Name Three Things - 2019

[Winchester]

micknsnicks2mom I really thought about taking off for the hearing, but didn't. I did follow it during the day online as best I could. My co-worker was glued to his tv for the whole thing.

I'm tired this morning. I slept well, while I could, and was sound asleep by 11:00, but Pepe was really in a mood this morning and started yelling around 3:30. And then Amber started in. Followed by Muffin and Mollipop going at it in the hallway around 4:30. The Beast was panting away and her jingles were really jingling. I gave up at 4:45, got up, took The Beast out, and then gave everybody breakfast. Now, it's peaceful and I should probably just go back to bed. But I already stripped the bed down. Dang.

• Took The Beast out to pee, breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, stripped the bed, and the first load of laundry is in the washer.
• Must scoop the boxes
• Three loads of laundry, including a load of blankies and flannel pillowcases for the cats.

And that's it. I ripped through the house yesterday and I'm going to spend the day with my nose in some books.

Rick should be home by early afternoon. He spent the night with our kids after the basketball game last night. He's going to try to get home before the snow starts flying around here. The weatherweenies are all over the charts for snow amounts. We went from 2-4, up to 4-6+, up to (possibly) 10, then back down to 3-5. We're going to get snow, but who knows how much at this point. All I know is that it's gonna be white!

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i've kept the wood stove going.

shortly, i'll scoop the litter boxes, and make two liters of soda -- root beer!

i'll wash the dishes, and then get the lasagna making going. i'll heat up the meat sauce i made yesterday for it, while i'm bringing the water to a boil and cooking the lasagna noodles. i'll assemble the two pans of lasagna, then into the oven to bake them. once they're done and have cooled, i'll slice/wrap/label/freeze it all. this will bring my count of meal servings put up for the hot summer months to 126 servings.

 

[Winchester]

micknsnicks2mom 126! Holy crap! Very impressive

Rick brought me into work this morning, but it was due a lack of communication more than anything. I could have driven in myself. We had between 3 and 4 inches of snow, more of a nuisance than anything major.

I haven't said much about moving to Belize this winter, but it's time to announce:

I am moving to Belize! The day after I retire! I swear! Cats and all! All it's done around here lately is frizzle, freezing rain, and snow. Going to be freezing again this week. Somebody needs to tell that stupid groundhog to buck up. Enough! (And I made it to March before I said anything.)

Our grandson had a great time on Saturday at the basketball game. I think all the guys did. And the GS Warriors won, his favorite team; that made it even better. Our grandson told his dad he's never asking for "stuff" for Christmas again; he's going to ask for a GS Warriors basketball game. Rick slept on the sofa; he spent Saturday night with the kids and he said that a doggy nose would awaken him every so often. Beatrice, their golden retriever, made sure he was OK through the night. Sayla, their golden puppy, wasn't so sure about Rick as it had been a while since she had seen him. So while Bea ran over for attention, Sayla stayed in the kitchen, looking around the corner, and growling. But when Rick opened the jar of doggy treats, all bets were off. Sayla zoomed out of the kitchen, tail waving like a flag, and ran over for a treat. And that was all it took. She's adorable, she's a cuddler, and I'd take her in a heartbeat.

But boy, Molli was not amused when Rick came home! Mollipop went over to say Hello, but she smelled D*G on him. And strange dog at that. She looked at him, turned around and walked away. The Beast was sniffing, too, but she didn't care. Much. The rest of the cats did a bit of sniffing, but they were OK.

• Breakfast for the kids, walked 2.5 miles, and got ready for work
• Grab a few groceries tonight, mainly cat food
• Must scoop the boxes

And that's pretty much it for our Monday.

