Thursday, March 04, 2021

Why You Should Listen to Your Elders

 Not always, but in this particular case, I'm talking about Disasters, Natural or otherwise.

As you're reading this, there is an extremely good chance there is a Disaster of some sort in progress somewhere. Disasters happen all the time, always have, and always will.
You can't stop a Disaster from happening, but you can better your chances of surviving the Disasters you will most assuredly experience in your lifetime.

 As most of us know, much of Texas just experienced a Winter Weather Disaster. Ice, snow, frigid temps, power outages, in areas not prepared for such an event. 

The internets were filled with people looking to shift responsibility from themselves to someone else.
"It never gets this cold here!", "We weren't warned about this ice storm!", "They said 15 minute rolling blackouts, not 4 hours....days!, "Not everybody can afford to go out at the last minute and buy a bunch of groceries!"

In the past, however many years, I'd say, 30'ish, people have gone from independence, to almost complete dependence. 

I personally stood in the precipice of this happening, in the year 1993.  

Prior to that, most homes still had boxy rooms with doors/dividers, gas heaters/wood stoves/fireplaces, kerosene lamps, canned food in the root cellar/basement. For many hundreds/thousands of years, people survived winter weather without meteorologists warning them, and/or without electricity. 

When I was a kid in 1973, we experienced an Historic ice storm in the Atlanta 'burbs.  I don't know if it was predicted, but it didn't matter if it was or wasn't, it happened. 
Back then, maybe electricity was still new enough that it was still somewhat of a luxury, so if/when it went out, people just waited patiently for it to get turned back on.

And there was no way, shape, or form the Government was going to show up to provide you with food, water, and shelter, so screaming/demanding about that wasn't even a consideration. Neighbors and churches and even strangers helped each other out. 

We had more snow/ice events throughout the next 20 years, a couple were fairly significant, namely "Snow Jam '82", and the "Blizzard of '93". 

The Blizzard of '93 happened in March, after daily high temps of 70'sF, and wasn't really predicted pretty much until it started, and even then, IIRC, they didn't know it was going to be an actual blizzard.

By 1993, I was married with a couple kids, living in John-the-husband's grandfather's old house. Now, this old house should have been a perfect blizzard shelter. Small rooms, able to close off rooms to save on heating, well water, fireplace.
But, it wasn't. 

I have no idea how JtH's family survived in that house. The walls were not only not insulated, they weren't finished inside. There were studs and exterior shiplap siding. Basically a tree house. They only had a fireplace with an old style chimney no flue to prevent down draft. 

As I had never really survived a Disaster on my/our own, I didn't think about things like insulating and finishing the interior walls. Instead, I enclosed the front porch to make the living room larger, and also opened a wall between the living room and kitchen and created a hallway to the bathroom. While we could still close the bed room doors off, then we had to heat a larger living room and hallway and room addition on the back of the house.
We did seal off the fireplace and install a wood heater, but during that blizzard, sub-freezing temps, it was completely useless. 

Also, we had an electric instead of gas kitchen stove.
Luckily my in-laws lived across the street in a single wide trailer, and had a gas kitchen stove that pretty much heated the whole place so we were able to stay warm and eat cooked food.

You know who I blamed for me/us not prepared any better than we were for a Disaster?
No one. 

The next year, 1994, didn't really effect us, but it did a lot of others. The great flooding of Middle Georgia.
It started raining July 4th - I remember because I had on my coat and long pants outside trying to set off illegal fireworks - and it didn't stop for like 17 or 19 days straight. John worked in Macon at that time, and I told him he'd better not go, but he said he had to go.
A few hours later he called and said he was getting out of there, so if I didn't hear from him in a couple of hours...I forget what he said, but anyway, he did make it home. 

We haven't experienced flooding - yet. It's unlikely we will, but I've learned to never say never.
I don't really have a full-fledged emergency plan in case of flooding. We don't live near a dam or levee that could suddenly break, the most of the flooding around here is from the river rising in down town, and it takes time for that to happen, so I'm mostly counting on the fact we'd likely have enough prior warning that we'd follow the fire plan: grab the go-bags and get out. 

