SHEs Organized

We have gone through several bouts of not having power. I think the longest was 13 days of no electricity due to an ice storm a few years ago. No power meant our main source of heat was gone so everything had to be consolidated to the center of the house so we could be creative in keeping just that part warm. It was bitterly cold outside so getting it up to 50F inside that small area was an achievement. Looking back it seems like ALMOST a fun time because everything we did had to be creative. Coffee pot wouldn't work without power so we switched to making coffee on gas burner. Every 2-3 days we drove 50 miles to plug in and recharge multiple devices at the same time. The little ones slept in sleeping bags with an adult to keep them warm. ANYway, we obviously survived and made some mostly good memories.

Meal prep = I made a quart of Pico de Gallo to use during the week. All ingredients came out of the garden except the onion. My onion harvest from early spring garden is depleted. I need to plan on growing at least 100 onions next year to have enough to last all year.

DS16 friend that spent the night has returned to his home. DS16 chose to attend church by himself this morning. Church attendance is one of the many things that I want DS16 to decide & develop during his independent while being dependent phase.
Now DS16 is home from church and has another friend here. They are driving 10 mile to get something to eat. I offered a half dozen food options here but they want to go eat fast food. I took this opportunity to remind DS16 that fast food is expensive and mostly unhealthy. He grinned and acknowledged what I was saying was true but said he had money in his pocket and wanted to eat fast food.
Learning to make good choices is a process.

Thinking of you bw2, twice in one week. You have your hands full right now.

hello --- dd older took mom to hospital. They are checking her for a UTI now. hopefully that's all it is.
I ran to the store and picked things up for dd older for the week.
I had planned on making choucroute garnie but with all the excitement there isn't time today
Come back to a jumbled home -

d lady praying you get your power back fast. I am glad there are good memories with the power outage last time.
we only had about 3 days out with the ice storm and it was -17. We stayed in our family room bc of the fireplace. I used blankets on the windows and walls to keep the heat in. I am glad you reminded me about that so that I can make sure that we are ready for a cold weather power outage.

my brother in law has a house generator - $$$$$ - but boy it helps them during those times.
I am wondering what I can do for my big freezer if power goes out.

d lady - I didn't have onions this year and I really miss them. I don't know why we had such a problem. I would grow more as well. I also will grow more garlic as I didn't realize that I use it up fast.

it's nice that your ds wanted to go to church. I too feel the same way with my dd's.

oh d Nancy - I could never garden like she does!!!
lol I think its a great way to look at canned foods. - I forced myself to use up the covid canned goods to the point I was like this lol I could have donated them!!!

d twins. hope you are having a good day!
we also have mirrors that we use for power outages - we lay them on a table and put candles or light on top of them to make the light reflect out. helps a lot.

choucroute garnie

I didn't have a clue and was curious so I looked it up. I always learn so much from what others cook.

I miss Cathy.

I have been watching a new-to-me youtuber that prepares native Mexican dishes. I am fascinated by the way she uses basic ingredients to create dishes that I have never heard of. She made a chicken salad then wrapped it in whipped egg whites (meringue) and fried them like patties. WHAT? She uses chorizo in several basic dishes so now I want to find chorizo at the store and/or try making it from scratch. Sooooo much to learn and so little time.
.
Ingredient prep for future dishes continues. Pinto beans and ham bone are in the instant pot.

I have walked and gotten my goal in for today.
Dusted the window sills and the living room has been dusted mostly all done not sure if I got the pic. frames or not however.
Ddoggo is napping and loved helping me eat the chicken I"m trying to use up.
Glad my kitchen is good here today except for one area and I need some thing to put the things I sorted out in one of the p.b. jars jars I think.
During my rounds I found the glove drawer so I need to put those away.
Glad I made it to church today.
Lots of surfaces in various rooms need to be cleared here. Not today but when I do those rooms I can consider that for part of my
15 min. challenges.
I did get the water jugs filled up, I will put them down stairs later.

That feeling when your teenage granddaughter wishes you a safe drive home and asks you text her to let her know you arrived safe....


DC is really such a lovely child and she seems fully recovered now.

She had a rough weekend, traveling to Cathy's area to help clear out her great grandfather's home (he's in hospital and not expected to be released, but if he is, it will be to a nursing home.) She was with her dad and her 2 & 4 year old half siblings. She was tired and she doesn't like being around them much because their mother spoils them so they are annoying to be around. It didn't help that dgs3 (her other half sibling) was still up (we were putting on PJs) when she got home and was running around chanting, DC!, DC!, DC!, DC! I thought it was adorable but she wasn't charmed! He really, really, loves her (as do the other two) but she's resolved to not have children at all.

Dgs and I had a fairly good day. We did park, lunch, nap (unsuccessful), got the car seat reinstalled in the car, drove to the museum which has a charger for my car, walked to a different park, had an early dinner at Egg (that's what he calls McD's, I think the golden arches remind him of eggs at the top), walked back to the car which was fully charged, and drove home. He wanted to go back to the park again but I was watching the black sky to the north and before we got off his street there was lightning so I turned around and took him home. He melted down at that and again when the TV wouldn't work (it lost connectivity due to a power flicker.) I called dh and got the tv back up after a couple of tries. My phone was too low on battery to let him use that, plus he wanted the big screen.