 

[segelkatt]

Winchester -- beef burrito casserole is a recipe i make often (or using ground chicken or ground turkey). it's really easy to make, too!

make some rice -- i use about one cup cooked rice in making one 8x8 inch pan of beef burrito casserole.

cook and drain the grease off of one pound of ground beef (or ground chicken, ground turkey -- add a little oil to the pan if using chicken/turkey, because they don't have the fat that ground beef does).

add one packet of taco seasoning and 1/2 cup of water (i go by how it looks, so it could be more like 3/4 cup of water); cook and stir over medium heat until the water has cooked off and the taco seasoning has absorbed into/onto the ground meat.

to assemble the casserole, layer flour or corn tortilla(s) to cover the bottom of the pan. spread a thin layer of refried beans over the tortilla(s), then spread half of the cooked rice over the refried beans. spread half the taco seasoned ground meat on top of that, then some salsa (i'm kind of generous with the salsa, because it adds good flavor and also makes for a more moist casserole)...maybe 2/3 - 3/4 cup. top with shredded cheddar cheese (how much cheese you add depends on how much you generally like) -- though, i used some shredded hot pepper american cheese this time...and other cheeses could be used (like monterey jack, pepper jack, colby/colby-jack, and etc). repeat to make a second layer of the same, ending with shredded cheese over the top.

bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven until hot/the cheese has melted and is just starting to get a little golden browning to it, about 30 minutes -- depending on your oven.



today i've kept the wood stove going.

this afternoon, i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and make two liters of soda. then i'll make two pans of ground turkey burrito casserole, cool it, slice/wrap/label/freeze.

I had never heard of beef burrito casserole but your recipe sounded good so I made some for myself, only used half as much. Turns out it's too spicy for me and the beef did not agree with me. I'll try again with chicken and half of the spices that I used. Me and my European stomach, we like herbs, spices not so much.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

Winchester -- thank you! my goal is to have 150 dinner servings put up for the hot summer months, and to get through until it gets cooler in late september/early october -- before i start using the oven again. this is the third year i've done this, and i've adjusted as i've had more experience with doing it. all i have left is making two pans of turkey enchilada lasagna, and a double batch of braised pork ragu.

i'll be making the turkey enchilada lasagna later this week, and will then wait a bit on making the braised pork ragu. and i'll start in on the dessert servings needing to be put up -- i just need to...supplement the dessert servings i already have in the freezer. almost everything i bake will have maraschino cherries in it. this year i have two gallons of maraschino cherries to use up. they really do go quite fast! i'll finish up by using the maraschino cherry juice to make/can some maraschino cherry juice jelly... .

segelkatt -- i'm sorry to hear that it was too spicy for you. i've used ground chicken, and also have used ground turkey in making it, which have turned out really good too. trying it again with half the spices and chicken sounds good!



today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll make two or three liters of lemon soda. and i'll move the cooked sliced turkey, two jars of homemade enchilada sauce, shredded mild cheddar cheese, and small corn tortillas to the fridge to thaw.

i also have two phone calls to make.

after that, i'll likely play some computer games, continue with a jigsaw puzzle, and will watch some tv.

 

[Winchester]

Hump Day! For me, anyway.

Had a dr appt yesterday. BP was excellent. I had blood work done after my appt, so the doctor will call me with the results. He asked me how I felt; I looked at him and said, "You know, I feel good! I really feel good!" And he was very happy about that. (I needed coffee on my way into work, so I stopped at DD for a black medium coffee. While I was there, I got donuts for the gang. They were very happy about that. Gave the clerk at DD a $3 tip on a $10 order; she was happy about that. I made some people happy yesterday. And that made me happy. It works.)

So today?

• Breakfast for the kids, walked 4 miles, sorted laundry for tonight, did a Chewy order for the kids, bought two pairs of shoes (should be here on Friday), and got ready and came to work
• My boss gave me a neat graphics project to work on. I want to get the shapes and colors down pat before I do any text. I love working on graphics.
• Laundry night
• Trash night

And that's it for my Wednesday.

