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Our 2026 Garden: starting peppers, celery and luffa

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Normally, today would be my day to go into the city for our first stock up trip for February. With the truck having issues and an appointment to get it checked tomorrow morning, today was a home day, instead.

Which turned out to be a good thing.

I didn’t think I’d pushed myself yesterday, but the pain started hitting last night, and this morning I could barely walk. I managed to feed and water the outside cats, grab a quick breakfast, pain killered up and went back to bed for a couple of hours.

Thankfully, that seemed to help a lot.

Which meant I was up to setting things up in the basement to start more seeds.

That included testing out the heat mats. I’d bought a new one last year, because the old one stopped working, but I tested it again anyhow. For a while, I thought I’d need to buy another heat mat, but the new one did eventually warm up quite nicely. The basement is always between 13-16C/55-61F, though it does feel warmer after we removed the cat barrier in the “window” between the two basements, now that we don’t allow the cats down there anymore. I set up just one of the lights, choosing the one that actually warms up a bit when it’s on.

Then it was time to get the set of seeds to start this early. I decided against starting thyme. I’ll see if the varieties we planted last year survived the winter under their thick mulch and blanket of insulating snow. If they didn’t, I will buy transplants, instead.

I also decided against trying the Sweetie Snack Mix peppers again, and will start more of the other two varieties, instead.

This is what I started today.

There’s the luffa, of course. I probably could have started those at the same time as the onions. There are sprouts in all four onion seed rolls now.

Then there’s the Caspar eggplant, a new variety I’m trying this year. The Golden Boy celery is the first time I’ll be trying to grow celery. The Sweet Chocolate peppers are a variety the girls suggested. They grew well when we had them before. When it comes to flavour, they really don’t find much difference between any of the varieties we’ve tried. The California Wonder Bell pepper is a new variety for us that I chose specifically because they are described as being thick walled.

I decided to pre-germinate the peppers, eggplant and luffa, as the seeds are larger and will be easier to move and plant, once the radicals appear. I could also use a damp wooden chopstick to pick up the pepper and eggplant seeds.

With the peppers, I was thinking a total of 9 plants. When it came to pre-germinating the seeds, though, I ended up going for 9 seeds each – though the California Wonder got an extra when one of the seeds I grabbed looked like it was damaged. We’ll see how many actually germinate.

I also started just 9 seeds of the eggplant. I’m hoping to get 4-6 transplants out of those.

I was seriously tempted to pre-germinate more than 4 luffa. Even with pre-germinating, they do struggle to survive. We’ll see how many germinate – and how many survive until transplant time. Last year, I started with four, three pregerminated, one didn’t survive being planted, and of the remaining two, only one really grew much at all.

When it came to dampening the paper towels for this, I made sure to use warm water, too.

As for the celery, the seeds are so tiny, I decided not to pre-germinate them. Instead, I repurposed a clamshell from strawberries. The holes on the bottom are fairly large, so I set a paper towel on the bottom to keep the medium from washing out the bottom. Normally, I pre-moisten the starting mix in a large bowl I have for that purpose, but for such a small amount, I filled the container with dry mix, then used the warm water to thoroughly soak it, first, making sure there were no dry spots. Then I pressed it down to get rid of any excess water, and ensure there were not air gaps.

I have a little seed dispenser that I used to scatter the seed lightly over the surface. With seeds that small, the hard part is keeping them from being too densely sown. Also because they are so small, I didn’t top them with more seed starting mix. Instead, I added a layer of vermiculite. That got a thorough spray with warm water.

All of these fit into a seed starting drain tray and are now set on the heat mat, under the light. The light has “legs” that fit on the ends of the aquarium we originally got it for, so it only needed a couple of the fire bricks I’ve been using as supports. The other light we have rested directly on the aquarium frame, so if we need to bring that one out, it’ll need twice as many bricks to get the same height. The handy thing is, as things grow taller, we can just add more bricks to raise the lights by an inch per brick.

For the peppers and eggplant, I’ve got some deep cell trays I can plant them into. The less potting up, the better.

In the beginning of February, I will be starting tomatoes. I will probably pre-germinate, then use the Red Solo cups for those. I’m still torn between starting three, or all four, of the new varieties I got.

Oh, who am I kidding. I’ll be starting all four.

It would also be the time to start herbs, such as tarragon and savory.

Hopefully, this will work out. Aside from the luffa, these varieties have a relatively short days to maturity on them. It’s not just frost free days we need to think about though, but soil temperature. Last year, we had such warm days in May, but the overnight temperatures were so low, we still couldn’t transplant our seedlings until well into June.

Hopefully, this year will be a much better growing year, without the drought, heat waves and smoke!

