Replies to Previous Posts

I do appreciate all of your comments each day, and I apologize for not replying personally to each one,every time. It is frustrating to reply on some one's blog post,forever and never hear a word back. I had that to happen here lately, and for whatever reason, I gave up on them and deleted their blog from my followings. Silly,I know, but it was kinda like hugging a tree,if you know what I mean.So thanks for ALL of the nice comments,even though I may not reply specifically to each one,every time.I do appreciate and read each one.Thank goodness I don't have as many as Nancy,Suzanne,and Rhonda.That would require a full time secretary to respond to all,or else a lot of copy and pasting with a generic Thank You.

Terry, they sold pressure canners of every kind last night at the auction.Most brought mere pocket change.Folks are getting back to canning more. I thought they would have brought much more,but many folks are afraid of them.

As for the generator, we had the bad ice storm a couple of years ago, and we bought one then. Thank goodness, we haven't had to use it since.It's one of those things, when you need one, you need one, nothing else will do,but you don't need it that often.

Pop and I have the discussion of folks wanting to burn wood to get some relief on the electric bill,and he is a very wise man.He cuts all of our wood himself. We have access to plenty of wood to cut. Although we don't have any trees on our property, he helps others in our area who do, and they barter with his help where ever needed in exchange for the wood. We purchased a wood splitter after the fire,so that was a tremendous help, considering both our ages and the ages of our friends with whom we barter.My older sister at one time wanted to get into wood burning for her home, but after thinking of all the pros and cons,she decided it would not work that simple for her.If you are not set up for a it, you will run into a lot of hassle from your insurance company. When we built our new house, after the fire, we made it a point to put in an accepted flue,an expensive unit in itself,so there would be no problem with our burning wood. We are so glad we did.If you are younger, and have a good back,access to plenty of wood, an approved flue,and a good stove,you will come out pretty good.If not, you can never come out on wood burning.There's buying the stove,first,then buying the wood,unless you plan to cut it yourself, then that brings up the chain saw. Do you have one.? If not, you'll need to buy one. Then you need to know how to use it, or hire someone to use it. There's gas and oil, and chains for it.And don't forget the mess it all makes.There is so many pros and cons to wood burning,I doubt I will be able to continue on with it, in the event,God forbid,I am left here alone in the future.A little fireplace or stove just for an occasional fire would not be so bad,but even that has it problems.I think I would do like my Mother, and go for one of those infrared heater for supplement heat.No matter what type of heat you use, you will use a lot less, if your dwelling is insulated to the max. Mom lives in a 2 car garage converted apartment,24 by 36 feet,but it is insulated well.Her infrared heater is all the heat she has and she stays as snug as a bug in a rug.I'm not telling you this to throw water on your parade, but it is something to think about.

As for the big kitchen,no, that is my basement. I am so proud of the work I have done with it. Pop has let me do,pretty much, whatever I want to do,down there, which is a miracle in itself. It was unfinished the first year we lived in the new house. Then I started tinkering with it,documenting my works step by step on my blog. I have pretty much come to a standstill with it for awhile, since I am working on MY BIG SECRET PROJECT nowadays.I have more plans for the kitchen area, but I'll get back to it later.


Nancy,Same here and old habits do die hard. A life long habit of canning everything in sight is hard to break. I started canning the very week I was married at the age of 18. My then-husband's grandmother brought us 3 or 4 peaches to eat, and I canned them. There was a dirt cellar under the old house we lived in, and it had a shelf or two. I remember like it was yesterday, canning those peaches and placing them down under the house on those dirt shelves. Thus,the canning bug began.I helped Mom all the years I was growing up, but not because I wanted to. We had to help or else.But since it was for myself after I married, I was so proud I knew how,and therefore,canned my own foods willingly ever since.I,too,end up with a lot of cans of unused things to feed the chickens, but I feel that is not really considered as wasting it, but I am trying to can a lot less nowadays,on that account.

Oh yes,Nancy, I got a package today. That was so nice.Thank you! I was repaying you for the garlic seeds a while back. Didn't expect a return gift, but it came just in time for my birthday next week,so Thanks a bunch for the book marker,soap,and refrigerator magnets. They are all so nice.