Just need to talk to my friends(201)

loveskitties

Hi Despondent and welcome to the front porch at Lorita's where there is always another rocking chair waiting.

There is always a warm welcome to all who stop in and those who stay awhile.

Wishing you the best for the new year.

harshedbuzz

@Despondent

I am sorry for the loss of your dear husband but glad you reached out to our group. We Yankees need to stick together, damned or otherwise.

I'm in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. My PWD was my late dad who was diagnosed late in the game. These days I am a quasi-caregiver for my mom who has multiple medical issues but lives "independently" with her cranky old cat. The pair of them are getting over pneumonia at the moment.

HB

Lorita

Welcome to our front porch, Despondent. Glad you came to be with us. You'll always find someone here to talk with. It's been a saving grace for me these 16 years. You'll like black eyed peas. I grew up on them and brown beans. I have an iron skillet of cornbread in the oven to go with mine. Friend Carol called this morning and she bought some cornbread at the store bakery.

Thanks, Mint. I hope to find time to check on that this afternoon.. About prunes; I put a little water in them and cook them until done and cooked down with a little juice left, then keep them in the refrigerator, covered. I love them.like that- just like candy.

Thank you, Sweetwater, I hadn't thought about that - good idea. There's a couple of agencies iǹ a town not too far away. I will check when the time comes. I hate to bother Darwin.

I just had a little slice of hot buttered cornbread and it was so good. Cats didn't know what to think about it but were anxious to try it. Now I need some fried okra!

Judith, did you stay up until MN? I didn't make it - no fireworks out here last night.

Mint

Sweetwater and Despondent nice to see both of you on the porch with us.

Despond and I’m very sorry about the loss of your DH. Were you affected by the flooding in Western North Carolina? I continue to follow anything that I can find on how the people there are doing.

I live in Ohio. I am a retired healthcare worker. I’ve been sitting in the rocking chair for about eight years now. I just placed my mom into assisted-living November 1. This is a good place to meet friends. I think most of us on here, feel like friends, even though we have never met except on here.

I mainly cooked today other than doing one load of clothes. I fixed some zucchini muffins today and put blueberries in them. I usually drain some of the water off my frozen zucchini. But recently I read don’t do that put all the water in and you’ll have a much nicer bread or muffin. So I did that this time and they are delicious. They are so soft and not too moist but they’re not dry at all, really good, so I learned something.

Sweetwater

Mint, I joined this forum in 2016 after lurking for two years. My DH passed in 2019 and I rarely have posted since then. I post now if I think I have a suggestion that may help someone through this difficult journey we all share.

jfkoc

I am a transplant from Chicago to Oklahoma. I am maybe 1 hour + from Lorita. I am central she is in green country.

I wish there were words to share with you to ease what you are going through. My husband died 8 years ago and there are still some moments of serious grief.

You will find your way little by little.

Glad to have you on the porch and looking forward to hearing more about you!

Carl46

Despondent, welcome. I guess by this time of night you have found that black-eyed peas are just beans, one of the many delicious kinds of beans. Similarly, the people who post here are "normal" people who have been through a fire but hung in there and cared for the people we loved as well as we could. Some, like me, are still in the fire and are likely to stay there for a while. We aren't all Southerners and we aren't all rural, but we all come here to share our lives, a mishmash of ordinary things.

Hang on to that "warped" sense of humor. My sense of humor has kept me alive for decades.

Lorita

I saved a life tonight, I hope. You all will U I'm nuts. Last evening Lilly found a little mouse, where I don't know. But she wss playing with it. It got away before I could get it. Tonight I heard her playing and she had found the mouse and was terrorizing it. I couldn't stand that so got my grab-it or snake catcher and got the mouse out on the back porch. I watched it and it got up and wobbily walked a little. Decided it would do better in the grass so moved it.. Came back inside but went back out to see if it had moved. It had and I.couldn't find it so hope.it hot to a warm.place and recovers. I don't think she had bitten it, just.played with it.

