A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Coffee House 2603

Hello. Keep cool. Fall is coming.

Why yes it is ! I had the most wonderful cool walk tonight. There was even a slight slight breeze.

Not cool here yet but I turned on the ceiling fan and the lights and sat on the screened in porch this evening and watched the hummingbirds. Was nice.

We are going to be in the hundred teens all weekend. Lots of rest for me and some cool showers too.

Sweet dreams all.

Good night...or good morning...
Sleep well.

Well, it is coming for me but not for you Tina

I got the sides of the sheds stained, I used a full coverage instead of a semi transp. this time...it looks good. I also took down my flower box on the garden shed since the wood was rotted out in places. One more big chore completed.

GB is waiting for me to pick him up for his visit and sleepover.

Have a good day with the GB, Sunny.

Good morning.

Temps to be in the low 80's all weekend here. I hate to see winter coming but I love fall.

Another job done, Sunny. Good for you.

Sunny, did you use a sprayer to stain your shed? Mine needs painting but I think I'll end up hiring it out. I'd make such a mess doing it myself. I want to make some window boxes for it. I've got the wood, from our old barn, but not the tools to do it. I did redo the 2 window boxes at the kitchen windows. Once the big tree came down the stuff in them burned to a crisp so I pulled out the dead and added a little new.

We were without electricity for several hours today. Hot, hot, hot!. It mat get below 90* tonight, but just barely.

Oh my, So sorry, Tina. Do you have a basement you could escape to ?? I am so happy that your power us back on.

Going to bed soon..........sweet dreams everyone.

No basement here. I don't think that would have helped much. It was 116* today and supposed to go up a degree tomorrow.
Sweet dreams all.

Keep safe Tina.

No Sheri, just a brush....no sprayer here. I like painting though.

Good morning. Applebutter making is on the agenda today.

But coffee first.

Starting my morning with iced coffee. By the time it's done it'll be tepid coffee. If I had the room in my freezer, I would freeze coffee the make cubes to make it last longer. Teddy has been drinking more Carnation Instant breakfast and I'm not scrutinizing the ingredients label like I normally would. Also some cold potato soup, tomato soup (gazpacho) and other cold soups without lumps for him. He likes the taste of onions and things but not if they are the least bit textured so everything is blended for him.

Tina was the power turned off by the company to save electricity? Our power company does that once in a while and I just hate it. I love gazpacho. Haven't made it in a long time.

Hello.
Campbell' s Soup used to make a a gazpacho, that I just loved that. There was only one store in the large town close to us that carried it. and I had not.seen it for years before we moved.

I am glad that there is something that Teddy will drink in these hot times. That makes me smile.

Applesauce and sugar are in the slow cooker. Now to wait for it to boil and such...then I will add the spices...

No, the power company was working on the lines. We may get outages if we get winds. I hate that too.

Wow! Well at least you knew what was going on, huh ??

No I found out afterwards. Very frustrating. I won't know if they turn it off to conserve energy until it's back on either. Now knowing why, how long And such can drive you nuts.

Sweet dreams all.

I bet it is frustrating.

Going to bed....finally. Goodnight sleep tight.

Your weather and power issues were on the morning news here Tina, I can see many in your area turning to solar power if they can afford it. Keep safe

Yesterday I added another row to my garden, digging out the sods. My garden is now officially bigger than my house. My house is 24X32 and my garden is 25X32

Today I am stacking 3 cords of wood from the rows outside into our wood shed..slow and steady wins the race.

How much wood do you go through a year, Sunny? Take care.

Sunny are you going to plant something in that new row? Or is this for next season? Do you cover your garden during the winter? A person on the Not Just Tomato forum, who lives in PA, covers her garden with straw for the winter. She says it helps her ground warm sooner and she can plant earlier than her neighbors. Since your ground is constantly under a million feet of snow not sure that would help you

Our power company lies. I wish they'd just admit they're cutting power during peak times to conserve energy but they won't. For years our power would go out at the same time every Sunday, so we'd call and report it. I started asking if that's what was going on so I could plan around it and I'd stop calling and the rep would say "no", your power company is concerned about you, as a customer, and wouldn't do a thing like that. BIG coincidence that it went out at the same time every week and stayed off for the same amount of time. When it cooled off it stopped until the next summer peak season. I started planning around it anyway. Just tell it for petes sake.

