I hate to be the one to tell you -- but you are ready for only the "wierd to happen" LOL--- but Babe - you can handle it... we entered a whole different life when our loved ones stroked and so did our loved ones.. now "weird" is normal... but YOU can do it...

bleh...I think we're all being plagued with sub-zero temps this week. And to think Christmas Eve at my house was70 degrees! I vote we all go visit Sue! ;-)

Two spare bedrooms folks, so first in best bedroom...lol.

You are not alone in getting colder weather we got plenty of it in central Texas today and tomorrow it goes down to 16 to 18 degrees for sure.

I got my long drawers on and ready today!

It is inconceivable to me that tomorrow's high temp should be 0F with a low of -16 and windchill of -40! About the same for Tues but then improvement. I just don't know how much snow there will be to deal with.... This is not typical for Ohio!

Sandy: New England had that earlier in the week and from reports, more due. It is imperative that all us caregivers maintain the stash.

Colleen had me well prepared with frozen stash. That kept us going all week. Today we were finally able to get out. I get to check out with $300.00 worth of groceries and forgot MILK! Idiot, that is what I went for! LOL.

New England is used to the fluxes. But these are the coldest temps in over 10 years. Cover up, hunker down. Debbie

Debbie, we use Vanilla Almond Milk, so I got half gallon of it (big as it comes in the refrigerated section), but I also got 4 of the shelf stable smaller cartons. So, that really comes in handy if you run out or forget to buy reg milk - they do make organic milk in the shelf stable too. It's expensive but if you only use it for small things, it can last. Like we put it in coffee and oatmeal.

I've got the shelf stable 'tv dinners' that you nuke. I have things that don't need cooking or cooling. I even have a 10pound can of flash frozen strawberries!

I usually put my trash on the curb Monday night, but did it tonight so I don't have to go outside in the severe wind chill tomorrow

New England is sooooo cold, even in a normal winter... brrrrrrr

PS - we have somewhere around half dozen of those Old English Lanterns you see advertised on TV. We got them at Walmart though, something like $10 each. They are made really ratty but will work if the electric goes out. They are in strategic locations, out and ready to go. Anything could go tomorrow, with such low temps, electric, phone lines, water pipes.

58 degrees forecast today with rain, imagine if the sun was out. 10 degrees tomorrow but no snow until Friday. Quite the roller coaster ride. Good thing we just got an oil delivery.

I use Almond Milk for myself too, so keep a couple of shelf stable packs of that on hand (including a chocolate version for Ray) along with Borden regular 2% milk and even whipping cream for those special occasions. I also have dried goat milk for extreme emergencies! We could be snowed in for month and not go hungry, I'm embarrassed to say. I am a bit of a food hoarder too: You'd think we lived in Alaska.

I remember reading a story about a woman who lived alone and broke her leg and it was bad weather. She had enough stuff in her food storage that she did not want for anything for the month it took to get her brace off, and be back to going out. That is the kind of thing that I think fast food mindset has robbed us of. People forgot about how you can't drive thru fast food if the car don't start in a blizzard and you are trapped indoors.

The beauty of Colleen's recipes, at least for Bruce and I, are that they give us one meal and we have one to freeze. Plus Bruce loves helping out in the kitchen and it keeps him away from the TV. Yes, a lot of work - I did stuffed peppers last night and used every pot in the cabinet, LOL - but you are stuck in anyway and that is something I do love to do.

With the predictions for the rest of the winter, we now have something to do.

FYI people: Colleen was putting up a Beef Wellington last Thursday night before the blizzard on Friday. That is an impressive pre-storm prep if I ever heard one! LOL

Ah my Beef Wellington, I will tweak it a bit next time, but I could see serving it to company someday. I wish I could get my photos to post here, I took a couple of the final results just for kicks. There was so much filet mignon left that I then made Stroganoff a few days later, I'm getting old fashioned recipes lately. Funny the things that come to mind when you're housebound.

Now on a soup kick, split pea up next.

We have frozen to death, I'm almost sure of it. I can't really accomplish anything except the 'HAVE TOs'. All I want to do is eat, and scrunch up in a tight little ball, or go to bed. Anyone else actually accomplishing something?

Thank God my freezer is full of dinners and my pantry is full of cans, because I'm too gone to actually cook anything, and my driveway still has a frozen pond on it, so I keep canceling our meals on wheels. Here's hoping tomorrow will make a difference.

Oh Sandy, as tough as it is here in the North East, I truly do not know how you all are faring in the Midwest. Impossible! We are only working on the cleaning out, as usual. But once I get home from work, truly just want to hunker down in warm pjs and sleep. Try to get some fresh air and sunshine each day. The list will wait! Debbie

REMINDER, IF YOU DO HAVE A GAS STOVE THE BURNERS CAN BE LIT WITHOUT ELECTRICITY. MANY PEOPLE FORGET.

-wILL