Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been in
about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"

George Shirley wrote:
> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been in
> about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"

cabin fever... sorta?


songbird

Dave Balderstone wrote:
>songbird wrote:
>> George Shirley wrote:
>> > Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been in
>> > about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"
>>
>> cabin fever... sorta?
>
> No sorta about it!

i'm a bit of a homebody so it doesn't bother me
as much as some others i know.

this winter hasn't been nearly as bad or as long
as last winter. looks like we'll use about 400
gallons of propane this year, last year was about
600.


songbird

On 2/18/2015 10:53 AM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, songbird
> > wrote:
>
>> George Shirley wrote:
>>> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been in
>>> about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"
>>
>> cabin fever... sorta?
>
> No sorta about it!
>
We awakened to frost on the rooftops and on everything else. Temp was
right at 34F so must have been a little colder early on. We're rapidly
nearing 50F this afternoon and it may get higher. This has got to be
screwiest spring since we moved back to Houston area.

Of course nothing stops the traffic we can hear the roar from I45 when
the wind is out of the east and from I10 when it's out of the south.
When we previously lived in the Houston area there were only about 2
million people around here, now it's above five million and growing. Miz
Anne swears this will be our last home as it is close to all our kids,
grands, etc. I want to move AWAY from all these subdivisions, which
means across the San Jacinto River that is east of here or go much
further north. May have to move alone. Need more space for fruit trees,
berries, and a place to hunt. Sort of, maybe, looking at a place an hour
away that is an even 100 acres, looks just right.

On 2/17/2015 6:53 PM, George Shirley wrote:
> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been in
> about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"


Yes. Usually the posts in winter months are pretty sparse.

gloria p

Yes, I thought this group had died a death, used to read it for years, glad to see some life in it yet.

On 2/25/2015 9:53 PM, Randal Oulton wrote:
> Yes, I thought this group had died a death, used to read it for years, glad to see some life in it yet.
>
Lots of younger folk don't bother with UseNet due to the texting, etc.
with all the smart phones. I think I started on this site around 1990,
shortly after I came back from Yemen. Lots of folks on here then, slowly
membership died down. I hope it wasn't from members dying off.

We live in a subdivision with 290 homes in it. As far as I can determine
only we and our middle grandson do any kind of home food preserving and
he only vacuum packs and freezes. I guess he doesn't worry about canning
as his Grandpa and Grannie do and he gets the rewards for his family
too. He does want to learn how so will be doing some coaching this
summer. In return we get venison, feral hog, and fish from his
expeditions with his sons. And, as usual, I haven't learned to really
cook for just two old people so his family, two blocks south of us, get
a lot of leftovers. >G<

I have been looking for a USDA Master Food Preserver group but only one
county in Texas still has the program as near as I can find. Plus, from
what I see online, lots of folks are using dangerous methods for their
canning.

Note: I scored two cases of the old Classico sauce Atlas Mason canning
jars with the Mason jar lid rim. A nearby friends Mother passed and he
found them in the garage. Just right for us to can beans and peas in for
two meals. Free canning jars are good.

Woke up to 34F this morning and frost on the rooftops and the cars. Suns
out now and it will warm up into the mid-forties by afternoon. Here it
is nearly March and we're still getting frost. Whatever happened to
global warming? I'm raring to plant the spring garden too.

George Shirley wrote:

> On 2/25/2015 9:53 PM, Randal Oulton wrote:
>> Yes, I thought this group had died a death, used to read
>> it for years, glad to see some life in it yet.
>>
> Lots of younger folk don't bother with UseNet due to the
> texting, etc. with all the smart phones. I think I started
> on this site around 1990, shortly after I came back from
> Yemen. Lots of folks on here then, slowly membership died
> down. I hope it wasn't from members dying off.
>
> We live in a subdivision with 290 homes in it. As far as I
> can determine only we and our middle grandson do any kind
> of home food preserving and he only vacuum packs and
> freezes. I guess he doesn't worry about canning as his
> Grandpa and Grannie do and he gets the rewards for his
> family too. He does want to learn how so will be doing
> some coaching this summer. In return we get venison, feral
> hog, and fish from his expeditions with his sons. And, as
> usual, I haven't learned to really cook for just two old
> people so his family, two blocks south of us, get a lot of
> leftovers. >G<
>
> I have been looking for a USDA Master Food Preserver group
> but only one county in Texas still has the program as near
> as I can find. Plus, from what I see online, lots of folks
> are using dangerous methods for their canning.

