Sunday greetings, everyone!

In talking to some of my readers and good friends, I found out that while they liked my blog posts (thanks!) they wanted me to go back to doing something of a regular update about what we do around here. They also liked when I talked about what I thought of things and what I am interested in. I was a little surprised to tell you the truth. I was pretty sure no one really wanted to know what goes on inside my brain!

Well, this last week was more than just unproductive. I didn’t get hardly anything done except run some errands on Friday, ship books, and go to some of the kids things Friday and Saturday. I finally had nose surgery on Monday morning and that knocked me out for a few days. Quite frankly, I am still not sure what I am going to get done to today because I don’t want to jeopardize the surgery. I had bilateral inferior turbinate reduction surgery so I could breath through my nose again for the first time in 20+ years. The surgeon took a fair amount of tissue and membranes out so I have two clear nasal passages.

Let me tell you this, healing is not fun. I had the best care from Rob who has been wanting me to get this surgery done for a while. I am not a good patient because I am too used to doing stuff. I constantly got told “no, you aren’t doing that”. However, I got caught up on a few documentaries, some reading, a lot of sleep, and my DVR. I was allowed to put supper in the slow cooker two nights and to make bread because I used the bread maker to do the mixing and kneading.

This all goes back to something I have talked about before. Now is the time to take care of your health and any issues you may have. Tomorrow may be too late. I am working at losing weight (lost 15 pounds so far!), getting healthier, and having a better quality of life. Not being able to breath well or right was significantly impacting it. I am sleeping so much better now. I don’t run out of breath because I can breath through my nose. I wasn’t a natural mouth breather so this has been huge!

I will be canning tomatoes today and starting to wrap up the garden. Fall is definitely here in Iowa. While I expect we will have a warm-up again, the tomatoes are done. I have been letting them just ripen in the garden since I couldn’t do anything with them. The potatoes need to be dug, but I need to get a new pitchfork. I broke the last one beyond repair. The peppers are still ripening and I will leave them alone a little while longer. The garden needs a good weeding and then putting to rest.

I doubt that will all happen this week, but the canning of tomatoes will happen this week if not today. I will probably turn them into crushed tomatoes because I can turn crushed tomatoes into chili or another sauce if I want to. Otherwise I can chunk them up and can them that way too. I try to keep the canning simple most of the time.

Chickens were moved to their new coop about six weeks ago and they are doing great. We have been letting them free range when we are home on the weekends and after work. We lost two hens to coyotes and I am not very happy about that. We have a young pack of coyotes around us right now, but I think they must be moving southward. I don’t hear them at night as much. We still have a rooster though and I am looking for a home for him. I might have one for him, but if you are interested, please let me know!

We also have eggs taking over the fridge and back-up fridge so it is time to start selling! Additional income is always good!

I have been trying to find new ways to save money and have been going back to some of my old ways to save money. I have been trying to be more cognizant of the way money is being spent, but it is just being spent. I have gone back to couponing a little and using money savings I already possess in terms of value cards I have bought through the school. Some days, it seems like we live as frugal as we can, but it will never be enough. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but I am some bigger purchases I have to make.

I really need to buy two sets of tires this fall and have been looking for a good deal on barely used or new tires. Tires are just expensive though! So are car parts since Paige got into an accident last month. Most of that damage is cosmetic, but the whole drivers side panels and doors need to be replaced. Hopefully, the other driver’s insurance will pay for it, but there is no guarantee since the claim is now in arbitration. (Long story for another day).

We are trying to get stuff done before winter comes or when we can’t do anything after work because there is no daylight left. We really need to address the well room and get the top of that sealed. Our well room is attached to the basement of our house and has its own cement ceiling and cover. They are both cracked and water is leaking in. I have had a tarp over it for years, but the tarp is no longer doing the job. I just need to borrow the pressure washer from work, clean it, and get it sealed so the cracks are no longer a problem. I want to be able to store potatoes and other vegetables in the well room again without them spoiling.

You might notice the lack of discussion on prepping, but to me this is all prepping. Gardening, chickens, vehicles, health, and property maintenance/projects are all prepping. Almost everything we do is prepping. Every day, we just do what we can do and put the rest on tomorrow’s list.

How has your week been going? What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,
Erica

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