YEAR OF FEAR AND CLICK BAIT

Shun DM0723 Classic 6" Forged Chef Knife. Yep!!

Sister and brother-in-law gave my wife and me this Christmas gift. Sister in-law says she has two and loves them. Thought of us and thought this a good gift idea. 

My wife will not touch a sharp knife though. Just won't. When I sharpen our everyday use kitchen knifes, I tell her so that she does not surprise herself. Soooooo, I am the keeper of the new knife. Emoji emoji.

The first try was a whole onion. How many times have I watched someone slice onions? How many time have I sliced onions? A sharp knife is always a joy to work with. But those knifes were just sharp. This new knife is extra-terrestrial. 

There is a trick to holding fingers inward and letting the knife always land ahead of the end of the finger tips when slicing. I have learned. 

This new knife is not a knife to learn that skill set. The slightest pressure and forward movement always sent this knife to the top of the cutting board. As if I was holding the knife and merely thinking it through the onion.  

I had to cut a thick piece of cod off of a filet after the onion. I held the large filet in the air and pulled the knife right to left several inches below my hand. One single pull of the knife, done.  

I could go on, but you get the point. 

Now I am in the market for one more high-end knife like this.  I want a Nakiri Bocho style. A good one!! Gonna be fun shopping.

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A PROJECT CONCEIVED

Her needs a shelf cabinet near her computer work station. A place to store stuff. She made the initial drawing, we made a note or two, took dimensions. Key part of the design and build is letting in natural light from the window. 

Twenty percent off sale yesterday at our local lumber store. Materials purchased. Will post as this proceeds.

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SATELLITE TRAINS

I did not know this. I would enjoy watching one of these past through the evening sky. 

I did get to witness the first satellite orbiting the earth in 1957. Sun light flashing off of it as it flew over head.

 

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From the theorganicprepper.com.  Surviving 2023

Not another "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" article, but good ideas/points on how to approach this coming year. 

My grand parents/parents went through the depression. I heard hundreds of stories growing up and watched my elders make what they needed, can meat and vegetables, garden fresh, butcher deer and cattle to keep food on the table. 

Barter economy at work among the local farms and town . 

Find a stray chicken on the road bring it home. Wade out to the oyster beds at low time with a gunny sack. Throw nothing away. Nothing!!

These stories have stuck with me. They way they lived and adapted to downtimes was a way of life.

Being FRUGAL in this coming year is a good plan to add to the list.

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NEW CELL PHONES

Her very old Samsung just gave up the ghost. We think back now and from what we have learned on the road to 2 new cell phones, is that the phone was so old to function in the new 5G system. Her phone started having little problem's at first and then grew into little to no connectivity, dropped phone calls and texting. 

We stayed with Samsung and found great value and deals at "Wallyworld." Also found a gal there who could transfer all information on the old phones to the new ones and complete a full set-up. 

We could have never navigated that road. But getting 2 new phones was a long long day as it turned out. Setting them both up out of the box, was time consuming, could not be rushed and took someone with the skill sets and patience to do the job right. 

Net videos on all the nuances of the new phone have been a big help. The little things that help this new tool be user friendly. We ought to be good for awhile.

I am looking forward to using the new camera(s). Eighty percent of all the photos here over the past few years have been from my Samsung S7 camera. My bet is that new cell phone camera sharing here will rise to 95%. Starting this post.

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FEAR AND CLICK BAIT

It has taken me a few days to get myself up and running in this new year. 

Holiday and vacation at year's end is all over. I think the throttle on the machine is advancing now and the stories of what may be coming are well worth the time to become aware of. 

I start my mornings now with (coffee coffee), a check-in on weather then DRUDGE REPORT. Why not get a media dose of world headlines and fear out of the way? Then off to blogs I enjoy and videos I care to watch. 

Trying better to set my tone for what I have control over and acting on one or two small things that need attending. Getting a hundred of these little chores done here would make a noticeable dent in clean up and little improvements. Will be healthy for mind and body.

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C19 XBB.1.5  

Look it up and be wary wary afraid. Could be setting the stage for lock downs again. It may be more pronounced in blue states.

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SUDDENLY!!

The elephant in the room will become too big not to notice and talk about. I am starting to see more and more stories of healthy folk dropping suddenly. Cannot hide this now. 

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EAST COAST PIPE LINE DOWN 

My wife asked if I have noticed the price jump in gas lately. I have not. But off to top off the Dodge this morning and one side by side diesel container.

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PEANUT BUTTER SHORTAGE.

We are down to two boxes. 

Peanut butter cups are evening snacks while watching TV. Also go to shacks during the day. Diet snacks. One slice of fresh bread and a PB cup is instant gratification.

Not pushing the brand. Just is what is at the market. Time to put in a few more boxes while we can still find them. This concept may come more and more into play as time passes. (Availability) If basic items like this are available now, might be best to take advantage of that fact.

I recently overheard two employees at a local market (different departments) this past week comment on shortages on their shelves. I did not notice it looking at the over all market, but they did enough to comment on it. 

The cost of going to the grocery store has doubled in the past 4 months. What use to cost $25 is now $50.

I have watched folks just standing and staring at the meat counter. I have found myself doing the same. I recently joked to one lady that watching the meat counter never changes the price. She had a sense of humor and agreed. Older gal. Said she now uses the smaller shopping cart because she no longer can afford to fill the larger cart.

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Nice photo of fresh falling snow from the old home in NH.

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BEING NEIGHBORLY

I have mentioned east neighbor before. We have shared garden produce last season and for quite awhile now he has been bringing over a dozen eggs every other week. Four chickens that produce more eggs than he can eat. We drop off bags of chicken feed and scratch several times a year. 

You do not need a lot of chickens to produce eggs for a family.

He also brought over samples of what he cooks, this trip a 7 baked bean dish with more flavor heat than I am use to. 

I reached for a sheet of paper towel as he joked that this dish will clear your sinuses.  He said he used a lot of Ancho chilies, sausage and thick bacon slices. My flavor heat (seasoning) tolerances are increasing after 3 years living in Texas. AND I like it!!

I am going to learn to make this as it is the best I have ever eaten so far. Will share if I can reproduce.

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A WORKING DRAWING

Enough information to start cutting pieces and parts. A work in progress.

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I will leave you with this. Her wheel barrow is in the garage for the next month or two protect it from weather. It took the cats mere minutes to discover a new place to nap. 

Thank you for the visit this week. God bless.