What are you doing?

[LPBeier]

It sounds like the two of you have fond the ideal place to live. Good luck and God bless the both of you in your new home.

Thanks, Addie, yes we have! Both the area and the condo are everything we could have hoped for! We are even planning to sell my van now because I can take TB to work if I need the car and the more I walk around the park the more I will be able to walk around the neighbourhood. I have driven only twice in 6 weeks and both times were to the grocery store 4 blocks away.

 

[LPBeier]

Here's a shot from along the boardwalk in Newburyport.

I have GOT to make it to MA! It is so beautiful and, being the birthplace of my Great-Grandfather (Quincy), I would love to see it all up close and personal.

 

[Merlot]

There are a lot of little town right on the coast of the Atlantic ocean like that. There is a town right next to where I live. I swear they must have at least three yacht clubs. And they have some beautiful huge boats.

I can't imagine living anywhere but just a block or so from the ocean.

We are planning to visit the New England states soon. Our last vacation we went mostly west. We left from WV went to TN just for a night, previous reservation. We visited, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma (but didn't make our destination, pioneer woman put her grand opening back), Texas (went to magnolia market) New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, back through Kentucky. I love to travel and am so ready to go again, that darn work stands in my way. Utah was actually the prettiest on the route we went... I would live in New Mexico (also the route we went). In Utah we went to a place called caramel junction, house of HO- made pies. Story behind it is that when they made the sign back in the day they couldn't afford to put the full homemade on the sign. It never became "noteworthy " until now and gained popularity because of the "HO- made"

 

[cjmmytunes]

CJT - Having little ones around when you are not used to it can be very exhausting but I am sure you loved having them there. Also glad you got some clean-up done!

We may also go to see my in-laws later. It is so nice living 5 minutes away instead of 45!

Lydia, we love having the girls here. They live about a 5-hour drive away so we don't really get to see them that much other than on FB and stuff like that. They have come up more in the past year then they have before. I think the combination of them having their own car and Mom having the aneurysm last year contributes to them coming up more.

 

[cjmmytunes]

Cjimmy, kids are a handful but I'm glad you got some cleaning out done!

Merlot, I'm also glad I got some cleaning done. Now comes the organizing what's left. Most of it is Christmas stuff that will be condensed into big totes and go into one corner of the garage where I can get to it without a lot of problems.

 

[cjmmytunes]

I'm beat. When we were in North Carolina last week, we stopped at the Nahunta Pork Center where Vivian Howard gets the pork for her restaurant. I bought a couple of pork picnic shoulders and spent today turning half of one into bratwurst and the other half into smoked pulled pork. The picnic cut has a lot of skin, too, so I'm trying something new - pork cracklins'. They're finishing on the grill right now.

This is all for later in the week. We're having steak tonight

Prep:
View attachment 27225
First grind:
View attachment 27226
Smoking the shoulder and cracklins'.
View attachment 27227

Hope it all turns out good!

 

[Merlot]

Merlot, I'm also glad I got some cleaning done. Now comes the organizing what's left. Most of it is Christmas stuff that will be condensed into big totes and go into one corner of the garage where I can get to it without a lot of problems.

I did that last week. I had all my stuff sitting in boxes in the basement which is unfinished at the moment, I figure if I clear it all out the boyfriend will start refinishing it! So I gave away some, put some in my yard sale pile and the rest went down in the downstairs closet. It makes you feel so good to get organized!

 

[Merlot]

I'm beat. When we were in North Carolina last week, we stopped at the Nahunta Pork Center where Vivian Howard gets the pork for her restaurant. I bought a couple of pork picnic shoulders and spent today turning half of one into bratwurst and the other half into smoked pulled pork. The picnic cut has a lot of skin, too, so I'm trying something new - pork cracklins'. They're finishing on the grill right now.

This is all for later in the week. We're having steak tonight

Prep:
View attachment 27225
First grind:
View attachment 27226
Smoking the shoulder and cracklins'.
View attachment 27227

Wow, looks fabulous!

