Get the bedroom and computer room back in order. Do a good vacuum and dusting, wipe down the kitchen and bathroom, clean out the fridge and wipe that down, scoop the boxes, do a wash load of kitty things (pillowcases, blankies, etc.)
• Rick's mother needs shampoo and conditioner, so I'll make a trip to Target tonight and then take them up to her either tonight or tomorrow afternoon

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Winchester , i usually buy potatoes in the 10 lb bags. in this case, the price was excellent for the 20 lb bag. but i also knew i'd be making several (4) batches of kielbasa and scalloped potatoes (9 x 13 pans, nicely filled), and added 6 single serving batches of crispy bbq potato wedges and two batches of potato salad to the plans. i divided all the potatoes into batches, for those particular recipes, and they'll all be used up by the end of April -- likely before the end of April, as i'll be portioning and freezing most of the kielbasa and scalloped potatoes.

before the produce auction starts, they have everything laid out on tables and in two freezers for us to look at. i get there early enough to look everything over, then make a list of the items i'm interested in with my max(imum) bid (the maximum amount that the item is worth to me, which i rarely go over -- but then, my max bids are set at lower than the best price i'd be able to buy it at the grocery store, so there's a little 'wiggle room' there) written next to it. in the case of something like a 20 lb bag of potatoes, i'm also factoring in exactly what i'd use all those potatoes for -- in other words, i'll have a plan for using them all, before i bid on them.

i grew up going to antique auctions with my dad, starting when i was really very young -- likely about 6-8 years old. i started learning to be careful around antiques when i was younger than that, going with my dad to a neighbor's home who knew pretty much everything about antiques and had sold them for decades. my dad and Mrs. L would sit and talk about antiques for hours on the weekends, and i'd sit crosslegged on the floor next to my dad's legs and as time went on i'd also be sent in to the kitchen to bring back some cookies. these visits were to Mrs. L's home, which was filled with (very expensive) antiques. i've never broken or damaged anything at an auction, or in Mrs. L's home. i didn't pick up much about antiques, but i did learn some things about auctions. like to always set a maximum amount that an item is worth to you, and don't go over that amount. as well as, if you break something, you're buying it. so when i started going to the produce auctions, i was somewhat familiar with auctions. though, it's different bidding on items myself, than it was watching my dad bid on things.

and i've always loved the auctioneer's 'chant' -- just the sound of it makes me happy. i think because i associate it with most of the happy memories i have from my childhood.



today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll work on my budget briefly, and then on some planning.

after that, i'll watch something on tv -- whatever seems interesting to me.

 

[artiemom]

micknsnicks2mom I find it fascinating just thinking there is such an event as a produce auction! That really blows my mind..

I really cannot imagine it; although I have never been to an auction, of any kind.

I give you a ton of credit for being resourceful enough to find one, to bid-and win, to truck all the items home, and to then use them all up; in creative ways...

 

[Winchester]

There is a produce auction in our area, maybe four times a year; I've never been. We have gone to public sales and such, usually if there are tools that Rick might be interested in or some kind of Fiesta for me. There's also a nursery auction, where you can buy plants, shrubs, and trees; we bought our weeping cherry trees at that auction several years ago. When we had Rick's parents' public sale, the auctioneer was very good. My sister and I were "runners" at the sale; it was interesting to see what price people would pay for things.

Rick comes home this afternoon and will bring The Beast home, too. It's been a nice weekend for me and I managed to get quite a bit of work done. The bedroom is finally back to what it was and my desk in the computer is no longer cluttered with bathroom items. Looks good, although it took longer than what I thought it would. (Now we need to work on the basement; lots of cardboard down there for the recycling trailers and we need to make a trip to the dump soon)

• Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, stripped the bed down, and sorted laundry. Will scoop boxes when I've finished my coffee.
• Four loads of laundry
• Work on my grocery list; we have to grab some groceries tomorrow because I'm out of dishwasher pods....and I don't do dishes! Milk, eggs, cat food, all that kind of stuff.
• Manicure tonight

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

micknsnicks2mom I find it fascinating just thinking there is such an event as a produce auction! That really blows my mind..

