Winter Preps - Stocking Up the Freezer

We are now well into September and it's time to prepare for winter. All the forecasts are pointing towards a harsh winter. Number One Husband has ordered the propane, put up the lawn chairs and anything else that could cause drifts. There is more for him to do like change the oil in the gen and replace batteries in the cars. 

I have been washing blankets, organizing closets and making lists to make sure we have everything in place in case we have a rough winter. Winter and summer clothing still needs to be switched out, but we are still in the in-between days. We have graduated from wearing short sleeves and sandals to fleeces and socks and shoes. It's cool in the mornings and warm in the afternoons. 

This weekend we will drop into the low 30's. The house is already cold in the mornings when we wake up. The temp most mornings is 58* inside. I've already added a blanket to our bed and an extra wool cover on Number One Husband's side. 

I took down the hummingbird feeder, cleaned it and stored it away.

Food, water and shelter are important to the human body. We take winter seriously around here. It's not just our home that needs to be readied but our vehicles need attention also. I need to put together our emergency winter car kits. Here are my previous posts about winter preps. Winter 

We had to make an extra trip into town due to pharmacy losing my refill in a computer glitch. Apparently, I was not the only one. This took five days and a couple hours on hold and a new prescription from my doctor and in the meantime, all of the pharmacists quit. 

It wasn't all bad. We were able to top off our gas tanks and gas cans and find a great deal on split chicken breasts and boneless skinless chicken breasts. So good in fact that we made a second trip to top off our freezer after I processed the first batch and discover that I could fit even more chicken in the freezer. We could not pass it up. We didn't get home until midnight. I finished processing the rest of the meat the next morning.  

First load.

Managers Special: Split chicken breasts

Both cuts of chicken breast added together made the cost .50 cents a pound.

2nd load of chicken, plus we topped off our tanks. Gas was $3.19 a gallon. Ridiculous! We also took
advantage of the other sales on cheese and frozen vegetables.

.99 cents a pound is a great bargain, right? When we used our member's card
we got every pack of split breasts for .99 cents a pack. The boneless
skinless breasts were on sale for $2.27 a pound. 

I re-packaged 23 packages of chicken
 for a total of 101 lbs. of chicken.

Number One Husband, aka Gill Master, grilled us some chicken,
potatoes and Vidalia onions. 

I made homemade baked beans and sauteed spinach to
round out our meal.

The cheese that we picked up was $2 off every package. Yea! Another score... We literally cannot squeeze one more thing into our freezer. Our chest freezer is small, but after carefully packing our booty into the small space I was able to fit everything in without one inch to spare.  

Something that absolutely blew my mind at the store was the fact that Blue Bell ice cream is now $10 a carton. It was on sale for $7.99, but that was just getting us ready for the $10 price tag. $10.29 to be exact. 

Our freezer is now full. Over the next two months we will work on topping off the pantry with a few extra canned goods in case we are unable to get to the grocery store for fresh produce. We prefer fresh, then frozen and lastly canned. 

Bonus Pics

We had a downpour of rain and sleet this afternoon. When it was over, the brightest double rainbow formed. It was strange because even though they were side by side the colors were reversed. I love how the rainbow illuminated the mountains. 

Here is the other side of the rainbow.

Shabbat Shalom,

Mrs. Smith

Scriptures and Pictures - Rainbows

 

Genesis Chapter 9

(v) 8 God spoke to Noach and his sons with him; he said, 9 “As for me — I am herewith establishing my covenant with you, with your descendants after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you — the birds, the livestock and every wild animal with you, all going out of the ark, every animal on earth. 11 I will establish my covenant with you that never again will all living beings be destroyed by the waters of a flood, and there will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 God added, “Here is the sign of the covenant I am making between myself and you and every living creature with you, for all generations to come: 13 I am putting my rainbow in the cloud — it will be there as a sign of the covenant between myself and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow is seen in the cloud; 15 I will remember my covenant which is between myself and you and every living creature of any kind; and the water will never again become a flood to destroy all living beings. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud; so that when I look at it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of any kind on the earth.”

17 God said to Noach, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between myself and every living creature on the earth.”

Ezekiel 1:28

28 This brilliance around him looked like a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was how the appearance of the glory of Adonai looked. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of someone speaking.

Revelation 4:3

3 The One sitting there gleamed like diamonds and rubies, and a rainbow shining like emerald encircled the throne.

Revelation 10:1

10 Next, I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, his legs like columns of fire;

Shalom, 

Mrs. Smith

Out My Kitchen Window

 

Mrs. Smith

Outside My Window...

The Sabbath is upon us. I am ready to rest. This week had plenty of trouble. More on that in an upcoming post, but I wanted to share some of the good parts first.  

The dogs came for a visit again. They make themselves at home when they are here. This pup, we call Birdie B, loves to sleep off the ground. She sleeps in the chairs and now on the table that is on the porch. Too funny! 

I moved the pitchback today. It is always in the way and in my pictures.
It was moved there to save it from a windstorm.

We do enjoy their company. My chickens were out of their yard this time when the showed up. They literally decided to leave home when the dogs showed up. They were way out in the pasture, and I had to wrangle them back into their fenced yard. It was like pushing wet noodles. I was able to catch one of them that was hidden under a solar panel. She is very social, so I caught her on the first try. The others, not so much. The dogs couldn't care less about the chickens.

It is Rainbow season aka Monsoon season here in the Rockies. I love living in a place where I can see both ends of a rainbow. A double blessing on God's Big Screen was the first show that played this week. A reminder of God's promise to Noah after the flood in Genesis chapter 9. Hopefully we will see many more of these gorgeous creations this season.

Now it's time to say goodnight and Shabbat Shalom...

Mrs. Smith

Just Wanted To Share The Incredible Sunrise With You This Morning...

Journal Entry 10/2/22 

Day 925...

This morning's sunrise was a sight to behold and a gift from Father God along with a rainbow on the West side of the house. I have never seen such a sight. Thank You Father of lights, In Jesus name I pray, Amen...