The Re-Farmer

It might not wait

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Today, I finally made it to my mother’s apartment. My brother and SIL had already done a huge amount. My focus was on stuff that I needed to bring here, that WON’T go into the storage buildings. Antique books. Kitchen supplies, some of which are part of sets still here on the farm. Lots of fragile stuff.

On the way out, my first stop was actually our post office. My husband’s disabled parking permit expires next month, so we had to mail in a form and $15 for a new one. With that taken care of, it was off to my mother’s apartment, which is typically about a 25 minute drive, with good road conditions.

Road conditions were good, but I was watching that oil pressure gauge slowly dropping, the drive in. By the time I got to my mother’s, it was right on the line between “normal” and “low” ranges.

Crud. With a day like today, I don’t think I can blame a cold sensor anymore.

Once at my mothers, I brought in a whole bunch of hard sided grocery bags, as the things I would be packing would be unpacked fairly quickly. Putting them in the grocery bags ensures we won’t procrastinate, since we’ll need them for our stock up shopping!

The next while was spent going through things, packing things into the bags I brought, going through a couple of boxes my brother and SIL packed and switching things over (I’m the only one in the family that has any interest in my mother’s antique crochet and embroidered items, most of which were made by her aunt). I also found some remotes, one of which I was to bring home, the other my brother needs to grab.

While I was there, someone started to come in the door – while I was in the washroom, of course! – calling out. It turned out to be the social worker from the Senior’s Centre. Perfect! She was able to take the flat folding walker they’d loaned my mother. It turns out, they also take care of the Lifeline equipment, which my brother had carefully packed all together. She took that and would take care of cancelling the account. I told her it was already suspended, so my mother wasn’t being charged full price.

After a while, I headed out to the truck with a couple of bags, then took the time to check the oil level.

It was low. Very low.

!!!

After the issues we had before, I now keep several bottles of oil and a funnel in the truck. There was one that was about 3/4 full, so I added that. I checked the oil after, and the level was in range.

Over the next while, I packed more things and took them to the truck, in stages, I ran the engine every now and then. Pressure seemed okay for a parked vehicle.

Along with packing, I was able to empty the fridge completely, and did as much cleaning as my wrecked knees would allow. Then I popped the stove’s to up so I could scrub underneath, where there was an old burned spill. Last of all, I gathered up the old prescription medications that were found, so I could take them to the pharmacy for proper disposal.

In the end, I was there for about 4 hours. I packed the truck with three boxes my brother and SIL had packed that I’d added to, plus another 7 hard sided grocery bags.

We’re doing to have to store this stuff in the basement until we can figure out what to do with them! A project for later this evening, since we need to unpack those grocery bags. I’ll need them, for our city stock up shops.

The first of which was supposed to be tomorrow.

Not going to happen.

I stopped at the pharmacy to drop off the old meds and let them know they would no longer be doing my mother’s bubble packs. So that file will go from being suspended to being cancelled, though of course we can still access her records, if needed.

Then I headed home.

Watching that oil gauge slowly dropping, the whole way.

I’d already texted our mechanic about the oil level being low and adding 3/4L, and asking about the possibility of bringing it in to look for a leak. Also, about that Journey he had on the lot he’d mentioned to me, yesterday…

I don’t know that we can wait until spring to do the trade in.

When I got home, he’d responded, asking me to keep an eye on the oil levels for the next while. I answered saying that I was home, telling him the pressure was dropping the whole drive back, and that I would check it again after unloading.

After unloading, I pulled half way into the garage, so I had room to access everything.

The oil level was low.

Just barely touching the “fill” line.

I added another half liter.

I messaged the garage before heading inside then phoned him once was was settled in.

I now have an appointment to bring it in on Thursday morning for them to see what’s going on. I won’t be doing any city trips until this is figured out.

As for that Journey… it actually does look right for our needs, though obviously there are things we can do with a truck that it can’t do. It’s a 2017 and high mileage, but anything that’s in our budget is going to be high mileage.

Its selling price is actually lower than what we still owe on the truck, I think.

Of course, I kept my brother and SIL in the loop, and my SIL wondered about using my mother’s car as a trade in.

I will need to confirm that possibility with my brother, since my mother owns half the car with me and, as her PoA, he will be the one to deal with. He might simply transfer full ownership to me to make it easier. My mother has been telling us to sell her car for years, so that would work for her, too.

Of course, no decisions are going to be made for a while, but we need to think about it. I don’t even know if we can get refinancing, though if we have two vehicles to trade in, with one owned outright, that would help. We simply can’t afford the truck. They did the best they could to get us an amazing price – I’m convinced it was sold to us at a loss – but once the taxes were added, that kicked it over, and the monthly payments have been higher than what our upper limit was. We had no choice, and it really has been hurting us financially. Not just the payments, but all the sometimes bizarre issues that have come up with the truck that have cost so much.