Yes! And you can't convince them that there is anything wrong
with it either.

I recently reviewed a Kindle format cookbook on Amazon
that included some chutney, jam, and jelly recipes, all
using the old heat-and-jar method and some even using
the wax method of sealing.

I included a warning in my review about these dangerous
methods and suggested visiting the USDA and UGA sites to
see the new, safer methods.

For my trouble, I received the following comment:
"Everyone I know makes jams and chutneys using this method. I
have never known of anyone who became ill as a result."

Yeah, sure.
>
> Note: I scored two cases of the old Classico sauce Atlas
> Mason canning jars with the Mason jar lid rim. A nearby
> friends Mother passed and he found them in the garage.
> Just right for us to can beans and peas in for two meals.
> Free canning jars are good.

Good score!
>
> Woke up to 34F this morning and frost on the rooftops and
> the cars. Suns out now and it will warm up into the
> mid-forties by afternoon. Here it is nearly March and
> we're still getting frost. Whatever happened to global
> warming? I'm raring to plant the spring garden too.

Even worse here in SE VA. Just as the last dump of 8 inches
of snow was melting so we could see the grass again, another
storm hit last night and dumped another 8 inches on us.

All of my gardening will be done on the kitchen counter under
plant lights for awhile yet. Preserving is but a dream for
the future.

Nyssa, who left Michigan to get away from this white stuff

On 2/26/2015 9:03 AM, Nyssa wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>
>> On 2/25/2015 9:53 PM, Randal Oulton wrote:
>>> Yes, I thought this group had died a death, used to read
>>> it for years, glad to see some life in it yet.
>>>
>> Lots of younger folk don't bother with UseNet due to the
>> texting, etc. with all the smart phones. I think I started
>> on this site around 1990, shortly after I came back from
>> Yemen. Lots of folks on here then, slowly membership died
>> down. I hope it wasn't from members dying off.
>>
>> We live in a subdivision with 290 homes in it. As far as I
>> can determine only we and our middle grandson do any kind
>> of home food preserving and he only vacuum packs and
>> freezes. I guess he doesn't worry about canning as his
>> Grandpa and Grannie do and he gets the rewards for his
>> family too. He does want to learn how so will be doing
>> some coaching this summer. In return we get venison, feral
>> hog, and fish from his expeditions with his sons. And, as
>> usual, I haven't learned to really cook for just two old
>> people so his family, two blocks south of us, get a lot of
>> leftovers. >G<
>>
>> I have been looking for a USDA Master Food Preserver group
>> but only one county in Texas still has the program as near
>> as I can find. Plus, from what I see online, lots of folks
>> are using dangerous methods for their canning.
>
> Yes! And you can't convince them that there is anything wrong
> with it either.
>
> I recently reviewed a Kindle format cookbook on Amazon
> that included some chutney, jam, and jelly recipes, all
> using the old heat-and-jar method and some even using
> the wax method of sealing.
>
> I included a warning in my review about these dangerous
> methods and suggested visiting the USDA and UGA sites to
> see the new, safer methods.
>
> For my trouble, I received the following comment:
> "Everyone I know makes jams and chutneys using this method. I
> have never known of anyone who became ill as a result."
>
> Yeah, sure.
My lovely wife visited a cousin in Florida last summer for a week, she
brought back to paraffin topped jars of jam. Get this, the cousin has a
degree in Home Economics and taught preserving in a high school for
years. I refused to eat any of the jam myself. Another cousin of hers
admits to reusing canning lids. "Momma always did, what's wrong with
it?" Some folks just never learn.
>>
>> Note: I scored two cases of the old Classico sauce Atlas
>> Mason canning jars with the Mason jar lid rim. A nearby
>> friends Mother passed and he found them in the garage.
>> Just right for us to can beans and peas in for two meals.
>> Free canning jars are good.
>
> Good score!
>>
>> Woke up to 34F this morning and frost on the rooftops and
>> the cars. Suns out now and it will warm up into the
>> mid-forties by afternoon. Here it is nearly March and
>> we're still getting frost. Whatever happened to global
>> warming? I'm raring to plant the spring garden too.
>
> Even worse here in SE VA. Just as the last dump of 8 inches
> of snow was melting so we could see the grass again, another
> storm hit last night and dumped another 8 inches on us.
>
> All of my gardening will be done on the kitchen counter under
> plant lights for awhile yet. Preserving is but a dream for
> the future.
>
> Nyssa, who left Michigan to get away from this white stuff
>
Got an email from a friend in Bethesda this morning, her white stuff is
starting to melt and she's happy. I'm happy when it falls elsewhere. I
learned my lesson about cold on a cruise along the Arctic icepack back
in 1959. I would still relocate to Belize or Costa Rica if Miz Anne
would go with me and the dawg. I just hate cold weather, always have. I
encourage global warming. <G>