We don't have basements around here either.

Good morning.

I asked.about the basements because it is about 60-68*F in ours year round. That would be a blessing if our power went out.

So glad the power thing has not ever happened me. So sorry for you both.

My tomatoes here must be the indeterminate types. In IL they were of "normal" height..and they bore then they were done. I think I liked them better. Easier to keep tied up.

Interesting about the garden, Sheri. My dad did not ever do that so I did not. I would think if you tilled.in the straw in the spring it would help the soil too. Good idea all around.



We are grilling out tonight.

Tina, I use less than 4 cords a year...I had almost a cord left from last year. My house is small and my woodstove is centrally located so the heat warms fast.

Sheri, the new row will be for extra potatoes next year. I used to put straw over my strawberries but they mildewed from it.....we can't plant early due to frost so the straw would not matter.

Junie, I have never seen any kind of tomato plant grow higher than 3 ft around here.....and that was with rich fertilizer.

I am glad you are set for winter, Sunny. Are you ready for school to start? And is GB in school this year or still day care?

Tina: California, especially your area, was in the news tonight. Are you and yours safe from the fires ???

Junie, I think I could get used to staying in your basement. Do potatoes and butternut squash store well in those temps. Some people around here keep potatoes under their house but I'll bet they can't keep them for months. Our crawl space is cool but when it's 100° for days on end and then doesn't get freezing for many days, I'm sure potatoes won't survive long.

I used to have a wood burning fire place and am sorry I changed it to gas. Gives me a headache.

I never tried to keep squash, Sheri, but I kept potatoes in my cellar out on the farm, and then at the house in the basement in Worden. and yes they kept very well there.
At the farm.I would have garden potatoes.until.January
and in town in Worden i would have them until.november ( the few years I had.potatoes in town).
Here it is what few I can manage to get from a pot --perhaps enough for a meal or 2.

I loved my wood burning stove. That heat is like no other. Rod.spoke.of.putting one in.in.town at Worden, and then again when we.moved here. But never.mind the work for doing it, the insurance would be so very high that it would not be cost effective.
I still.miss the wonderful heat it.provides.
As an example, 72 with wood heat is much more comfortable than 72 with gas heat......climbing down from my soap box now.

I have never stored food either. It doesn't work here.
No, the nearest fire to me is 35 miles away, Carol. Just smoke from the local and from the ones up north are bugging my eyes a little.

Glad to hear the fires are that far away, Tina.I

Good night , sleep well, Tina!I

Sweet dreams all.

Tina, we are ready as we'll ever be. GG starts Thursday and GB starts Kindergarten on Wednesday....it is a staggered entry this week. GG only has a little over 70 students(that includes 9 grades) at her school, I'm not sure on GB's but there were too many little ones so they had to split the Kindergarten class into two.

I got all the Winter's wood stacked into the shed for Winter.

Sheri, many here have basements(if they have a large house)because of the need for a wood furnace to heat it but most small houses(like mine) just have a 4 ft crawl space. The down side is that if you have a wood stove(like mine) as your main source of heat then you can't get house insurance.

Today will be a clean and mop day.

My.DD.school and her.son' s school are both still open. I am surprised. But I say good.for them.

I am.up early.....it is getting warm again and it was hot in the.bedroom. We are.drinking.the last of the new.coffee that I bought the last time.we went to the coffeehouse here. It is a small bag. We can make.2 pots with the coffee inside.

Since Carol did not get to read on National book day ( who makes up this stuff) that is what I am doing today. Well, besides going to the little meat market. Carol has 2 dinners of chicken and one of.ground pork left and that is all.
I really dislike being out of ground beef.

Good that you are winter ready, Sunny. I hope it is a mild one.
May your kids and grands remain healthy, Carol and Sunny. It is interesting times.

You are.being.so polite, Tina. Thanks a lot, Tina.

I th think it is nap time.

Our school return has been set back to Oct. And I am so happy for that even though I no longer have children involved. We just don't know enough about covid to expose our children. We are learning new things all the time. A bunch of college football players who showed up for practice at camps became infected with covid. They all survived ,I think. But about a third of them have heart conditions that they didn't have before.
How many will have permanent damage to lungs, hearts, kidneys and livers? There are talks about other things and wondering about permanent damage like blood clots, nerve damage in the brain. It is all the side stuff I worry about and our kids. A whole generation of kids.
Being polite is the only thing to do and quietly pray that my nightmares don't come true.