Speaking of which, that check engine like turned off on its own again.

I love the truck, but I will never own a GM vehicle again! Not even the Uplander gave us more grief, and the dealership screwed us over on that one. Still, I was able to buy the Uplander using my debit card. Beggars can’t be choosers!

Well, we shall see.

Tomorrow, I won’t be going anywhere. Hopefully, my sister will be able to make it to my mother’s apartment and take the things intended for her place. On the weekend, my brother is going to have to dig his own truck out of the snow and see if it starts! Depending on how things go with our truck on Thursday, we might be relying entirely on his truck to get my mother’s furniture out.

For now, I’m going to stop writing this and enjoy the supper my daughters made. 😊

Then we need to set up a sort of assembly line to get the boxes and bags into the basement, and away from cats!

The Re-Farmer

Back to life… I hope

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Well, today’s focus has been on making sure the truck was okay. We depend on it so much!

Things warmed up slowly all night, and it was heading towards -20C/-4F when I headed out to do my morning routine, then went to see if the truck would start.

It did, thankfully. It didn’t even make those noises it made, yesterday. The battery gauge was right up there, though it dropped to normal fairly shortly, as the engine compartment warmed up.

I let it run for a bit, then headed back in. By about noon, we reached our expected high of -15C/5F, and I headed out again. This time, I drove the truck around the driveway and yard a bit. When I pulled into the garage, I made sure to leave enough space so I could open the hood. First, I did another scan. This time, only one code came up, and not the one that had me concerned. This is the one we’re pretty sure is a sensor affected by the cold.

That done, I popped the hood and listened to the engine, getting a short video to send to my brother. Aside from the idle getting very slow, everything seemed normal.

My next test was to wait until the post office reopened in the afternoon, and pick up the mail.

While waiting, I got a call from the hospital. They had called last night, too. My mother has been getting her Pepto regularly – during our meeting with the doctor, we all recognized it seems to have a placebo affect on her, and she was running out. We still have the extra bottles my brother had bought for her that made her so angry. If the truck was running well, I could bring one for her today.

The trip to the post office went perfectly normal. I had a surprise parcel waiting for me. Thanks, M, for the live animal trap! Hopefully, we’ll be able to make good use of it! Also, CZ, we finally got your Christmas card! 😄

From there, I headed home, dropped off the mail and parcels, grabbed a bottle of Pepto and headed to town.

I didn’t get far when I noticed something of concern.

The oil pressure gauge dropped significantly. Not enough trigger any alarms from the onboard computer, but enough to concern me. Especially after we had so much trouble before. Since that seal was replaced, we haven’t had any issues.

I seriously considered turning around and going home but decided against it. Town, after all, is where our garage is. I could stop there and talk them them about it.

The other reason I considered turning around was the weather. We had high winds from the north, blowing snow off the fields. I could see the road starting to drift over and, in places, it was whiteout conditions.

Once in town, I made a quick stop at the hospital. I dropped the Pepto off at the nursing station and asked them to extend my apologies to my mother for not visiting and why. I’m not sure she got the message, but they understood why I couldn’t just quickly say hi and left. It would have agitated her quite a bit.

Then I headed for the garage – and the oil gauge was pretty much where it was supposed to be, during the short trip!

When I got to the garage, I was happy to see the owner was in the office today. He’s been working at their new location quite a bit, so I’ve been missing him.

We had a good talk about things. He hadn’t even had a chance to look at the scan results I’d texted him yet. I told him I did another scan this morning and showed him the results. He agreed that it was likely because of the cold, and not a concern.

Then I told him about what happened on the way into town, with the oil pressure dropping. Would that also be because of the cold?

Yeah, pretty much. Particularly for our make and model. The sensor in most vehicles is located near the air filter. In our truck, it’s located off to the side, and in a corner. With the temperatures we’ve been having, the oil gets sluggish and, so far off to the side where it is, the sensor reads differently than if it were closer. As long as our oil level is fine, there is no concern.

He laughed when I explained why I haven’t been able to check the oil recently. If the truck is pulled into the garage enough to close the door, we can’t open the hood. There’s no room to access the front.

That lead me to start talking about the possibility of a trade in. I’d messaged about it, and even talked to one of his employees that worked on our truck while he was at their other location, and he was aware of it. I told him, we just can’t keep up with all these sensor issues. The inside handle of the driver’s side door broke off and we haven’t been able to fix it, because the budget kept having to be used for so many other things. As much as we like the truck, we can’t afford it.