I really cannot imagine it; although I have never been to an auction, of any kind.

I give you a ton of credit for being resourceful enough to find one, to bid-and win, to truck all the items home, and to then use them all up; in creative ways...

i think that part of the reason there is a produce auction here, is that this is an agricultural area -- many orchards, crop fields, and farms. the auction house/auctioneer who does the produce auctions does many types of auctions -- everything from farm (big) machinery to antiques, to building supplies, to home appliances, and much, much more.

attending an auction...is an experience! it's fun, exciting, interesting, and so much to see, to look at!

this produce auction used to take place a good mile or so up the way from me. since it took place in the late afternoons into the evening, i wasn't able to attend -- logistics...it would have been dark out on the way back home (there are no street lights out near the previous location), and during the winter months i wouldn't be able to handle walking home in the frigid temperatures. and then, they moved the produce auction to about a 3-4 minute walk from my house. i could hear the auctioneer chant from my driveway, that's how i knew they were there.

thank you!

Winchester -- that's great, that there are auctions in your area!! yes, i always find it interesting to see what people will pay for items at the auctions. our auction house here does a lot of estate type auctions.



today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll bake four pans (two ovensful) of peanut butter brownies, cool them, then slice/portion/label/freeze them. while the oven is heated up, i'll pop in a single serving batch of crispy bbq potato wedges.

after that, i'll likely watch something on the tv.

 

[Winchester]

I'm tired this morning. For some reason, Amber was at it pretty much all night last night; she was feeling grumpy and let us all know. All she did was mutter in the living room, then came back and scurry around in the bedroom in circles. At 2:30, The Beast decided that it was very important she go outside to pee. Problem is, when Rick got up and dressed and took her out, all she did was wander the front yard. He was downright angry. About the time we got back to sleep, Amber started in again. I finally went out the hallway, hollered "SHUT UP, AMBER!" and we had blessed silence.....til Rick's cell phone clock rang about five minutes later. I've been awake since 2:30 and am not amused. Nor is Rick; he's ready to toss all the animals out the door (well, not really, but it was not a good night).

• Breakfast for the kids, made the bed, grabbed my shower, and got ready for work
• I need to call another place to see if our trim tile and pebble flooring for the shower came in; we ordered it about three weeks ago and it should be here by now. And call the electrician to set up the final appt for lighting. And call my doctor to renew a prescription.
• I have a planning commission meeting tonight and it will be long as I have four plans to review. While I'm at my meeting, Rick is going down to the flooring place to pick up the shower tile.
• After I finally get home from work, we have to grab a few groceries.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll slice the loaf of bread i made yesterday, then peel and very thinly slice the potatoes for the kielbasa and scalloped potatoes i'll be making this week -- i'll put the thin sliced potatoes in a container with water, then into the fridge. i moved the rope of kielbasa to the fridge to thaw, earlier this morning.

after that, i'll watch something on netflix. i received an offer from them for a free month , so will catch up on some tv shows.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

I did five or six loads of laundry. Then I got started cleaning out the refrigerator and cleaning the inside, drawers, walls, etc. I have a clean one now. Then I cooked a big supper. I am pooped right now.

 

[Winchester]

Neither Rick nor I really wanted to get out of bed this morning. Alas, the cats meowed and wouldn't take "Just 5 more minutes, please!" for an excuse.

• Breakfast for the kids, 2 miles on the treadmill (figured it was time I got off my lazy butt), made the bed, did some general clean-up, grabbed a quick shower
• Designer is coming in this afternoon to do a final walk-through of what the contractors have done thus far: cabinets, sinks, etc.
• Go to Target for prescription refills
• Scoop the boxes
• Visit with Rick's mother

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll bake two pans (one ovenful) of carob brownies, then cool/slice/portion/label/freeze them -- i've got that process down to a routine at this point. i'll also slice the rope of kielbasa today.

i'm getting ready to start in on a gallon jar of maraschino cherries. i've got some cakes planned as well as several batches of cherry nanaimo bars. today i came across a lovely recipe for brownies (cake type ones) with maraschinos.....mmmm, chocolate (/carob) and cherries! i'll be making some of those too! and the maraschino cherries juice, will be made into maraschino cherry juice jelly...