ETA: I'm going to have to go to Rick's mother's tonight. She just called. She's having trouble with the font size on the Nook for one of her library books. I can't just tell her what to do to increase the font size because I don't remember; I had it set up for her, but something happened somewhere along the line. I'll go up and fix things for her, so she can read again. (She plays with things. She plays with her phone, she plays with the Nook. And then, when things go wrong, she doesn't remember what she did and calls us to come in and fix them.)

 

[segelkatt]

Winchester -- thank you! my goal is to have 150 dinner servings put up for the hot summer months, and to get through until it gets cooler in late september/early october -- before i start using the oven again. this is the third year i've done this, and i've adjusted as i've had more experience with doing it. all i have left is making two pans of turkey enchilada lasagna, and a double batch of braised pork ragu.

i'll be making the turkey enchilada lasagna later this week, and will then wait a bit on making the braised pork ragu. and i'll start in on the dessert servings needing to be put up -- i just need to...supplement the dessert servings i already have in the freezer. almost everything i bake will have maraschino cherries in it. this year i have two gallons of maraschino cherries to use up. they really do go quite fast! i'll finish up by using the maraschino cherry juice to make/can some maraschino cherry juice jelly... .

segelkatt -- i'm sorry to hear that it was too spicy for you. i've used ground chicken, and also have used ground turkey in making it, which have turned out really good too. trying it again with half the spices and chicken sounds good!



today i'll wash the dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and keep the wood stove going. i'll make two or three liters of lemon soda. and i'll move the cooked sliced turkey, two jars of homemade enchilada sauce, shredded mild cheddar cheese, and small corn tortillas to the fridge to thaw.

i also have two phone calls to make.

after that, i'll likely play some computer games, continue with a jigsaw puzzle, and will watch some tv.

You must have one gigantic freezer! Mine is taller than I am and jammed to the hilt but still not as big as your's must be. I live by myself, I just hate shopping but love to cook. Produce from my garden gets stashed in there for the rest of the year and I buy meat whenever I see it on sale, for instance: my local store puts their leftover grilled chickens at the end of the day into the "sale" part of their fresh meat department for half price. I scoop up a bunch of them, take the meat off when I get them home, divide that up into whatever I plan on doing with it, slice up the breasts etc and then vacuum pack it and freeze it. The carcasses go into a big pot with onion and herbs to simmer overnight for the most delicious stock/broth which I then put in quart Mason jars and process them long enough so that they will keep on the shelf. I never have to buy chicken broth again which I use for all kinds of things.
Regarding not using the oven in the summer, I wholeheartedly agree having lived in TX without A/C, just a fan and a swamp cooler which made it even more miserable than without that contraption. I have a good-sized counter top toaster oven with a convection feature and a broil setting and I hardly ever use the regular oven anymore. I have baked pizza, meat loaf and even cakes in it and they turn out great. The convection feature also makes it take less time so whatever heat is needed is less because of the shorter time. It is also well insulated so the heat stays in instead of radiating all over the kitchen.The only inconvenient part is that the size of the dish is restricted so a tall cake pan would not work, the top would get burnt. Also, a regular 13x9 pan is too big but an 8x11 fits.

 

[Winchester]

We have two freezers, my parents' upright (which I think we might try to sell this summer) and a large chest freezer. The upright has meat and poultry; the chest freezer has leftovers, from when I cook big pots of soups, stews, and pasta specifically for the freezer. It also has our applesauce, pies, muffins and yeast rolls, bags of frozen vegetables, and the like. Both are always full, but I'm really trying to cut back a bit, since we're both going to retire this year. While I always have something in the freezer that we can use at any given time, I know we're not even close to 150 meals! That's just amazing!

Rick has off work today for a dental appt to finish that tooth. They're going to clean it out and put the final crown on and then he's done. He's going to schedule an appt for me for my 6-months dental cleaning. (I hate the dentist; I really hate the dentist) We had to switch dentists, long story there, and I'm nervous about it. When it comes to the dentist, I'm worse than any child around.