What we’d talked about before, when we were first thinking to get another minivan, was the possibility of an SUV. It seems that trucks and minivans tend to cost a lot more – even older, high mileage ones like ours – but SUVs are easier to find and cost less, second hand. He knows our need for something accessibility and fitting a walker.

I’m not going to do anything until spring, though, which he totally understood. He will, however, keep us in mind as he acquires new second hand vehicles. There was a Dodge Journey right there that he suggested might fit our needs. I’ve looked it up since then and I tend to agree.

Then I talked about my mother’s car. He remembers it – he certainly did a lot of work on it! I explained that I stopped driving it when it made a loud banging noise in the back, but just this past summer, my brother checked it out and could find nothing wrong. It’s purring like a kitten, and no sign of anything to cause that noise. We’re looking to sell it. After talking about it for a bit, he said we could bring it in. He can go over it, check things out, and safety it, and let us know what we could expect to get for it.

It’s not going to be much.

Again, this will happen in the spring.

I left the garage, much relieved.

The grocery store is across the street, so that was my next stop. I had a short list but, with the weather – and funds my daughter sent me – I was able to make a larger shop. Then it was a quick stop at the gas station to fill the tank before heading home.

I’m really glad I didn’t stay longer with a visit to my mother. Heading home meant driving on the side that was starting to drift over. It wasn’t too bad, yet, but that clearly wasn’t going to last much longer.

I was quite glad to get home!

I have to admit, I’m increasingly paranoid when it comes to our transportation. A few years ago, when we still had the minivan, we got slammed with a series of polar vortexes all through January and February. Our van froze, as did my mother’s car. We couldn’t go anywhere for almost 2 months. The van came through fine, once it warmed up again. The first winter we had with this truck, we couldn’t even plug in the block heater, as the plug turned out to be missing, and it handled the cold just fine. So I really shouldn’t be this anxious about the truck. Yet, we’ve had so many problems with so many different vehicles, I can’t help myself.

Well, I’m going to have to get over it. I need to get to my mother’s apartment and start bringing things here. After my sister grabs what she’s supposed to take to her place, next weekend is when we’re going to have to empty the apartment and bring the rest of the stuff, including furniture, here. Before that, my brother has to break their snow blower out, so he can access his own truck, plus clear access to the storage house and the warehouse – both of which are already so full with my parent’s belongings. The more I can bring back here in advance, the easier it will be to finish the job.

Meanwhile, it a couple of days, I expect to be heading into the city for our first stock up shopping trip for next month.

I need to do a lot of driving.

I pray the truck will be up to it. Intellectually, I’m sure it will be, but there’s that part of my that’s constantly concerned something else is going to go wrong!

The Re-Farmer

It’s dead, Jim

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Today is supposed to be the last day of the extreme cold from the polar vortex. Slightly warmer than yesterday.

Eventually.

This is what it was like, earlier this morning.

Yeah, that’s -36C/-33F, with a wind chill of -46C/-51F

And it’s still just an orange “severe weather” warning, not a red “extreme weather” warning.

If you click through the slide show, you’ll see that the heated water bowl in the sun room, next to the inside door, was almost covered in frost and ice. The last picture is of frost built up on the peak of one of the cat caves near the 250 watt heat bulb. Both cat caves had frost at their peaks, from the humidity of cats crowded inside, keeping warm. Even in the isolation shelter, the cats bundled up in the cat bed near the other 250 watt heat bulb had frost on the tips of their whiskers, and the fur of the long haired ones.

As I write this, we are now at -33C/-27F with almost no wind chill. Our high of the day is supposed to be -24C/-11F.

Tomorrow, we’re supposed to reach a very balmy (in comparison!) -15C/5F.

Hopefully, that will be enough, but it’s supposed to get a bit colder again – nothing extreme, at least – after that.

Enough for what, you ask?

For our truck.

I should be at my mother’s apartment right now.

The truck wouldn’t start.

It did try! However, with the noises it was making before stalling, I wasn’t going to keep pushing it.

I can’t even pop the hood to check the engine. It’s pulled in far enough to close the garage door, which means the nose is almost touching the counter in front. I can’t reach the middle to open the hood.

Thank God we did the extra stocking up, when we had the chance! We will be good.

I just hope the truck will be okay once things warm up again. Yes, the block heater is plugged in, and I don’t think we got cold enough to crack the engine block (yes, we’ve had that happen in the past, long ago), but there are plenty of other things this cold could destroy.

*sigh*

For now, it’s dead. Hopefully, it will resurrect.

I am so done with winter.