Mint

Good morning

ronald71111

Welcome Despondent, im a born and reared Louisiana boy that was the soul caregiver for my wife with dementia for 10 years. Lou and I was married for 57 years. She passed away last May 2 days before her 86th birthday.

I love cornbread and if any is left over, you can't help but crumble it up in a glass of milk. Always room on Lorita's front porch fir new friends to share experiences with us.

Ron

David1946

Goodmorning and welcome Despondent we are all here to listen if you want to talk.

Lorita

Morning, pretty and sunny but chilly. Groceries were delivered and are mostly put away. Sort of stocked up and took advantage of the better weather today before it gets so cold.

Today is Sarah's 54th.birthday. Hard to believe she has been gone over five months. Todd is not doing well. Has a terrible cold or flu. He's afraid it could be pneumonia. I urged him to get to a doctor when I talked to him a few days ago. Hope he did.

Got a fresh dozen eggs this morning so will boil the older.ones for the GPs. One of them missed getting washed - first time for that. Reminded me of when Charles and I had chickens and sold eggs at work. We would sit in the LR floor at night and wash eggs if they needed it and put them in cartons for delivery next day. You know we never ate an egg that wasn't cracked, sold the intact ones. They were extra large to jumbo from White Leghorns and we sold them for 50 cents a dozen. I only buy cage free eggs and they are around $5.50 a dozen. Quite a change.

Better put away the rest of the groceries. Stay warm and safe.

David1946

On my way to bingo hopefully I'll win a couple of bucks.

jfkoc

Lorita if you got some chickens you could have fresh range-free eggs!

I have no idea what kind of eggs I buy. Do I need to wash them?

eaglemom

Good afternoon all. Welcome Despondent, we are here for one another, to share things, vent or whatever. I'm glad that you've joined us.

I don't know what has gotten into me. Apparently I woke up thinking it would be a good day to change the sheets, which then lead me to think I'll wash the mattress pad. Followed by the blanket and since I'm at it why not wash the comforter! Then, I thought, rugs….. so now I'm doing rugs. I don't totally dry them in the dryer, just get the dampness off then take them outside to air dry. That wasn't what I'd planned to do today, but its a good day to do it and get it done.

I think I'll take DH and the puppy to the park at the end of the street. I'll watch them walk around the loop and that will get us out of the house and in the sunshine. Maybe the puppy will get a bath when we get home, you just never know.

Let's be safe everyone.

David1946

Well am back from bingo and won a whole 2 dollars

Lorita

We don't have a chicken house now, Judith, so the coyotes would feast on them. The only reason to wash them would be if they had chicken poop on them. Today was the first time I have gotten a dirty one in a carton. The eggs we buy have been washed so have to be refrigerated. I think they don't wash them in other countries do they can sit on the cabinet. Evidently there is some kind of protective coating on eggs when they're laid that washes off on commercially sold eggs. The chickens we had we raised from day old chicks. Only lost one when Gidget, our poodle, knocked a brick over on it. Raising and taking Care of a lot of chickens is a lot.of work.

Congratulations on the win, David..

I know what you mean, Eagle, one thing leads to another. I washed a load of clothes last night and planned on drying them today. Completely forgot about them until Carol.mentioned she was drying clothes.

Ron, I agree, there's not much better than a glass of cornbread and milk. Daddy used to have one a couple of hours after supper. I think I will tonight. I like for the cornbread to be warm.

Carl, looks like you may have some snow in a few days. Do hope we don't get any although it is pretty when the flakes are.big and there's no wind.

Despondent, hope you're doing some better today. I was feeling like that a couple of days ago.

jfkoc

Do you eat the cornbread or put it in the milk?

I would love to have some chickens but know they attract snakes so not happening.

Yea David. You are in the money now!

Laundry. That is a good idea. I am now using Borateam. Clothes seem to be softer.

Yo can buy chicken coops with nesting beds (whatever those are) from Walmart for $100 up. Who knew!

Carl46

Dang it, Lorita, I just finished assuring our new guest that we are "normal" people, and you come in herding mice! What will people think? (Just kidding. You are a good-hearted woman.)