• Breakfast for the kids, walked 4 miles, and got ready for work (Rick will do the scooping today)
• He's bowling early, so it's a bit of Nintendo Night for me
• Supernatural is back tonight, so I'll have my nose in front of the tv

I didn't make it up to Rick's mother last night. She called late afternoon yesterday and told me that they're under quarantine again. All meals are given in-room and they are not allowed visitors. We'll have to wait til the quarantine is lifted. That kind of shoots a hole into my weekend plans. I was going to make doughnuts this weekend and take some up to her. Doughnuts don't freeze well, so I may make some cookies instead; I can freeze those easily.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

You must have one gigantic freezer! Mine is taller than I am and jammed to the hilt but still not as big as your's must be. I live by myself, I just hate shopping but love to cook. Produce from my garden gets stashed in there for the rest of the year and I buy meat whenever I see it on sale, for instance: my local store puts their leftover grilled chickens at the end of the day into the "sale" part of their fresh meat department for half price. I scoop up a bunch of them, take the meat off when I get them home, divide that up into whatever I plan on doing with it, slice up the breasts etc and then vacuum pack it and freeze it. The carcasses go into a big pot with onion and herbs to simmer overnight for the most delicious stock/broth which I then put in quart Mason jars and process them long enough so that they will keep on the shelf. I never have to buy chicken broth again which I use for all kinds of things.
Regarding not using the oven in the summer, I wholeheartedly agree having lived in TX without A/C, just a fan and a swamp cooler which made it even more miserable than without that contraption. I have a good-sized counter top toaster oven with a convection feature and a broil setting and I hardly ever use the regular oven anymore. I have baked pizza, meat loaf and even cakes in it and they turn out great. The convection feature also makes it take less time so whatever heat is needed is less because of the shorter time. It is also well insulated so the heat stays in instead of radiating all over the kitchen.The only inconvenient part is that the size of the dish is restricted so a tall cake pan would not work, the top would get burnt. Also, a regular 13x9 pan is too big but an 8x11 fits.

i actually have three upright freezers. i had had two, but then last year replaced the old spare fridge (over 20 years old, and had been threatening to 'go to the great fridge beyond' for a couple years already) with a third upright freezer.

i don't drive (so i need to plan my meals, and buy ahead), and i cook and bake as well as freeze veggies bought in season and milk. i also store baking chips, chopped walnuts, honey, sunflower seeds, and some grains (for example, wheat germ) in the freezers -- i buy those in bulk. i'll also buy meats/poultry at the auction, or yearly in bulk.

i'll buy in bulk, if the cost is lower -- for foods that are able to be stored to keep longer term, and that i use on a regular basis. it's important for me to keep costs as low as possible, given a limited income.

my previous kitchen range had a flat top -- almost useless for canning. my new gas range allows me to can. being able to can means that i won't need to freeze like everything. right now i have a large quantity of golden plum freezer jam in one of the freezers. next time i come across a flat of 8 quarts of yellow plums for 50 cents, i won't need to make freezer jam, but will be able to can it instead.

i have a large toaster/convection oven too, countertop type. i'll use that occasionally during the hot summer months.



today i've kept the wood stove going. i've had my kitchen sink faucet looked at, and have taken two phone calls. i also moved some dessert to the fridge to thaw.

shortly, i'll get a loaf of bread making in the bread machine, wash the dishes, and scoop the litter boxes. i might go ahead and cook some rice today, too -- for tomorrows turkey enchilada lasagna making. and i'll move two small containers of chili to the fridge to thaw.

after that, i'll likely play some computer games, start a new jigsaw puzzle, and watch some tv.