The Re-Farmer

Unexpected stock up: this is what $293 looks like

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Since we had to bring cats in for neuters yesterday, and would be hanging around until they were done, we took advantage of being in a city. We wanted to pick up a few things before the polar vortex hit, so there would be no need to go anywhere during the coldest days.

Of course, we got more than was on the list.

This is what $293.80 at Walmart looks like.

Except for the three boxes of tea. My daughter bought those separately.

Gosh, that added up fast.

Part of it was because I needed to pick up some supplements.

The “white cheddar” at the top is actually a popcorn seasoning. We still have plenty of lactose-free cheese.

The “mineral” is my potassium, which I got along with some magnesium and zinc.

My older daughter had sent some funds, and part of her list included more energy drinks. The cases of 4 were on sale, so we got two cases.

My husband let us know we were almost out of peanut butter and molasses, one of his favourite snacks since childhood.

Next is a 5 lb bag of carrots – a good price, there. The vinegar is 7% cleaning vinegar.

It took some searching, but I found a small bag of seed starting mix, since I finished what I had left from last year, when starting the onion seeds.

The “sticks” is pretzel sticks; my husband requested something crunchy.

Not on the list is something we spotted on clearance. 3×10 heat vent covers. We need to replace several.

Pizza pops at under $20 is a good price, these days. At least compared to other places.

Next on the list is a new sponge mop head. My daughter tells me our current one has started to disintegrate!

Then there’s a bag of brown sugar, followed by a case of XXL puppy pads, feminine hygiene product, and a liquid soap refill.

Normally, I’d get a flat of 30 eggs, but they don’t fit in the hard sided insulated bags, so we got an 18 of eggs, instead. Then there are four loves of rye bread, followed by a couple of chocolate bars, one of which became part of my “lunch” on the way home, several hours later!

I got a 4 pack of distilled water for my husband’s CPAP humidifier. He wasn’t out, but the prices are much better at Walmart, so he’s well stocked now for some times.

Next on the “multi discount” list: We got a couple of energy drinks for right away, rather than for home. There is also a couple of coffee creamers for the girls, and 4 boxes of water flavours for my husband.

And that’s it.

Even with larger stuff, we didn’t fill a shopping cart, and it cost almost $300.

We did end up getting more.

After a had a bit of a nap in the truck, waiting for a call back from the vet clinic, I ended up going to the Dollarama. I didn’t get a picture of what I got, though. I found some 10% acid cleaning vinegar, so I got that. I really ought to remember to go there first. Walmart only has up to 7% acid cleaning vinegar, and it costs almost twice as much. I also got a roll of clear, self adhesive plastic that will be used to protect things from cat. I finally found a particular small size of hair elastics I’ve been looking for, for ages. I also got a small cat bed/mat for the inside cats. Last of all, I grabbed a small bag of roasted, salted cashews, which became part of my lunch/supper during the drive home, after picking up the cats. In the end, the total was about $16 and change.

That done, I rejoined my daughter in the truck. We didn’t stay there for too long before we headed back into the Walmart so my daughter could use the facilities, and then we just looked around at other things.

To get to the bathrooms, we had to go through the shoe section, which is where I spotted something hilarious.

Yes, I did end up getting them.

I found slippers that perfectly matched the pattern on my new coat.

Different brands of product, but same brand in pattern!

I didn’t even try them on, because I didn’t want to fuss with my boots. When I had the chance at home, I spread out my coat and found the matching pattern sections for pictures.

I also found some underroos in one of the few brands that are actually comfortable, in stock for a change, so I got a package while I could. I “splurged” on some cheap yarn in graduated, rather than variegated, colours. My daughter picked up a sketch pad and drawing tools for herself, which is where I found a small spiral bound sketch pad for my mother. None of the drawing tools in that section were things my mother could manage, so we went to the stationary section, where I found some coloured pencils that don’t need to be sharpened.

Altogether, with the slippers and undies being the most expensive items, it came out to just pennies over $60.

It ended up being a long time before we got home but, thankfully, nothing we got was damaged by the cold while sitting in the truck box. The insulated bags made the difference, so we didn’t have to worry about frozen eggs.

The last thing I got, just before heading home, was $30 in gas. Gas is currently $1.249/L

As for my splurge on slippers, when I tried them on, they did fit – sort of. Something about the toe design doesn’t fit my feet right, which would have caused blistering.

My daughter now has new slippers. They don’t bother her feet the way they do, mine.

And that’s it. Our mini stock up trip of almost $300 at Walmart, plus a few unplanned extras that brought the total to just over $400.

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer

Not going anywhere today

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Thankfully, I have that choice.