In October 1995, Hurricane Opal reached our area. We were lucky to have not taken much damage, as far as no trees on the house, but the electric was out for a week. Luckily the temps were mild so mostly we hung out, ate and used the bathroom at the in-laws across the street (so much for well water, the pump was electric). 

The vast majority of Disasters we face most often is severe weather/tornadoes. We're subject to getting hit by a tornado any day of the year. We've had them as early as January, as late as December. 

Used to, my tornado emergency plan was just to hide from it. You want to go to the middle of your house with interior walls on the lowest floor. I didn't really have an after-plan.  I think I thought we'd just hang out here and protect what ever was left from looters and...I don't know, or my Momma and Daddy would come get us. 

Now, I don't particularly care about looters. I keep two bags in the tornado shelter with us, one has my important papers, the other has pictures/external hard drive back up. If the house is damaged enough it's not safe to stay in it, and we can get out, then looters can have it. That's what I got insurance for.

But now I've gotten a few years on me, and seeing things that happen, and I'm aware there's a some what decent chance our area could get freight-trained by a tornado, and the roads blocked by lines, trees, debris, and we might not be able to get out to go anywhere else for awhile.
That's why I have a bin in a - hopefully safe'ish - small closet with things like an oil lamp/oil, hand cranked flashlight, batteries, first aid supplies, a small camping stove and a couple small bottles of propane, matches/lighters, basic tools,  and I forget what else.
I've got water and food stored, and in addition, emergency food kits like tuna, peanut butter, crackers, tins of fruit, etc. in case my stored food were to be lost for some reason. 

My next house is going to have a fully kitted out safe room in the middle of an underground basement. 

Weather isn't the only Disaster you might face.
As John-the-Husband works in Emergency Services - firefighter/EMT - we have gone through "epi-/pandemics" for years. 

You may or may not have heard much about SARS/MERS, Zika, West Nile, Ebola, this Flu, that Flu, but he - meaning we, because I hear about what he learns - were going through some pretty serious infectious disease trainings pretty often. 

Way back then I had decided on the necessity of preparing for being sick, and not going, or not being able to get to a doctor. Self-doctoring, like we used to do, before HMO's.
Now I always make sure I keep on hand: ginger ale, gatorade (or other electrolyte drink mix), chicken noodle soup, jello, ice pops, throat drops, pain/fever reliever, other OTC meds for cough/cold/congestion/tummy upset/diarrhea, and lots and lots of kleenex. 

We have sinus allergies, pretty much all the time, so go through kleenex like crazy. I usually buy a couple boxes when ever I grocery shop or am at Dollar Tree just to have extras on hand. By extras, I mean I keep about a dozen or so boxes on hand all the time. If I get less than that, I feel like I'm 'nearly out'.  

(To be continued.....)


Thursday, January 14, 2021

Well, I blink and a week has gone by like it was only one day. 

I think I must be mostly in hibernation mode...asleep-awake. 

I had the last of the collards and ham for lunch one day. I don't think they're working this year.

 
I got some pie filling canned up. 
     Back in the Spring/Summer, when everything was coming ripe and I didn't have time to do everything, I knew I could bag some of the things and can it later, in the "off" season. So I froze blueberries, blackberries, and muscadine grapes. 

I decided this week to work on the blueberries.
    I'm thinking it might have been an easier job if I had sorted, cleaned, and de-stemmed them before freezing them. 

I didn't notice when I put the bags out to thaw that I grabbed a bag of blackberries (raspberries?), too. No problem, I just made a quart&pint of blackberry (raspberry?) pie filling too. 



Other than that, we laid some new peel 'n stick tiles and replaced the toilet upstairs. 
     John-the-husband worked on the living room ceiling...some of the drywall we had put up hadn't gotten screwed in all the way and had started sagging, plus there were about 6-inches at one edge that hadn't gotten any drywall put up yet, so we got that done. Plan is to put up wood on it next. 
    I worked on my painting the kitchen cabinets project. I divided the kitchen in "sections" to work on, so I didn't get overwhelmed or have too much messed up at one time.  The plan worked pretty good. I just need to install handles on three drawers to be finished with the second to the last section, then after that there's only the under-the-kitchen-sink cabinets left to go and I'll be completely finished. 