 

[candie]

Watch Korean dramas

Sew doll clothes

Adding more glue to doll wig cap hopefully 3 layers

 

[segelkatt]

i actually have three upright freezers. i had had two, but then last year replaced the old spare fridge (over 20 years old, and had been threatening to 'go to the great fridge beyond' for a couple years already) with a third upright freezer.

i don't drive (so i need to plan my meals, and buy ahead), and i cook and bake as well as freeze veggies bought in season and milk. i also store baking chips, chopped walnuts, honey, sunflower seeds, and some grains (for example, wheat germ) in the freezers -- i buy those in bulk. i'll also buy meats/poultry at the auction, or yearly in bulk.

i'll buy in bulk, if the cost is lower -- for foods that are able to be stored to keep longer term, and that i use on a regular basis. it's important for me to keep costs as low as possible, given a limited income.

my previous kitchen range had a flat top -- almost useless for canning. my new gas range allows me to can. being able to can means that i won't need to freeze like everything. right now i have a large quantity of golden plum freezer jam in one of the freezers. next time i come across a flat of 8 quarts of yellow plums for 50 cents, i won't need to make freezer jam, but will be able to can it instead.

i have a large toaster/convection oven too, countertop type. i'll use that occasionally during the hot summer months.



today i've kept the wood stove going. i've had my kitchen sink faucet looked at, and have taken two phone calls. i also moved some dessert to the fridge to thaw.

shortly, i'll get a loaf of bread making in the bread machine, wash the dishes, and scoop the litter boxes. i might go ahead and cook some rice today, too -- for tomorrows turkey enchilada lasagna making. and i'll move two small containers of chili to the fridge to thaw.

after that, i'll likely play some computer games, start a new jigsaw puzzle, and watch some tv.

I've been retired for 10 years now and money is always a problem. As a renter my housing costs go up every year and COLA does not cut it. Which is why I am forced to leave CA and move to NV where my son lives, not to move in with him but to save on rent which is less expensive there and also to be closer to family as I have nobody here and I'm getting to be too old to live here all by myself with no family up close. I do drive, everywhere and anytime, freeways and night time, my doctor is happy with my mental state and physical ability to drive and I know plenty of others older than me who still drive but also other 10 years my junior who only drive around in the closest neighborhood or not at all. What a drag that must be! I hope I'll be like a former neighbor of mine who at age 93 moved to Oregon to be close to his daughter and promptly got an Oregon driver's license! He also plays tennis twice a week and plays bridge in a bridge club. That's the way I want to be at his age and then one day just not wake up in the morning.

Just did my taxes and this year my income was $700 more than last year but my federal tax refund is $400 less than last year. Thanks to whoever made that happen. The rich get tax breaks and the little people get it in the neck as usual. The state tax refund was about the same. NV has no state tax and I don't know how that is going to work out next year as my income is generated by CA and state tax is taken before I get my check. Guess I'll worry about that next year.
Otherwise I haven't done anything and am not planning on doing anything as I could not sleep last night and now I'm tired and it's cold in here and I feel miserable. February was the coldest in 40 years and my heating bill went through the roof. How will I survive NV winters? Perhaps the heating bill will not be so high, electric heat is the pits, I know my son has gas heat which is cheaper and an electric space heater, so I hope I will get a place with gas heat. I'm used to cooking on electricity and I have a smooth top range. Those are not good for canning, I'm always afraid that the extended heat will crack the cook top. So when I moved here I got a 1-burner electric cook top just to be able to put the canner on it and not have to worry about the glass ceramic. This has worked out fine so far and it leaves the stove clear for other cooking while the canner is doing its thing on the other counter.

 

[muffy]

I retired 11 years ago and just gave up my drivers license a few weeks ago. I am 69 years old and I have never liked to drive. I have started having black outs and I don't remember where I have been so I decided it was time to quit. I get my sister and neighbor to take me places.

 

[Winchester]

I'm hoping for an early night tonight. Dear Richard was really cranky this morning. I even told him, "Well, you have two cups of grouchy in your bowl of Cheerios this morning!" He wasn't amused.

But I'm leaving early today and taking some vacation time.