 

[cjmmytunes]

I did that last week. I had all my stuff sitting in boxes in the basement which is unfinished at the moment, I figure if I clear it all out the boyfriend will start refinishing it! So I gave away some, put some in my yard sale pile and the rest went down in the downstairs closet. It makes you feel so good to get organized!

We have a shed in our back yard that has so much Christmas stuff in it that it's not funny. We have scaled down on our decorating though, so throughout the next few months we are going to see what will be given to my sister, what my kids might be able to use, them probably sell the rest.

 

[JoAnn L.]

I was just going through my soup cans and was looking at the sell by dates. Do you go beyond that date and if you do by how long?

 

[blissful]

I was just going through my soup cans and was looking at the sell by dates. Do you go beyond that date and if you do by how long?

If the tops and seams look good, if the can isn't bulging, if when you open it then it looks and smells good, I've opened and used cans that are years beyond the sell by date. A sell by date isn't an eat by date and I go beyond an eat by date by years too. That's me.

 

[Katie H]

Glenn's son, Kenneth, picked all the corn from his garden this weekend and shared some with us. To give you an idea, he thinks he needs to plant enough to amply supply many third world countries, so what he'd said was going to be a couple of dozen ears was, in fact, many dozens.

We had some for supper last night, will have more tonight and more yet tomorrow. That still left a gazillion ears.

So, I cut it all off the cobs and turned it into freezer corn. I ended up with 8 good-sized containers. That'll be yummy this winter.

 

[Addie]

If the tops and seams look good, if the can isn't bulging, if when you open it then it looks and smells good, I've opened and used cans that are years beyond the sell by date. A sell by date isn't an eat by date and I go beyond an eat by date by years too. That's me.

What blissful said. I don't even look at the sell by date. Only if the can is bulging, do I toss it. And real fast. Tomatoes are notorious for that problem.

 

[Vinylhanger]

Once again sitting in the back yard relaxing after a short day turned very long. Dogs playing roll over, roll over...

 

[JoAnn L.]

Just heard on our news that a motorcyclist got hit by a car today in our city and has died. So sad.

 

[cjmmytunes]

Just got through eating brunch - had to go to the grocery store this AM and Mom didn't want to eat before we went, so I got up early and had a light breakfast, then fixed my brunch (her breakfast) when we got home.

 

[Andy M.]

We have had our cell phone service through Consumer Cellular and the ATT cell phone network. Our coverage at home was sketchy at best and we often had calls dropped or never connecting.

Xfinity, who provides our in home phone/internet/TV service recently came out with a mobile phone service through the Verizon cell phone network so I just switched us over for the better reception. The price is great for low volume data users such as SO and me.

 

[bethzaring]

We have had our cell phone service through Consumer Cellular and the ATT cell phone network. Our coverage at home was sketchy at best and we often had calls dropped or never connecting.

Xfinity, who provides our in home phone/internet/TV service recently came out with a mobile phone service through the Verizon cell phone network so I just switched us over for the better reception. The price is great for low volume data users such as SO and me.

Interesting.. Yesterday I started researching buying two new smart phones for DH and me. It's time to retire the flip top phones and figure out how to operate these units. Actually I am trying to figure out how construction workers keep these phones out of harms way and within reach.

 

[Andy M.]

We prefer Apple products but Android products are also very good.

If you're happy with your current provider's reception, stick with them or consider a low cost provider that uses the same network. You probably won't use a lot of data to start so you can get a lower cost plan with a small provider that uses a major network.

For example, you may already be in the ATT network but ATT plans are aimed at high volume users and costly. Consumer Cellular uses the ATT network but has much less expensive plans for low volume users.

 

[GotGarlic]

Interesting.. Yesterday I started researching buying two new smart phones for DH and me. It's time to retire the flip top phones and figure out how to operate these units. Actually I am trying to figure out how construction workers keep these phones out of harms way and within reach.

We use Verizon Wireless. DH has an iPhone because he got an iPad as part of his compensation for speaking at a conference; I have an Android because I'm used to working with Windows PCs and Android is similar. I bought both of our last couple of phones on Amazon - models that are a year or two old cost a whole lot less and you can have your carrier activate them. Just check with the carrier to make sure the phone you choose will work with their system.