Carl46

When my brother was in pharmacy school, he ate steaks for the first week of every month. Then he lived on cornbread and apples for the rest of the month until he got paid again. Literally.

Lorita

Carl, thanks for the compliment. I had to laugh when I read your post about herding mice I hope the little guy made it. At least your brother aye good a quarter of the time. I'm a vegetarian so would have preferred 5he other three weeks.

Judith, fill your glass half or three quarters full of milk, then crumble in the warm, or cold, cornbread, as much as you liI put in about all I can. I add a sprinkle of salt and used to like a thin slice of onion with it, not in it. Same thing with beans, crumble your cornbread in the beans and add a little of Louisiana hot sauce. I crumbled in a little bit of cornbread in my black eyed peas with the hot sauce.

Now I'm worried again about the very cold weather predicted after a couple of days and the north doors of barn aren't closed. Mike said he found something to go across it inside but they haven't closed it. I know my girls will come down to get out of the wind and cold. Surprising how warm it is inside when all the girls are in there. A few years ago we had snow and we were bottle feeding a couple of babies and it was pleasant with the warmth of the cows and hearing the moms talking to their babies and each other. Guess I need to talk to.him. If they don't have time to do it or see if Bryon can. Always something.

E

Iris L.

Welcome Despondent. Please accept my condolences in your loss.

I had my black eyed peas and collard greens, but I didn't get any cornbread. I got pound cake instead. Yum!

Iris

Carl46

Thanks for the warning about the snow. We're looking at "wintry mix" this weekend, which is a parfait of freezing rain, sleet, and snow that is slicker than almost anything. I'm glad we got DS' podiatrist visit done today instead of having to deal with it during the storm.

My mother, who grew up on a dairy farm before they had electric milking machines, told me it was possible to milk mice. First, you had to get a really tiny milking stool . . .

JeriLynn66

Good morning,

Eggs: unwashed fresh eggs are safe to leave out for 3-4 weeks. Out of direct sunlight. Ours sit unwashed on the kitchen island. The eggs have a protective coating called a "bloom". If the shell is cracked, you should discard the egg. I always crack my eggs into a small dish before using. Smell and texture are indicators of spoilage. Of course, the rotten egg smell is one test, another is the white of the egg: if it's watery you should toss it. NESTING material is to give the chicken a warm and comfy place to lay her eggs and/or sit on the eggs to hatch. There are different materials you can buy that are "pre-cut" to fit in the nesting box but we just use wood shavings (tractor supply). It's warm, easy to remove to clean the nest and can go in the garden as mulch. I've never had a snake in my chicken coop/nesting boxes. It can happen, but I always raise the lid to the nesting area and visually inspect before I stick my hand in there. Mostly the snakes will just steal the eggs and ususally are the "good" kind of snakes - like King snakes who eat/kill venomous ones. Still, I always look and we keep the area around the coop free of other vegetation. On a farm, it's best to "look before you reach". That's the chicken lesson for today, lol.

We are heading into our "wintry mix" Sunday. We don't usually get much snow, but we get ice. And folks here do not know how to drive in those conditions. So we stay off the roads. We've already made our trip to Scottsboro to deliver food and groceries for that reason.

We've had fun having the great grand for a couple of days. But, I truly understand why we have children when we are young. I am exhausted. lol

Have a good day everyone and stay warm/dry/safe wherever you may be.

Mint

Good morning

Judith, I crumble my cornbread up in a bowl or a glass and I pour milk over it. I kinda think of it as cereal. I might have some this morning. I would like to have chickens too, but I’m afraid of them lol.

We got a little bit of a snow overnight and I think we’re supposed to get a little bit more today. They are giving a wet snow for this weekend but I know some people are getting ice. Sounds like a lot of us are in for that type of weekend.

harshedbuzz

Good morning.

Lorita— I buy eggs from a local hobbyist when I can. Lately I've been buying them at the beer store where I get DH's Guiness— they're a mixed bag or colors and sizes. My previous source was a guy whose kids raised hens we'd run into when we grabbed an early dinner at the local bar— his were wonderful but the bar closed. Our Amish market has them as well but I never think to go there.