I was messaging with my brother this morning. In the wee hours of the morning, someone got stuck on the road in front of their place, and it took two tow trucks to get them out. Then the tow trucks came back into the parking lot, for someone else!

The plows were out, though, so the roads should be clear again. The highways, at least.

I was questioning whether my brother was going to come out to my mother’s place today. They were already recommending I stay home, but my brother is going to make the trip! This must be the only day he has available for it.

I headed out to do that cats stuff and, at first, things looked pretty good. The bright sunny morning, and being sheltered from the wind, was deceptive. The sun room’s thermometer was reading 0C/32F, which was encouraging.

A few minutes outside, though, and I was starting to really feel the cold, even as bundled up as I was!

In the end, the choice was made for me. There isn’t a lot of drifting, but enough that I’d want to dig through them, before trying to drive anywhere – and there was no way I would be outside shoveling today!

After today, things will warm up a little bit, and then we’re supposed to drop down to highs of -30C/-22F, as another Polar Vortex sweeps through. Wednesday coming up looks to be the warmest day over the next little while, which is good, because that’s when we’re supposed to bring 3 yard cats in to the vet for spay/neuter.

Today, however, is a day to stay indoors as much as possible!

The Re-Farmer

New toy, and it’s a bit blustery out there!

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I had a strangely rough night last night. I wasn’t able to sleep, so when I heard my older daughter taking a break from work at about 3am, and we grabbed something to eat. Just as I settled down, I started to sneeze.

And sneeze.

And sneeze.

For the next hour, at least, I was either sneezing or fighting off sneezes. I have no idea what I was reacting to! Yes, I took antihistamines, but they made no difference.

I did finally get an hour of two of sleep, waking up as it started to get light out. I messaged with my brother and SIL a bit about tomorrow – though that may change – and meeting up at my mother’s apartment, then headed outside to do the morning routine.

The wind was brutal. We’d had a bit of snow during the night, which was actually appreciated, as the paths I wasn’t able to spread ashes over, plus the driveway were not as slippery. On the down side, the paths were also starting to fill in and drifts starting to form. Nothing to complain about, really. As the storm moved across the prairies, highways were being closed all over the place. The local highways group had people posting about poor visibility and road conditions, but they were still passable.

Once I was done, though, I had enough energy to grab some instant oatmeal for breakfast and then crashed for several hours, completely embedded by cats. I think they were cold!

We had a couple of packages we ordered that had reached the city, and my husband got a notification that one of them had arrived at our local post office. I decided to wait until the post office closed then reopened at 2pm, though, and sure enough the second package arrived from the city, too. So I headed out after the post office reopened.

Straight into a brutal wind. Conditions had definitely worsened. A drift was starting to form in front of the garage door that I had to shovel out before I could leave. The wonderful plow job on our gravel roads was being drifted over, and visibility was poor.

Thankfully, I only had to go a few miles.

One of the packages was a new office chair for my husband, to replace his broken one. He’s been using a small armchair for the past while, and it’s brutal on his back injury. Picking up the chair was not something that was going to wait!

As I write this, we are still at -15C/5F. When I got home, the wind chill was -35C/31F, but it has since dropped to -37C/-35F.

Tomorrow is supposed to be colder, and almost as windy.

Hopefully, my brother’s schedule will allow him to postpone going to my mother’s for a day!

As soon as we got the box inside, my daughter immediately started to assemble the chair for her father. While she worked on that, my husband got to check out the new “toy” he picked up, as something to keep in the truck.

Or for me to keep handy while working outside after the snow is gone.

My husband does like his unique multi-tools!

Yeah. It’s a hammer, axe, multi-tool, with holster.

The second picture shows it opened up.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality, to be honest. That axe is sharp! The knife is really good, too, and the screwdriver/file/bottle opener is also solid. The pliers don’t seem to be as strong, but it’s not going to be seeing heavy duty work. The hammer has surprising heft to it, and is actually useable.

I didn’t spot where they opened as I quickly looked at it, but there are several screwdriver tips in the handle that fit into the top of the axe/hammer head. There’s also a magnesium rod tucked in there somewhere, with a built in whistle.

I’m going to have to grab it from my husband and look it over again!

The “snowflake” that came with it is also surprisingly strong. Each tip is a different screwdriver tip or hex key and each space is a different size wrench, plus a bottle opener. One of the tips doubles as a box cutter. There’s a hole for the key ring, but the ring is flimsy. My husband will probably add a cord to it, instead. That’s something he will probably keep handy and find more useful.

The whole thing is absolutely hilarious, adorable – and may actually be useful! A lot of these multi-tool gadgets look great, but once you try to use them, their designs are not practical at all. I look forward to trying this thing out.