Oh my that information is frightening, Tina. I do appreciate your sharing it though.

I do wish I had of read it before I went to get my meat. My neighbor and catch up when I go to get meat. We were talking about Covid. She would have appreciated the information, I am sure.

You can't take anything said as gospel. I read a lot to learn. But I don't have the materials at my fingertips.Here is an article that disputes the article I read.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/skeptical-cardiologist/88446
He doesn't dispute that the kids had the heart conditions, just that they shouldn't cancel the kids football because of it. I don't agree with him but I'm still reading and learning.
And I don't have a kid involved. I'd like them to take to the prisons and test a lot of recovered prisoners for some of these things and get more info on it all. There are at least 4 million people across the nation that have had covid and recovered who would love to get tested for these things to help future humanity (and themselves). People who haven't recovered their sense of taste or smell that would like to know why. People who have recovered on paper but they don't feel recovered at all.
We don't know enough about this to put our children on the front lines.

Tina, the heart problems in the kids is being discussed on our news. They are calling it 'inflammatory syndrome'.....I can't imagine the damage done to organs when this is finally investigated.

Yes, Myocarditis means heart inflammation. It's all very scary. I think much of Canada is in good shape to open. And that the doors will slam shut if covid starts up again.
yes
California learned some lessons, I hope, and will open slowly and test, test, test. Our students are learning remotely until we can pretty much go back to school in person.

Sunny, I had no idea about the wood stove and no insurance. I've never heard anyone mention that here but it might be the case. All I know about insurance is that when Ginger lived on St. Simons they had to pay $800.00 a month for flood insurance on top of their house payment.

Junie, I'm out of meat also. If I've learned anything from all of this is that I can freeze meat, thaw it, then eat it without dying. I'm not even sure why I couldn't do it before.

I am so glad you can freeze meat now. It opens up a whole slew of options for meals, Sheri.

Yes, freezing meat is the best. One can buy in bulk, pack up that meat into meal sized portions, and save a lot of money.

Today I bought pork chops, packages of pork steaks, ground pork, ground beef and ground beef patties...i had 2 or 3 dinners of chicken at home yet, as well as sausage links.
I think we are good for awhile now.

Good night all. Sleep Well.

It's a good thing we can freeze meat....I wouldn't farm if we couldn't.

Rain for today here.

Good morning !

Good morning. No rain here but I sure would like some.

I wish I could send you some Tina.

GG starts school tomorrow....for how long, I do not know.

Hello. I had to water my tomatoes and flowers tonight. No rain in site.

Yes, while I get that the kids learn far better in school, I think we should just have the kids learn what they can at home and give them placement tests when it really IS safe to have them return to school. Forget grade level for a few years.

That would not please a lot of parents, though. And poor children would really be lost. I believe schools need more teachers or teachers aides and split classrooms. Each teacher or aide gets 6-7 students. And grow from there. I just don't think we're doing if correctly. But some of that is closely following Teddy's special ed classrooms. And would not work well for high schools or even middle schools.

Took my mother to get her hair done, to lunch, and shopped a little bit. I'm exhausted.

Tina...no it would not work out on many levels..I know that...as an example..the young couple that lives behind us....They have 3 children. They own a business they both need to work there. If the kids have to stay home, I have no idea what they would do. Csnt tske the to grand mothers house, and mom cannot stay home.

I just wish this pandemic would " Go away:..

Sheri: When I lived in Illinois, I "did" for my mom and my mil..it was exhausting, I agree.

Multiply your young couple by millions and you get a big part of the picture, Carol. I don't have the answers but I know part of the answer for our kids will require lots of money. I am going to sleep on it. Maybe I'll come up with a quick fix for global warming.
Sweet dreams.

I wish you could come up with a fix for Global Warming. That would be great ! Good luck.

Sweet Dreams all. Sleep well, Tina.

Sheri, are there any cases where you live?

I don't know how large schools are going to deal with this. My niece's high school had to alternate days for students....you are in class one day then on the computer at home the next. The government gave a $600 voucher for low income parents to buy a laptop, $400 for middle income.....they should have just bought them at school and gave them out, many will not see a computer once the parents cash those vouchers.