• Breakfast for the kids, walked 4 miles, and got ready for work
• Leaving early and I think I might do some shopping this afternoon
• Must scoop the boxes at some point

Not planning on doing much, that's for sure.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i've kept the wood stove going, and have moved two pints of milk to the fridge to thaw.

shortly, i'll make two liters of soda, and scoop the litter boxes.

i'll wash the dishes, slice the loaf of bread i made yesterday, and then assemble the two turkey enchilada lasagnas and bake them. once they've cooled enough in the back enclosed porch (unheated), i'll move them to the fridge -- will slice/wrap/label/freeze tomorrow.

after that, i'll play some computer games, continue with a jigsaw puzzle, and watch some tv.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I finished a book, then took a 4-mile walk to the library and back to return that book. I also just finished making a bunch of cookies...with an audience.

 

[Winchester]

MonaLyssa33 She is gorgeous! Our Mollipop loves to hang out on top of the kitchen cabinets, too.

Rick is coming down with a cold. Well, I think he already has it. Me, I'm going to load myself up with scads of Vit C. Geez, I don't want another cold; it took me almost two months to get rid of the cough from the last one!

• Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, and am sitting with my morning coffee. Rick will scoop when he gets up from his nap. I made dough for calzones and it's rising in the fridge.
• Errands: Banking, Lowes (for softener salt and a new filter for the fridge)
• I may run down to Christopher and Banks; there's a jacket that I've had my eye on and it's on sale and I have a $10 coupon.

And I think that's it for my Saturday. I'm feeling quite lazy today and don't plan on much of anything. But we'll see how that goes.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

today i've kept the wood stove going.

shortly, i'll wash the dishes, and scoop the litter boxes. i'll slice/wrap/label/freeze the two pans of enchilada lasagna, and i'll make a batch of potato salad.

i have enough small corn tortillas, refried beans, and salsa left after yesterday's turkey enchilada lasagna making that i plan on using that (along with some cheese, more roast turkey, and the last jar of my homemade enchilada sauce -- which i'll thaw coming up soon) to make a small pan (8 x 8) of turkey enchilada lasagna to have for my dinners starting about mid-week. i'll make a little rice for that the day before i'm assembling/baking it.

after i finish the household stuff today, i'll play some computer games, continue with a jigsaw puzzle, and watch some tv.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

Today I finished reading another book. It is due soon and I couldn't renew it, so I really needed to get on that. I also packed my suitcase for my trip to Florida on Wednesday. I'm also hunkering down for ANOTHER snow storm.

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

well, i didn't get the potato salad made yesterday -- so i'll do that today.

i'll wash the dishes, and scoop the litter boxes. i'll also make three liters of ginger ale, and keep the wood stove going.

after that, it's computer games, continuing with a jigsaw puzzle, and watching some tv.

 

[Winchester]

We had enough sleet during the night last night that the ground is white. Again. It was supposed to be just rain. We heard it pinging against the windows in the night.

We went to a couple new stores yesterday, both run by area Mennonites. A nice produce and bulk food store that will do well in town, I think. I bought a pound of instant yeast and a small container of basil til my new Penzey order gets here. And a soft pretzel store just opened. Of course, we checked that out, too. I'm not sure how long that store will last, but I hope it does well; the pretzels are really good and I like to see new stores succeed in town. We're very eclectic around here and our stores are pretty cool.

• Breakfast for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, and sorted laundry. Rick will scoop boxes when he gets up from his morning nap.
• On the second of four loads of laundry; normally it would have been only 3 loads, but I'm going to do a load of kitty stuff, too.
• I made the dough for sticky buns this morning and it's proofing in the oven. I wanted to try my Buttery Soft Dough Emulsion and I figured what better way to try it out than in sticky buns? I was going to make doughnuts, but Rick's mom is still under quarantine at the nursing home, so maybe I'll do doughnuts next weekend; that way we can get them up to her while they're still nice and fresh.
• Vacuum, dust, wipe the kitchen and bathroom down
• Work on my grocery list and coupons

And that's pretty much it.