Delayed Deliveries, Lost Packages And My Computer Is Sick...

I was so disappointed that the cookware we ordered did not show up today. Now, it says Sunday, but they do not deliver on Sunday. I'm not sure what happened, but what I do know is that it shipped from Texas and ended up on the East coast in North Carolina. We are in the wild wild West...

We did receive another late delivery today. The delivery company left it at our gate in the snow. This is not a normal practice, but we found out that we have a new delivery driver. The other driver lasted about two weeks. It must be a tough job especially this time of year.

My computer started having some serious issues, so we had to order a new computer that should be here on Monday. We will see if it actually shows up on time. I think the problems are not only about shippers, but also with the distributers.

The Post Office has lost a package that we shipped out a couple weeks ago. It still has not shown up. We have about a week before a refund has to be issued to our customer. Hopefully, it will start moving through the system soon.

"When it rains it pours" is a fair description of what we have been experiencing as far as having to replace so many items at once. We are grateful that we have been able to buy everything at discounted prices due to extended Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday sales. I didn't mention that we are also in the market for new tires too. Tires have not escaped inflation, rising by 24% over the last two years. Ouch!!!

Mrs. Smith

   

Update: Sick Chickens

 

God answered our prayers. Praise God! All of our chickens are fat and happy. The two that were sick miraculously recovered. We did not have the dreaded avian influenza. I have never seen a chicken recover from being that close to death....

Mrs. Smith

Ramblings, Book Reviews And Updates

 

Sorry for the blog silence lately. I have posts planned and in the works, but I have not been very inspired...

We have been having the craziest weather. It is so dry. We have had snow one time in late November. It's Winter. It's been in the 70's until today. We have a small chance of snow in the forecast. We will be in a serious drought if this continues. A few fires have already started. 

Number One has been trimming the natural grasses around the house to create a barrier from snow drifts or fires. We are not sure if we will get either one of them, but better safe than sorry. 

I started a "Ginger Bug" this evening. It is a fermented starter for natural juice sodas. It will take a week or so for the ginger to ferment. I will create a post with the information if we like it. I have made homemade natural root beer, wine and vinegars, but I have not tried this technique. I would like to try to make water kefir someday. I have tasted a raspberry flavored water kefir that a friend made and it was delicious. 

We received our Misfits order today. It had a couple of things that were not up to their or our standards. I have let them know about the issues. We will see what they do about it. We have never experience this before. I will let you know the outcome.

I have pulled out some old books that I have read several times. These are books that have given me a lot of information over the years on how to set goals, save money, shopping, cooking, home repairs and more. Since inflation is out of control I have decided to pour over them again in hopes of gaining some more ideas to apply to our off grid life. I may need to implement new ideas or change the way I am currently doing things. The world has changed, the economy has changed and we all need to learn to adapt and overcome. We all need to live our best life.

This is more than a cookbook. It has ideas from people who have lived all over the world and experienced many cultures and circumstances. Their wisdom is invaluable. We don't have to re-invent the wheel. Sometimes we just need to learn from others who have gone before us. 

These books are from the 70's. They have great time saving recipes for mixes that are made from basic ingredients. With limited selections and shortages at the grocery store these books teach the reader how to use simple ingredients to make mixes at home. They are healthier and less expensive than the mixes at the store.

This is a fun book with lots of ideas from the author and subscribers to the Tightwad Gazette. 

This book is also a fun book with tales of country living, recipes and most everything in between. 

I am almost finished with my year long study of the entire Bible. I wanted to start a new study this Winter, so I have decided to do a study by Sylvia Gunter called "Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence" It is a continuation of "Prayer Portions" which is a study, by the same author, that I have been through twice. 

This is a big book with over 300 pages. I do not write inside my books. I use a notebook in case I want to do the study again, teach the study, loan the book out or donate the book.

This is my new Winter Bible study. These are also large books with lots of pages. I'm not sure how long it will take me to complete two volumes. I have not even looked inside yet. I want to finish my other study first. I don't want to get distracted. 

Princess Abigail looks like a rabbit under the covers. 

It is bedtime for us. Goodnight...