I didn't feel too good yesterday. I had a tummy ache earlier in the week after eating spaghetti and bread for supper, but was okay after that.
    Yesterday morning as I waking up in the morning, I thought I had a bad headache and that I coughed so hard it hurt my chest, like I had last year. (I'm reasonably sure I had the C0V1D last January, after we got back from a cruise. Never been so sick in my life.)  Anyway, when I woke/got on up, my head hurt a little but not bad, and I wasn't coughing any worse than usual, so I said well, guess I dreamed it.
     My upper back, upper arms and neck hurt, but they've been hurting since like around Thanksgiving so I didn't figure that was anything new.
     But then I was nauseous, and had to go to the potty, and was tired and just felt like ugghh. 

I didn't think it was C0V1D but it seems like every symptom, or no symptom, is C0V1D, so I went on and got tested and it was negative, like I thought. 

So it's probably just general Winter/Yuk season malaise, eating bad, and stress.

Thursday, January 07, 2021

More Saving and Stocking Up

 I got on out to Kroger and shopped the deals I wanted before some yucky weather sets in today/tomorrow. Probably just rain/cold for us....but I've lived through enough "oops" forecasts that I wouldn't be surprised to wake up to a full-fledged blizzard or ice storm. As I always say, "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst".
But even if it is just rain/cold, those are good days to stay in and be warm and dry and snug as bug in a rug at home, not out in the misery trying to save a buck.

Since I keep pretty well stocked up, I didn't *need* any of this right now. And these sales come around and around, so it wouldn't have been worth going out in bad weather for.
But I will need/use this stuff eventually, and nothing was going on this morning, the weather is overcast but dry, chilly but not frigid, so it was a good use of the time to go on and buy the things while I can get them for a lot less than having to pay full price if I end up needing something when it's not on sale.

Also, Lady-bird-pup-dog enjoyed the ride in the car.

 
So, what I got:

Jif PB is on sale for $1.49 as part of the "Buy 5, get $1.00 off" Mega sale. You don't have to buy 5 of the same item, just groups of 5 items included in the entire Mega sale.
I had loaded a digital coupon to my Kroger card for .75 off, so I only paid 74cents.
Great price for Jif, or PB in general. 

The Tampico juices were .49 Mega sale price, no coupons needed. 

Some Quaker and General Mills cereals were on sale for $1.79 Mega sale price. That's a great price for cereal considering normally they run upwards of $3, $4 a box.  If you have a coupon, even better.
I had a digital coupon for $1.00/2 boxes of Big G (General Mills), and a printable* coupon for .75 off Quaker, so I saved $1.75, or basically got one of the boxes for 4cents.
(*Be aware, not all stores accept printable coupons.) 

The butter was my main objective. Real butter is pretty expensive, $2.50 a box at WM, and up. Aldi sometimes has it for $1.79, but I don't like the taste of Aldi butter at all, so I generally stock up when it's on sale for $1.99 at Kroger.
Today I got it for $1.77 with digital coupon.
The butter wasn't part of the Mega sale, but the digital coupon was able to be used up to 5 times. 

(I know, it's a lot of rules and things to figure out and keep straight, but I consider like a board game, a challenge. If my totals add up in the end, I win the game!) 

Carefree, Stayfree, Kotex and possibly other items I didn't pay attention to were $1.99 Mega sale price. I had a digital coupon, and also a printable coupon for $3.00/2 Kotex by U products, so I paid 49cents per box. !!!
I just nearly bought a box or two of these at WM yesterday to put in my stash closet, but they didn't have any Super size ones and they're the ones we needed. We have plenty of the Regular size ones.
    Even if I didn't have the coupons, $1.99 a box is great price for these as they're usually $3.00-plus a box.

The Carefree Breathe pad/liners also had a $1.50/1 digital coupon (and a printable coupon, although I only used the digital coupon this time) so they were also 49cents. We don't normally use these, but pads are always a good thing to keep in your stock pile for "you never know when you might need these" reasons. 

