Quiet Saturday

[BarbaraRose]

Almost noon here. Everyone must be busy!

I felt crampy and nauseous last night before I went to bed and then woke up with cramps around 4am. Was sick to my stomach and light headed too.

I headed to Urgent Care this morning. Wasn't sure if that was all from the heat or from the fireant bites. Both things can cause those symptoms. The Dr wasn't sure which one was to blame either but gave me a prescription for the symptoms and some topical Benedryl for the bites. I will go pick those up later when I feel a little better. Just laying down and relaxing for now. Probably won't get much else done today.

Got my new wood trim put on a little while ago. Just need to paint it when I can.

That is about it for now. Just stinkin' hot out today! So will stay inside as much as possible.

Have a good day and stop by and say "hi"

[Bethers]

It's definitely been a quiet couple days. Barbie, a few years back I had heat stroke and they called 911. I got an ambulance ride back to my RV. I definitely felt similar to what you're saying for a few days. And that's when I first started drinking coconut water. I should buy some as it really helps me. I hope you rest and are even more careful on the heat now. Me who always preferred summer have to be super careful now.

A plumber is coming by tomorrow, yes on Sunday, to check some things I need done. I was surprised he wanted to come on the weekend, but he's free and so am I, so I can find out what he thinks about what I want done. He does some basic, non -plumbing things also (working with who put on my roof last summer) so he'll check those out also. Lots more I'd like to do, but money is an issue, so one step at a time! Notice I say I'd, but I'm looking to hire things out.

I did purchase a solar battery tender for my RV when it sits, like now and it'll sit all winter. I asked my neighbor to make sure I was connecting it correctly. So easy, but he had never done it before and said it's nice to have someone back you up. So that's all connected. It came with two methods of connection, but not all vehicles have the ability to use one and I knew mine was one of those, so that took away the decision making of which to do lol

[chalet05]

I got home this morning and have been catching up with phone calls. Son-in-law picked me up at the train station. They removed the rest of daughter's lower teeth and removed infected bone marrow. I have no idea if they cut bone out or what. 4 weeks before she can be fitted for dentures. Because she has had a reoccurring lump and pain under her chin, they did a biopsy - no results yet. That should have happened ages ago. With all this infection, I hope that's what it is and not cancer.

Traveling by train was indeed an adventure. Train stations are unlike airports in that they don't announce the track number until the last minute. I do not understand most loud-speaker announcements so kept a close eye on the departure board! Worst part was the train bathrooms - yuck! Coming home was actually among people who slept when they should for the most part! I did ride one newer train from Kansas City to Saint Louis that was very nice. Most of the time I was without a seatmate - meaning a window seat and peace. One woman was up and down. When she sat, she plopped hard and about bounced me out of my seat. One slept. One man made 2 phone calls within the first 10 minutes - I consider that rude. The 40ish guy was the most interesting and talkative. He turned out to be helpful in the D.C. station - we kept running into each other as I was trying to find the rental car desk.

Now to prepare for Alaska and hope family doesn't need me any time soon!

[JudyJB]

After a lot of effort and experimenting, I think I have the secret to my cherry jam. I use about 2 lbs of frozen, pitted, sour cherries. I add a box of old type Sure Jell and half a box of the stuff for low sugar jam. I also add 6-7 cups of sugar. Then when cherries are thawed and start to cook, I use my immersion blender to break up the cherries into small bits.

Now, all the recipes say to use a candy thermometer and boil jam until temp hits 220 degrees F. If I do that, I find the jam is runny, but tastes good on vanilla ice cream. However, if I add the 7 cups of sugar and boil it until the temp says 230 degrees F, the jam will thicken and gel, which is what I want it to do. I put it in jars and "hand-tighten" the lids. This does not mean strongly tighten, but just until it feels firm. I've been processing jars in a water bath for 10-15 minutes and take jars out, tightening each one further as I do so. I sit them on a dry towel and let them cool, then store them.

I've been using a dozen of the smaller 4 0z jars for each batch and have had some jam left over each time. I put this in a plastic storage container and put it in the refrigerator after it cools to use right away.

Got a nice steak I got on sale cooking, along with some mushrooms, so am going to enjoy a nice dinner. Tomorrow is Sunday, so campground will be emptying out.