Another cool, damp rainy day here.

That is nice about what the government did, Sunny. But, I do agree..the lap tops should have been bought.
My DD used to work at a school in the inner city if St. Louis. The lower income kids would be dirty, hungry and often would be wearing the same.clothes. The teachers might be able to feed them but there was to be no.washing of kids or their clothes. Yet the parents would.come.in.dressed.to the 9's with manicures, and new.cell phones. I am.thinking.those kids would never see a.lap top or tablet from the voucher.

DD says the schools here buy them and hand them out for use.

Hi all,

I am really glad our grand kids are homeschooled right now... since they have done it for a long time it's second nature for them... I think it is just not safe for reg school and if I had a school age kid they would be home... they can make it up or be tested when they have a decent well working vaccine .. they don't have a clue as to long term effects of the virus or the aftereffects of any vaccine either..hopefully dr's remember their oaths to do no harm .... not listen to our *** so called president.

Well off the soapbox, it's still warm here. not as hot for the last couple days... our fall is starting slowly. something is giving me fit's with allergies.. my eyes are itching like crazy... but better than not being able to breath I guess... hubby is bbq dinner for us tonight.. got a good deal on steaks... will feed us for days.. someday we will learn how to cook for two... maybe...LOL!

Well now I have to go get a drink and see what I can get done cleaning wise... tomorrow will be laundry day... have a good evening all... stay safe.
Nana

I was.speaking to my daughter that lives on the east coast.... All 3 of her boys are doing virtual school this year. The youngest is in preschool..He does some virtual classes with his momma helping and his teacher comes once a week to oversee his progress and to make sure his mom is doing the overseeing correctly (this is a Montessori) the other 2 boys are in public school and each do virtual classes 2 times a day (45 minutes each). Mom is responsible for overseeing the work and sending it back to the teacher.

Her baby girl...22 months old...was livid because she cannot "go to.school".. see Mom dressed the preschooler and took his picture outside like she did with the others in past years..baby sister thought she should get to go to school also... I am hoping she gives her "school work" to do when the others are busy.

I think grandma will send some lacing projects for her and her brother.

Junie, so the teacher is going into the house of every student once a week?

Sunny, we do have cases in my area. Aubry and Colby are doing virtual school, sort of. They go to a charter school. Colby is taking some college courses and has to go in person for some type of lab. Some kids at Aubry's school are going 2 days a week one week and 3 days every other week and they get out at noon. They can only go to the bathroom a certain number at a time and the bathrooms have adult monitors to make sure only a certain number are in there at a time. The same teachers are there all week. I'm not sure how this will work for not spreading the cooties other than with less students in a classroom they will be able to space the desk further apart. The public schools are all virtual at this point, I think, but it changes weekly. I think they're are adding in school days because some of the areas are having internet issues. Not all parents can home school or even be at home to see that their children are doing their school work.

There are 5 years between Shelley and Ginger, and Ginger was always upset when Shelley started back to school after summer break. Shelley rode the bus, and I'd always dress Ginger and she'd wait at the bus stop with Shelley then cry for about 2 hours when she couldn't get on the bus.

As far as vouchers but not really - people who live in public housing sometimes get their power bills paid by tax dollars BUT instead of sending the money directly to the power company, a check is sent to the parent, so many times the check is cashed, the power bill is not paid, and the family is without heat or air. I have a gigantic problem with whomever devised this plan and a gigantic problem with no count parents.

Yes she is, Sheri. But I do not think she spends all day at each house. But it is.a.Montessori as I said, so the rules.are.different.

Yes,.Sheri, I agree with you about.the vouchers..plus if.someone.was.going.to.do without in my family, it would have been me. I just do not understand at all.

I will say goodnight now. Sweet Dreams to everyone.

It's lovely weather wise today. Wish I could send it to Tina.

Junie if I were that teacher I would be wary of going into everyone's house. Just a little paranoia on my end.

Good morning.
Sheri, yes I agree with you. She even contacted Emily to suggest virtual school for Ian this year.... Emily and Chris assumed there would be no options for him this year, so her getting in contact with them.was a pleasant suprise.

Glad you are having.such wonderful weather, Sheri.