George, who went to Michigan once by mistake

On 2015-02-18 01:53:35 +0000, George Shirley said:

> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been
> in about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"

I have not noticed. Haven't been around. Miss all of you. You're
relatively sane compared to some of what I've been seeing elsewhere. I
salute you.

--
--
Barb
www.barbschaller.com, last update April 2013

On Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:21:28 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>On 2015-02-18 01:53:35 +0000, George Shirley said:
>
>> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been
>> in about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"
>
>I have not noticed. Haven't been around. Miss all of you. You're
>relatively sane compared to some of what I've been seeing elsewhere. I
>salute you.
>
>--


We have certainly missed you here and RFC. Right now RFC has been
attack from spammers. Try to read only if you have a good spam
blocker.

About all I have done this summer is can tomatoes in as many forms as
I can think of that we might actually use.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On 8/26/2015 8:21 PM, Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> On 2015-02-18 01:53:35 +0000, George Shirley said:
>
>> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been
>> in about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"
>
> I have not noticed. Haven't been around. Miss all of you. You're
> relatively sane compared to some of what I've been seeing elsewhere. I
> salute you.
>
The few of us on here try our best to do it right. I would hate to give
someone advice and then find out they died. That's why I encourage
people to use the U of Georgia food safety site. Here it is again:
http://nchfp.uga.edu/

Several websites around the world copy our posts and put them up on
their websites. I guess it is okay but it is annoying at times.

We awoke to a balmy 75F this morning, in late August in Houston, TX that
is very close to being a miracle. Now if it would just rain a little bit
more. A couple of inches a month doesn't cut it with raised bed gardens
but, then, it is difficult to grow anything in five feet of gumbo clay
with two inches of sand on top. We shall persevere.

On 8/27/2015 9:44 AM, The Cook wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:21:28 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
>> On 2015-02-18 01:53:35 +0000, George Shirley said:
>>
>>> Anyone else notice that this month is the busiest this group has been
>>> in about two years? As my Aussie friends would say, "Good on ya, mate!"
>>
>> I have not noticed. Haven't been around. Miss all of you. You're
>> relatively sane compared to some of what I've been seeing elsewhere. I
>> salute you.
>>
>> --
>
>
> We have certainly missed you here and RFC. Right now RFC has been
> attack from spammers. Try to read only if you have a good spam
> blocker.
I quit RFC eons ago due to all the idiots posting. Excepting you and
Barb of course. <G>
>
> About all I have done this summer is can tomatoes in as many forms as
> I can think of that we might actually use.
>
We didn't even try canning any this season, have three one-gallon bags
of 'maters in the freezer. Sometime this winter I will get the urge to
make Texas chili and will let a bag thaw, toss the skin, sieve out the
seeds, run the meat and juice through the processor and get on with the
chili making. Easy as anything can be.