At .49, these kinds of things are especially good for buying to donate to church pantrys and/or women's shelters. Even at the $1.99 price it would be a good thing to buy to donate if you want to do some useful donating.
    You could just donate money...not trying to be judgy but...I find that when you give anyone money, be it an individual or organization, they don't always make the best use of it, don't try to get more for the money. They'll buy brand name, or not bother to shop a sale, or use a coupon. You could donate like a third* more product buying these at $1.99 then you'd end up giving them if you handed them $20 and let them buy it. (*Don't check my Math, I'm not really good at it, lol). 

Suave Body wash is .99 Mega sale price, I used a .75 digital coupon making it 24cents.
Tresemme Shampoo is $2.99 Mega sale price, and I used a $2.00 digital coupon making it 99cents.
    These are the kind of things I buy a little at a time, here and there, when the price is good, to stick into my stock pile. So when the next unforeseen event happens - weather, illness, unrest, etc - then I'm not having to worry about getting stuff I need. Like toilet paper.

Speaking of which, they had boxes of this cheap toilet paper for .69 a pkg. WM has a cheap 4-roll for .60 so it's a little cheaper, but I was here, and this was cheap enough to get a couple to put in the stock pile. 

Kleenex are on sale 4/$5, or $1.25 each. Includes from 65ct up to 144ct sizes. Depending on what you like/need, we're not extremely choosy so of course I got the most for the money, 144ct.
I only got these because I had a $1.00/4 digital coupon, which made there $1.00 a box, which is what I pay for tissues at Dollar Tree.
    We do use a lot of kleenex, all of us suffers allergies and sinus issues, so I pick up anywhere from 1 to 5 boxes at a time any time I go into DT whether I need them at the time or not, because I know I will need them eventually, and I want to make sure I have enough to tide us over for awhile in event of "supply interruptions". 

The cookies were mark-down priced for $1.00, and hot chocolate is a favorite around here, so they're a treat. 

My total savings was $45.11, or 61% of what it would cost paying regular price/not using coupons. 

Also, I saw on the register I could be saving 5% with a Kroger credit card. It more said something to the effect of ..."you could save 5%..net...or on certain products net..." I can't remember, but it sounded like there might be a catch, so I'm off to check it out and see if it'd be worth getting it.


Wednesday, January 06, 2021

Get 'em While the Gettin's good

 I used to cook meatloaf every so often because, I don't know, my Mom did, I guess. I wasn't a fan of meatloaf, or the recipe I was using then, which if I remember rightly involved ketchup and...No, I can't remember. 

I remember, I guess me and my sister were discussing how we cook meatloaf, and she used Worchestershire sauce, or maybe it was Soy?  Onions and peppers, which I didn't use because I didn't care for those, either. 

I don't remember what/where/when/how after that, but one day, like a light bulb flicking on over my head, I thought, 'I wonder if Manwich sauce would be good in meatloaf instead?'.
Answer: Yes. 

Well, any sloppy joe sauce.  Back then, a few times one or the other of the grocery stores would have something like a "Buy 5, get 50cents off", or $1.00 off, sale, and Manwich would be 50cents a can and I'd buy up about 10 or 12 cans. 

But then they didn't have the sale, and didn't have the sale. I ran out and have been paying 82cents a can for GV brand at WM.
So last week Publix had it BOGO (buy one get one....free), which made them half price, or 57cents a can.  Wasn't 50cents, but it's been a few years, so I guess, inflation. 57cents was better than 82cents.


My own recipe for gluten-free meatloaf muffins: mix 1lb. ground beef, 3/4cup oatmeal, 1 egg, 3/4 can sloppy joe sauce (save the rest to spoon on the tops of the meatloaf muffins). Spoon into muffin tin and spoon rest of sloppy joe sauce onto the tops. Bake at 425* about 1/2 an hour. 


This week Ingles grocery has some of my favorite breakfast items on sale. 

The Store brand pancake syrup is BOGO for 99cents each.
I pay like $1.38 for WMs brand, so this is a deal for me. We use a good bit of syrup.