Well, GG only has 9 kids in her class(including herself) and that is her 'new bubble' so our 'keeping safe' is blown since 5 of the kids have families who could care less where they go, who they are with and what they do. I told her that if a case is found around here anywhere...I am pulling her out and home schooling her.

The rain has stopped and the cooler weather has arrived. I love this time of year.

Charlotte-Meck's internet stuff got hacked and it's been a big mess and several areas around here can't get internet fast enough for the kids to see the classes. It's a mess.

I am so tired. Going to bed.

Oh my that is terrible Sheri ! I hope it gets straightened out soon. Poor kids..or for that matter poor everyone. What some people won't do, huh ??


Almost noon here...I have to wonder where half the day went ??

Hacking a school system? Jeepers.

I got the grass cut, well really it is all weeds but it still counts

DH is digging at farm equipment so I am trying to look real busy.

Just letting you know I have no internet. Will be back on Tues

Gosh wonder what has happened to Tina's internet. Wonder if that means her TV and phone are out too. I'd hate that.

It rained here today so I didn't do anything in the yard. Went to the farmers market this morning, cleaned the house, took a nap. Was actually a nice day.

Oh my..perhaps they cut the power or.something. Sheri, I think you are.correct. That would be rough. I hope she is back in sooner rather than later.

Sweet Dreams everyone.

Thanks for the heads up, stay safe

There is so much damage where Tina lives, they might be rebuilding some systems.

Good morning.
Today is my oldest Grandson's 8 th birthday 🎂. I sent him a gift from Amazon. and a special card that I had Card Universe make him. Great online place for.cards...well if you buy them when they have a sale. If you buy 10 at.a.time..( I do.that) they ship them to you for free. So no travel into stores for a nice card.

My Grandson that lives close to me here made me a hands heart in school friday. I will replace the one he made last year for us in it's frame. I have a wall in our bedroom full of little people hands, including my 2 girls. Well Ian and Alexandra are still missing. I will asl my Emily to correct that for Christmas this year.

Happy Birthday to Henry

I hope Tina is back soon, I have been watching the coverage on the news.....it is terrible in California.

I see my mistake..it was Luke' s birthday....I am a poor writer I see. Luke was the first grandson to be born..in 2012..
Then Henry in 2014.. And.Micah in 2014.
Then the girls and Ian in 2016
ANd.Alexandra in 2018

Val: Henry and the 3 girls
Em: Luke, Micah, Ian and Alexandra

Emily always did think what Her big sister did was a good idea

Junie, it was my mistake....for some reason I was thinking Henry was the oldest. You have too many to keep track of.

It's hard to keep up with all the babies Do you guys think you'll have anymore? We're through around here unless someone has a BIG shock.

I don't want to jinx anyone but I'm flabbergasted that Colt's school still hasn't had any cases of Covid. They've had some strep throat cases, so kids were tested, but were negative. They have around 250 students. Shelley's brother in law is head master at Hickory Grove Christian School in Charlotte that has 895 students and they've been face to face without incident so far too. He has a special needs son who is 22 so he's been staying at school during the week and when he comes home on the weekend he stays in grandmas house, which has been empty since she died, and social distances in the yard with his family. Not sure what they'll do when it gets cold. Does that make sense?

Shelley's husband is Tracy. Tracy's sister Alisa) is married to Jimmy.

Jimmy is head master at a private school with 895 students.

Shelley, Tracy, Alisa, Jimmy live across the street from Tracy's and Alisa's parents. (Shelley's in-laws) So everyone is right there together.

Grandma lived in a little house on the same side of the street as Shelley. They're all within walking distance of each other but it's probably on 20 or 30 acres. Maybe more.

Jimmy and Alisa have a son who has prader willy disease and is high risk. He's in his early 20's.

Jimmy stays at school during the week and on the weekend comes home but stays at grandmas vacant house and visits in the yard.

What they'll do when it's too cold to hang out in the yard I don't know. What is interesting and I don't understand is that also have a daughter Allison, who is Darbi's age - 1 day apart. Allison is in college AND has a job but when she comes home she stays in the house. Makes no sense.

I am back. My modem just gave up Wednesday night.. My phone and TV were fine. Just no internet. But we're back online now. And Teddy is having withdrawal from YouTube so I need to give him my computer for a while now.