The storm, when it hit, was significant and at one point lightning and thunder hit simultaneously and triggered my car alarm. I squealed at that one but another close one was far enough away that I had time to prepare dgs for the boom. He would look at me, or reach out each time there was thunder but he didn't cry.

By the time I had to drive home the rain was almost completely over so it was a much easier drive than I thought it might be.

Because of fully charging at the museum, I'll be able to get back up over 90% overnight which means I don't have to stop anywhere on the way up to the cottage tomorrow. And I can leave as soon as I'm ready in the morning.

Last night I enjoyed seeing Alabama go down to Vandy, and I enjoyed the subsequent movements of Vandy's goal post. As an SEC fan I always enjoy seeing AL get beat.

I have not fully cuop yet, but had to respond to Twins thoughts on the AL-Vanderbilt game. YES. We were pretty happy here too (dgs & me). It was fun to watch them carrying the goalpost down Broadway! That is a LONG walk! (I bet a lot of those students had some extra FUEL in them, though, and the sheer excitement and adrenaline rush would be enough to keep them going.)
Of course, we'd already seen our Tigers lose to GA, but that was not such an unexpected event. NO ONE expected us to beat Georgia, but my goodness, EVERYONE expected AL to beat Vandy! Have you seen where Nick Saban said that Vanderbilt was the only school in the SEC where it wasn't hard to play? He would have never said that if he were still coaching, IMHO. And have you seen the footage of AL's Malichi Moore throwing a fit? He refused to come out when they sent in his substitute, and he kicked the ball out of place after the referee set it for the play. This was all in the last minute or so of the game!
I would love to hear dh's take on all this.

Kathryn, I am so glad things are going so well with DC! That is so sweet, her asking for you to let her know when you arrived home!
I saw where you were concerned about your dsis... and I definitely can relate to being in the sandwich generation. I am so thankful my dmom is doing fairly well, healthwise and mentally, but I know at her age, I cannot take anything for granted. (((BIG HUGS))) and prayers as you manage how to deal with your dsis. Maybe time at your cottage will be helpful to you after all you've been dealing with -- a full re-charge for YOU!

Waving to Harriet and Nancy -- WTG on storm prep, Nancy!

LadyM, ds, ddil, and dgs all have Life360 on their phones, and I think it is a wonderful thing! With ds travelling so much, it helps ddil to feel better, knowing where he is at all times, and of course with dgs, although he's only 12, it's nice for him now that he has a little independence with football practice and everything. Just a little security that he is where he's supposed to be. Of course, if I ever take the dgrands to Auburn on my own, it will be an extra layer of security for all of us. It will also be invaluable when he starts driving! I didn't know it would track speed and all these other things. DH never wanted it on our phone, LOL, and I have not added it since dh passed. I don't really want them tracking my every move, but I may change my mind.
I still eat like your ds, I'm sorry to admit... money in my pocket and I want fast food.
Tonight, dgs and I ate at the chicken finger place, which was totally ridiculous. We had chicken fingers, potato salad, and baked beans in the refrigerator! They had been there since Friday, and everything had been sitting out on serving tables for over an hour on Friday, so when dgrands didn't eat them over the weekend, I decided to throw them out. I don't have an air fryer, and it seems a lot of trouble to get chicken heated up and keep the crispy-ness.

(((Blessed))) I hope they solve your dmom's problem soon!

My dmom has considered getting a whole house generator. I wish she would. She has gas logs in her "sun room," but I would hate for her to be without electricity for very long.

Well, I see I haven't posted since Wednesday night. I think I was just recuperating Thursday -- after having crying jags all day Wednesday, I ended up taking 30 mgs of Paxil by bedtime Wednesday, (20 mid-evening and the normal 10 at bedtime) and that might have made me kinda groggy Thursday. I did NOTHING Thursday. Friday, I slept pretty late again, and then it was rush-rush-rush to run errands and get desserts to the bandroom at the high school -- our church was feeding the band and alumni members. They didn't have more than a dozen alumni show up, but one was a majorette who is now in her 80s. She's a friend of my family, so it was good to see her. The rest were mostly college age, and one was a former student so it was good to see him. He asked about dh, and he felt so bad when I had to tell him dh had passed away. I felt worse for him than I did for myself. When people do that, they are so embarrassed, but I tried to tell him it was fine. I understand that not everyone keeps up with the newspaper and Facebook all the time.
Anyway, dgrands were with me then, and we left there and went to the ballgame. Saturday, they were with me all day, so no computer time... and today, we went to the local church where ds's band was playing. That was nice, and they had potluck lunch for us afterwards. When I got home with the dgrands, dgd wanted sooo badly to go with her daddy to their show tonight. I called ds and told him, and he said, "Well, bring her on over; she can go with me." That made her day. I know she must have felt so big, getting to go to a show without me and her big brother tagging along. We could have all gone, ds said, but dgs was claiming he felt feverish and dragging a bit, so I thought it was better for us to just stay home. He didn't especially want to see the show tonight.

Anyway, they are all back home safe and sound and I am trying to enjoy being in charge of NO ONE for the first time in 72 hours.
Book fair at 10:00 tomorrow, and dgs' ballgame at 5:00.