Meanwhile, it looks like the worst of the weather system has passed by. Wind will still be an issue, and any new snow expected isn’t supposed to show up until night time.

We’ll see how things are for my brother. His schedule is far less flexible, so I will adjust to what works for him.

The Re-Farmer

Small stock up trip: this is what $101 looks like – sort of

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Did quite a bit of running around today, which I’ll cover in another post. Since I was in town anyhow, I did a small grocery shopping trip that turned out to be bigger than originally planned. I was only there for bread, milk and cheese! 😄

This is what $121.25 looks like, but I got $20 off from my loyalty points.

Yeah, most of it fit into the one hard sided bag I brought.

One of my daughters mentioned we were running low on glass top stove cleaner, so I picked up a bottle of that. I also got a 12 pack each of Coke Zero and Fresca for the four of us, which were on sale.

There was actually ginger snap cookies in stock, so I got a box for my husband, along with two jugs of distilled water for his CPAP humidifier. I also got him some frozen tater tots as an each snack that he can prepare himself.

Then I got two packs of marble, two packs of white Old Cheddar, lactose free cheese, which were on sale. They didn’t have any 2L 3% milk in stock, so I got 2%.

I spotted hoagie sausages on sale, so I got two packages. The sale price is what used to be their regular price. The girls really like those. I also picked up a ring of garlic sausage, made by a local company.

Then, finally, I got the bread I was there for. Four loaves of regular white and whole wheat bread. The rye bread I normally get was on sale, and completely out of stock, so this was the substitute.

And that’s it. All that, with sale prices and discounts, came out to over $100.

*sigh*

On another note, our pantry just got a boost for canned soups and a few more cans of beans. With my mother still in the hospital and not going back to her apartment, I’m going to start clearing some things out, little by little. My brother and SIL had picked up a lot of canned soup and such for her, as it was a lot easier for her and something the home care staff could prepare for her. After talking to them about it, they told me to take them, since we have “more mouths to feed”. 😄 I certainly won’t say no to things to add to our pantry!

While shopping today, I saw the canned beans we used to get regularly were on sale as 2/$3 A sale price of $1.50 per can, that used to cost 97¢ a can, regular price, not that long ago.

What isn’t pictured is my stop at the pharmacy. I got ibuprofen for the girls. Two smaller bottles that were on sale, making them cheaper than getting one larger bottle. I got acetaminophen for myself, which is safe to take with my anti-inflammatories. I still have some prescription painkillers left, but I don’t want to be using those if I don’t have to. I also got a tube of Voltaren for myself, that was on sale, and lactaid for my husband, which was not on sale. That all came out to something like $98.

I did stop at the hardware store before going to visit my mother, trying to find some Roof Melt. Turns out, they don’t even carry it, though the website made it look like they did. The city stores carry it, not the small towns. The first staff I asked about it didn’t even know what it was. I ended up talking to a manager? I think? who has helped me before. They tried really hard to find something for me. One of the other staff came by and heard what I was asking for, and got all excited, because it’s a product she would be getting, too! In the end, the manager said he was going to try and order something in, but he wasn’t sure if it would work.

He did mention that you can get beet juice granules. Somewhere. He didn’t know. This would be sprinkled on the roof and in the eavestroughs in the fall, where they would keep things clear all winter, and are completely safe for the grass and water table the melt water would drain to.

Something to look for, for next year!

The Re-Farmer

Costco stock up trip: this is what $722 looks like

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Well, we finally made it to Costco! Not the new location I was planning to go back to, but to the one that we have been going to regularly, since it was near where we could meet up with someone from the cat rescue and deliver a furball for adoption.

We did do a bit of non-pictured shopping. After delivering the cat, we went in and had breakfast. I ordered a large meal of Chinese food, knowing I could only eat half of it, and brought the other half home for my husband. That, plus my daughter’s food, totaled just under $50. Then my daughter wanted to look for something. While going through the mall, we passed a store I’ve never seen before that specialized in warm things – leggings, touques, mittens, blankets, scarves, slippers, etc.

Boxing day sales were still going on, and everything in the store was a flat $10 each.

We went in and my daughter found a display of slipper socks. She got a couple for herself and her sister. I got a couple for myself and my husband, if they fit. I also got a blanket and some suede moccasin style slippers. Hopefully, either the slippers or the slipper socks will fit my husband. If not, they might fit me. If they don’t fit me, they’ll fit the girls.

Each of the items I selected was regular price, $40. My total after taxes was $44.80.

After that, my daughter found a store with what she was looking for, and then we went to the Costco. I had planned to get gas first, but it was so busy, we just parked in the first open spot we could find – way out in a distant corner of the parking lot! At least we didn’t have to go into the overflow parking.