They have Quaker Oats 18oz container BOGO for like $1.99 each, but then I saw they have the larger 42oz containers of the store brand oats BOGO for $1.64 each. Much better deal for the money. 

The Quaker instant oatmeal is BOGO for 1.99 each. I feel like they have these on sale 2/$3, or $1.50 each sometimes, but for all I know that sale may be extinct forever and maybe this will be the new best price, so I went ahead and picked up a couple of boxes. If they go on sale 2/$3 I'll buy somemore. 

I could get store brand instant oatmeal as cheap or cheaper, but none of the store brands carry Raisins & Spice, which is the only instant oatmeal I like. They only have like raisins, dates & walnuts or some such. Yuk. 

They also have some Kellogg's cereals BOGO for $1.99 each, but I think I'm currently stocked up pretty good on those particular cereals, and also Kroger generally has the typical Kelloggs cereals cheaper on sale, $1.79.
This week Kroger has General Mills and Quaker Capt Crunch cereals for $1.79 wyb (when you buy) 5, and there's coupons for 75cents off a box of Quaker, and 50cents off 2 boxes of General Mills, so that makes them a little cheaper. I may pick up a couple of boxes there, just because they're a little cheaper. 

Mostly I'm aiming to get to Kroger to buy 5 boxes of store brand butter at $1.77 a box. Usually I stock up when they're on sale for $1.99 a box, so $1.77 is even better.
I might would buy more than 5, but it's a digital coupon loaded to my shopper card deal, not the 'Get $1 off wyb 5 items' sale, so 5 is the limit for the price. 

~ * ~

For things I stock up on, not on sale, I usually get from Dollar Tree or WM because the prices are cheaper. I had to go to WM to pick up a prescription for my son who's sick with a sinus infection, and I had Colas and canned vegetable beef soup on my shopping list. Also burger buns, but they were out.
While I was there I picked up some 'just to have extras' things.

I can't remember everything, but I stock GV pizza crust mix at 52cents each, canned pasta, ie spaghettio's w/meatballs, ravioli, burger macaroni I forget the name of at 60cents a can. National Cup tea bags $1.00 a box. GV pork n beans 33cents a can. Raman soup hot-n-spicy bowls, I think they were 37cents each.
I forget what else.

I bought one package of toilet paper to put in my closet, and a box each of wet cat and dog food. I'm not out of cat and dog food, but if I have a box open, I like to have a closed box as back up. Or bag. I also keep an extra bag of dry cat and dog food, and chicken feed and scratch grains. 

~ * ~

Last night I was on the WM website (looking at electric blankets) and saw an ad that says you can get 5% cash back on your purchases at WM dot com, including pickup and delivery, with a WM credit card. And also you can get 5% cash back for the first 12 months in store using WM Pay. 

I'm not one to have a lot of credit cards, generally we have one we use at a time that will have 0% interest for 12 or 18 or 21 months.  (That's another story for another time.)
But I do have a Target card that gives me 5% off my purchases the very rare times I shop there, my Amazon card gives me 5% cash back on purchases at Amazon, and we have a Murphy USA card to save 5cents a gallon on gas there.
I shop more at WM than anywhere (I'm ashamed to admit) so of course I should be saving 5% on my purchases. Be dumb not to. 

I'll just have to get in a better habit of using pickup more. I've used it a couple of times, but I'm not really a schedule and appointment kind of person. I like to decide on the spot to go to the store.


Monday, January 04, 2021

Little House Album


My first little glitter 'putz' house.

2nd one, log cabin. I used the wrong glitter and it didn't look good.

3rd project, Churches, made for gifting.

Tiny putz vintage camper.
Added a hanger and made it an ornament





















Fire Station

First four putz creations displayed.


Attempt at recreating a "Shiny Brite" Nativity. Figures too small.

Displayed in my china cabinet with stick-on battery lights for illumination.

Halloween house

Gingerbread houses, made for gifting.

Gingerbread house

I trimmed these out, but can't find a picture of them finished.

Beach scene

Tiny village houses.

Haunted house.

(*Also made a red barn I gifted to my cousin...need to find picture.)