David— Congratulations on your big win!

Eaglemom— My DH would call that going on a tear. I don't do it as often as I used to or should, for that matter. The DH and DS hate this as it's one of the few times I assign them actual chores.

Judith— Borax does help with the towels. The plumber who did my tun install recommended it as a cleaner for bathrooms. He says it can stave off mold. I need to try that.

Jerilynn— I was taught to always break an egg into a custard cup to avoid getting a bloody egg or shells into a mix. I still do that unless I'm fixing breakfast.

There were king snakes at my parents' place in MD. The locals thought so highly of them, they'd feed them chicken necks to keep them in the area.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

We're supposed to get snow Monday. So far, my Monday has nothing scheduled, so that works. I have a small bone-in pork roast to fix for dinner tonight but need to run out later for some kraut to go along with it. Maybe I'll invite mom over. I need to get DS to deliver her safe to her. It weighs about 40 lbs. and is just awkward to move. My niece's DH carried it into the living room with a 25 lbs. bag of birdseed on top. Oh, to be young.

HB

David1946

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/232840#Comment_232840

HB I don't know what Im going to with my BIG winnings.

eaglemom

Good morning…………

Lorita you have a few days to get the doors closed. Our temps are to drop like a rocket late Sunday, so I'd guess you have until Sunday morning. It looks like you might get some ugly weather with the front though. Keep an eye on the weather channel.

Yesterday's one thing leading to another certainly accomplished a lot and equally worn me out!! After I fixed our dinner and cleaned it up, I showered and was in my jammies by 7:30. DH looked at me and said "this is new!"

David be careful with all of those Bingo winnings!

The dishwasher is waiting to be unloaded. DH loves to help and I do appreciate his help, but I have to watch where he puts things. When we just a couple years into his diagnosis, I wasn't watching and we had no silverware. I looked everywhere, high & low, under & above to not avail. He'd put it away 'somewhere' and it wasn't going to be found. I didn't make a big deal out of it, just said I thought we needed some new silverware. That was my lesson learned. Fast forward months ahead and I stumbled on the lost silverware - in the garage in a pull out drawer in his Snap On tool chest. In thinking about it the tool chest has pull out drawers just like where the silverware goes in the house. Thus, I watch him put things up. I just love that he wants to help.

Let's be safe everyone. Weather is going to affect many.

Lorita

Eagle, funny you mentioned silverware. My mother had alz and the time came when we couldn't find some of her silverware. We eventually found it buried under a shrub in the backyard. I guess she thought it was safer there.

Cold here this morning. It was sunny but has clouded up and looks kind.of foggy. Lots of geese were on the biggest pond this morning but are gone now.

Carl, I'll be looking for that tiny milking stool. I can milk cows but milking a mouse would be a new experience. Hope you don't get bad weather. I can remember leaving work in bad weather with snow blowing across the highway. Made me feel like I was going into noman's land.

Eagle, I talked with Mike about the barn doors this morning. He was loading cattle but said one of his new hands had to go back to South Africa so was short handed and thought he would just close off the barn. He called back in a few minutes and said Bradley would be in this area today or tomorrow and would close them. I would have closed them but he had found something to put across the doors inside so I waited. Our girls like the barn and head for it when it rains or snows.

JeriLynne, we always hay in the hen's nests. We had a long chicken house with the roost in the middle and a stack. of either nine or twelve nests son each end f the henhouse. I don't remember see ing a snake around the chicken house either. I do remember putting my hand under a hen on her nest to get the egg and getting pecked. Mint, I had a friend in high school who was also afraid of chickens.

Looks like the snow will mostly be worst across Kansas with a little as far south as the Oklahoma Kansas stateline. Time for breakfast - back later.

Mint

Eagle you have adapted well it seems in dealing with DH. That’s good for him, letting him do things that makes him feel he still has some ability to help.

we had more snow than I thought. I shoveled an hour or so ago and there was probably 2 inches. It has snowed lightly all day so far.