Oddly, it didn’t seem that busy once we were inside.

This is what our $$722.57 looks like.

That… really isn’t a lot.

I folded up the receipt because it had been pulled up part way through, so there were a lot of empty space, with an item count in the middle. It was only after I unfolded it that I realized there was a single item listed with the item count, too. A container of Parmesan cheese at $17.49

Aside from that…

For the big stuff that stayed on the cart, there is a case of Monster energy drinks, which I will be reimbursed for by a daughter, and a case of Coke Zero for my husband and I. There is a case of kitchen garbage bags, toilet paper, a 9 pack of pasta, a small case of tomato soup, and a double flat of eggs.

For cat stuff, there is four 9.1kg bags of kibble, a case of wet cat food and a case of puppy pads.

For the frozen and refrigerator stuff, there is a pork loin, which will be cut up into roasts and chops, and a pork blade roast. There’s a wheel of brie that was on sale, 5 pounds of butter, a block of Old Cheddar cheese, two packages of panini sandwich meats, a case of Oat milk, two 2 packs of salad mixes and a case of frozen pierogi.

Then there is a 2 pack of Vitamin D3, and some goat milk soap my daughter will be reimbursing me for, and a 2 pack of Head and Shoulders, which both my daughter and my husband use as an anti-fungal body wash, at the doctor’s recommendation.

There is also a container of popcorn, two big jars of mayonnaise, two 2 packs of rye bread, two packs of tortilla wraps, a case of instant oatmeal, and a case of ramen noodles.

I just realized, my daughter accidentally grabbed unsalted butter instead of salted butter. Oh, well. The price is the same! 😁

And that’s it.

Total number of items, 42. Total discounts, $15.30, but about $40 in taxes.

We got hardly any meat. Which is okay. With doing so many heat and eats for our Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, we still have some in the freezer.

Then we had to get the flat cart all the way to the truck. With so much packed snow, it took both of us to push it, and we kept having to stop to grab things that were vibrating off the cart.

Once we were loaded up, we went to fill the gas tank. The Costco price for regular gas was $0.999/L! It’s been ages since I’ve seen gas at under a dollar, even it if is barely a penny. Filling the tank cost $27.13

On the way out, we did stop at a gas station just outside the city. Mostly for a bathroom break before the drive home, but also to pick up some drinks, which my daughter paid for.

So, everything together today, including purchases at the mall, we spent about $844 in total.

Thank God this is just a once a month thing!

The next big purchase for the month will be a trip to the feed store to get 40 pound bags of kibble for the outside cats.

Ugh.

I’m glad to have the Costco shopping over and done with for the month, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, I need to get that pork loin divided up for the freezer.

The Re-Farmer

A comparison

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I’ve been posting about our stock up shopping trips for a few years now, including photos of the receipts. Those who follow those posts over the years have seen how much less we are getting for our money.

One of the frustrating things is, we can’t really buy beef anymore. Not even beef shares. A lot of farmers just aren’t doing the direct sales anymore. The beef has to be processed through a provincially licensed and approved butcher. That adds so much to the price, they can’t be competitive in their sales. Personally, I’d be fine with buying beef from our renters that they butchered themselves – or even a side of meat that we could process ourselves – but that would get them in trouble with the province. It’s hard enough to be a farmer of any kind in Canada, without that sort of thing.

One of the things that has amazed me, even before our inflation skyrocketed (cost of living has increased over 40% in just the last few years, thanks to our federal government’s actions), is how much cheaper groceries are in the US. I was blown away to find out even dollar stores in the US even have freezer sections and sell meat (do they still do that?). I know, for you in the US, it’s a relative thing and prices are high for you right now in many areas. Today, however, I saw this video that did as close a comparison as I’ve seen so far. He mentions Costco prices, which are even more insane than the Canadian beef prices he used to compare with in the video. You’re meat prices are so much lower than ours!

These high prices are all artificial, with much of it due to the “carbon taxes” our current dictator said was dropped to zero before he was installed in office, only for it to turn out to still be there, just under another name.

Canada is in serious trouble. Especially since our overlords are going out of their way to kill off more animals. Tens of thousands of hens are being killed off by the same department that horrifically massacred over 300 healthy ostriches, after months of neglect and abuse, that weren’t even part of the food chain (I’ve recently learned the bullets used were .22 longs. You can’t kill something as big as an ostrich with a .22 unless it’s a direct head shot). They’re also slated to kill off yet another herd of beef cattle, or may already have been by now.

Yet somehow, the people doing this stuff are able to play all the games to stay in power. It’s insane.

The Re-Farmer