 

[Winchester]

micknsnicks2mom A gallon of maraschino cherries? Holy cow, woman! Sometimes you truly amaze me.

• Breakfast for the kids, 2 miles on the treadmill, made the bed, sorted laundry, general clean-up and grabbed a quick shower
• After I get home from work, we have to fun over to the tile place to pick up the glass tiles and floor pebbles for the shower. Hit Lowes for grout (but that might wait til this weekend)
• Laundry and trash night

Since the X-Files are over, I may go to bed early. Rick and I say that every night, but we never seem to get there!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Winchester -- yup, a gallon jar of maraschino cherries, which i paid $11.50 for plus it's (very small) portion of the shipping on the order. i knew i'd use them all, and work through using them all when i opened the jar -- which is what i'm working on now. yesterday i portioned the cherries out into containers, for the various recipes i've planned to use them in -- plus i set aside the last 2 cups of cherries from the jar, in case i need to add a little more for any of the recipes i've got planned. i chopped up the cherries for one recipe, but wasn't sure if i needed to for two other recipes -- which i had bookmarked, but hadn't printed out yet, so those portions of cherries were left as whole cherries. the maraschino juice remains in the gallon jar, now in the spare fridge. i never doubted i could use up a gallon jar of maraschino's......i could probably finish the jar off just by eating them as is!



today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll move a package of cold cuts to the fridge to thaw. i'll work with my budget for a bit, and do some work on planning.

after that, i'll watch something on tv. it's been a very busy week here, and i'm looking forward to a relatively quiet day with my cats.

i went to the produce auction earlier in the week, but bought nothing. only one seller had brought items to auction, and the few items i was interested in went for higher than my max bid. however, i did bring home four 2.5 gallon BIB's (bag-in-box) beverage syrups/concentrates, that no one wanted to bid on at the previous auction. the seller is an acquaintance of mine, and was giving them away (for free) -- so i took the ones that had no caffeine in them.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll bake two (9 x 13 pans) cakes and frost them. they'll be sliced, then wrapped and frozen.

i've already moved the package of two 'ropes' of kielbasa to the fridge to thaw.

after that, i'll likely watch something on tv.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

i didn't get the two cakes frosted yesterday, they needed to cool and it was already late afternoon. so i'll get the buttercream made, frost the cakes, and then slice/wrap/label/freeze them. the cake recipe has chopped maraschino's as well as mini chocolate (/carob) chips in it, and the recipe said they'd tend to sink to the bottom of the cake and 'stick to the bottom big time'. so i used parchment paper, and ran my carob chips (regular sized ones) through the food processor to chop them up a bit. that, along with using carob powder instead of cocoa powder -- using carob powder tends to make a slightly thicker batter in my experience, might just be enough to allow the cake to not be...laminated to the parchment paper......but we'll see. i have made some plans as to how to approach removing the parchment paper, should the cake be really stuck to it.

i'll get a loaf of bread making in the bread machine, as well as peel and thinly slice the potatoes for the two pans of kielbasa and scalloped potatoes which i'll make later this week -- i'll put the sliced potatoes in water in a container, and store it in the fridge.

i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going.

after that, i'll watch something on tv, enjoying the warmth of the wood stove while sitting in the rocking chair -- i'm sure our DeeDee and likely Dude will curl up on my lap for a while too.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

Dropped Snoop at the vet's office this morning.
Came home and wrote out some payments for bills.
Baked a huge pan of sweet potatoes.
Mostly waiting to go back and get my boy from the vet office.