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:rolleyes: Hey Les, I made the cupcakes *late* Wednesday afternoon, and by Friday morning they were half gone. And um, there are just two left now. :o
I think I’ve got this eating, eating, eating drill pretty much perfected, because in all seriousness my pants really are all too tight and I can’t go shop for more :(. Thank goodness for sweatpants and the fact that all my video chats with friends only involve my face...!!
Well that's better! :D:p:D
EATING is about all I do!!! I did venture out yesterday and got me some flowers! I went to a locally owned farmer's market, pulled into their parking lot at 7 am, which holds maybe 6 vehicles! I was the only person there and an hour later my truck was full of flowers! It was so nice to go somewhere besides the grocery store and my Uncle Ray's house. Can't wait for the weather to stay nice so I can get those flowers outside, for right now they are in my garage, I always wait until after Mother's Day to plant flowers outside...come on nice weather!!!
Beth and I were talking yesterday about all the eating we are doing and I told her that by the time we could, I would be a WalMart person in church 'cause I won't be able to get into real clothes! :D She's gotten into sourdough bread, making her own starter and baking all these wonderful looking loaves. I'm not specializing in any area.....I cook every day which I never used to do and of course that means I have to eat what I cook since no one else is here. Thankfully I do have a small chest freezer tho and try to put at least some of those things in there for later. Cakes soaked in orange sauce freeze quite well and become a gooey delicious mess. :o:D
Major meat processing plants have been forced to close due to Coronavirus outbreaks. This has created a meat shortage. My local Wendys will not be selling hamburgers for several weeks, as they are not able to get beef. It isn't a big loss for me, as I'm not a big meat eater anyway, but who ever heard of such a thing? There is very little meat available at my local grocery stores and purchases are limited. They have just started to get a handle on paper products and now meat is next. Disenfectants, peroxide, rubbing alcohol and hand sanitizer are still really hard to find and are limited to one, when they do have it. Back to the meat shortage.....I was told today that dog food will be taking a hit. Supplies will start to run out and there will not be sufficient meat available for the plants to produce large batches. Especially hard hit will be the specialty, single protein formulas. If you have a dog needing a particular food, it would be smart to have more on hand to cover any possible shortages that may occur. You might want to pick up an extra bag if you can still find it.
I hope that everyone continuous to stay smart an as safe as possible.
Oy...I guess I should be happy that hubby bought a lot of meat.
Well, it's official, I am on furlough until possibly November. ETS will pay my whole medical, dental and vision until September, but then I'll have to pick up Cobra if I have not been taken back yet or gotten another job. At least I will have time now to enjoy redesigning the garden and spending more time with the grandkids and dogs. Gable and Cooper are both suffering with back problems right now so being home means I don't have to worry about them while at work...silver lining?
I just hope I can get on unemployment!
Oh Joan, I sure hope the unemployment payments do come through for you. But for sure, there’s indeed a silver lining for your family — I know they’ll love having you home! My Luna is so happy having her daddy home with her 24/7. Butt rubs and head scratches anytime, on demand ;-).
Also, Kathy, I hadn’t given any thought to how a meat shortage might affect pet food. But I guess a whole range of supply chain issues may alter the manufacture and contents of some foods. Here’s an article I found from a pet food professional organization that discusses what’s known about the current situation. I guess a lot probably remains unknown, though, because manufacturers are probably not yet eager to publicly disclose any problems they may be facing...
https://www.petfoodindustry.com/blog...ient-shortages
I’ve got probably a couple months of food on hand for Luna. But I feed her kibble, so I don’t want to stockpile beyond the “Best by” dates because I know that kibble can go rancid relatively quickly — especially after a bag has been opened — and that is unhealthy, too. <SIGH> Yet one more issue to be aware of and to try to plan for!
Oh Kathy thank you so much for mentioning the possible issues with dog food. I will get a bag of food for Henry just in case, as he's reacted badly to a couple of foods in the past. One of the local pet stores was offering home delivery so I may see if they have some food in stock.
Here we have started to re-open, which has meant that the places I walk Henry which are usually deserted are now over-run with people :-( We went for a walk in a local park and there were cyclists everywhere, and none of the were even trying to socially distance. I have to say that I've got used to staying home as OH is doing the grocery shopping after I had several really bad flus over Christmas. I think I'm going to feel a bit strange when I go into a store for the first time.
Hey everybody, it’s been a while now since we’ve had folks checking in. I hope all our family is remaining safe! One day just blends into another for me, now. Virtually nothing has changed about our routine here. Hubby and I continue to stick very close to home. Still no haircuts, no restaurant dining, no outings other than just us two & Luna. I’m actually kind of surprised that I’m mentally holding up pretty much OK — I guess that just shows how much of a hermit I really am in spirit. But the prospect of so many more days without end amidst the worsening statistics does cast a deep dark shadow. My county lists data specific down to even our zip code, and unfortunately we’re part of the new upward trend again. I had so hoped that maybe things would settle down some over the summer and give us all enough time for a bit of a break (and the chance to get that haircut!). But right now, definitely not looking so good. At least our stores are starting to regularly stock toilet paper again, so at least there’s that...
One of my few joys has been tending to my container flowers. I do feel the risk is worth it to head over to Lowe’s and Home Depot to pick through their garden shops. I so love my flowers! In that vein, Lori, here’s a question for you if you happen to read this. Hubby was just reading about growing milkweed to lure the monarchs, and I’m wondering whether that would be suitable to grow in flower boxes. Growing up in the Midwest, I saw it growing profusely wild along all the farm roads. I don’t have room for an inground garden in my yard, but I just wondered if I could grow some in boxes or containers, as well. So if you read this, just let me know.
OK, everybody, I’ll close for now. But as I say, I’d love to read some updates from you all, as well.
Do stay safe!
Marianne
Hey Marianne!
I do grow tropical milkweed in containers, common milkweed is what's native in my area and comes up every year. The tropical milkweed I started from seeds indoors because it gets too cold for that type of milkweed as it is a perennial in climates that stay warm all year long. One thing I do want to make you aware of is that when buying plants from a store that they may use pesticides which will kill the caterpillars and butterflies, even though they say they use "environmental friendly" pesticides, they are not. Members have posted on the monarch FB group I belong to that their caterpillars/butterflies have died when they ingested leaves from store bought plants so they recommend washing the leaves with a 19:1 ratio of bleach and water.
At the end of fall before the first frost I bring my tropical milkweed indoors and have very good luck with it thriving all winter long in those containers. Also with the tropical, you can start new plants from stem cuttings, I just snip off a leggy stem, throw it in some water and before you know it there are roots growing.
Still waiting for the monarchs to show up, last years journal states that on the 28th of June is when I saw the first monarch and collected eggs, so hopefully tomorrow will be the day!!!