Just books today

As there's really not a lot going on. Had to work today as the plant was running to make up for Monday, grabbed a pizza on the way home for dinner, and I have a lot of things I need to get done around here before Quentin gets home. Just because he's been slacking lately doesn't mean I need to do the same, yes? So here's some goodies for today!


KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST

Simple Living: The Ultimate Simple Living Guide - How To Simplify Your Life, Declutter Your Home, Reduce Stress And Be Happier Living With Less (How To ... Stress, Eliminate Stress, Living Simple)
How to Build A Greenhouse And How To Garden In It: Discover How To Easily Build Your Own Affordable Greenhouse & Learn Some Key Secrets on How To Garden In A Greenhouse
How to Grow Beans and Peas: Planting and Growing Organic Green Beans, Sugar Snap Peas, and Heirloom Dry Beans and Peas
Fundamentals of Beer Brewing Illustrated (Fundamentals of Collecting)
How To Compost Manure
Grow Your Container Veggies! Simple Steps To Growing & Harvesting Your Own Vegetables and Herbs!
Aquaponics: Aquaponic Gardening Guide For Beginners

And that's it for today. Much less to go through than a huge pile every weekend, isn't it?

I got my car back...

from the hubster!

Today was a good day. Quentin finally got the van fixed and back on the road, yay! So tomorrow, even though we have to work to make up for the plant giving us Monday off for the weather, I get to drive myself again! I shouldn't be quite so happy, as it means having to fight for a parking spot again, but I don't care. I can sleep in an hour now, and I can do what I want after work and don't have to rely on others to run me around daily now. YAHOOO!!!

Now on to the books!


KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST

Container Gardening - Secrets For The NO Thumbs Gardener - A Complete Guide On The Best Container Gardening Ideas
Tabletop Aquaponics -- for Homes, Schools, Churches, Clubs, and Science Fairs
Asparagus Recipes That Melt In Your Mouth - including this recipe book because who wouldn't like to be able to do more with their asparagus?
The Rationale Behind Homesteading: The Key To Self Sufficiency
Off The Grid Hydroponics - No Power Needed
Kale Made Easy: Simple and Delicious Recipes (Recipes Made Easy)
Grow Your Own Groceries: Vegetables
Homesteading Guide For The Garden Homesteader
Lavender the Universal Herb (Herbal Amicus)
How To Grow Potatoes, Growing Potatoes Made Easy

Sore feetsies!

Man, my feet are killing me tonight. My usual sneakers I wear for work got soaked yesterday, so I had to pull out the old rubber boots with the fuzzy liners. They do keep my feet warm but they don't have good support, so by day's end, my feet ache like crazy. Today was no exception. I'm sitting here wondering why in heck I thought it would be a good idea to wear them instead of wearing plastic grocery sacks over my socks so I could wear my shoes. Aye Chihuahua!!!! It ain't all helped by neck tension trying to become a headache.

Work was a bugger, with a bad breakdown in a neighboring department (leg line), which is where the birds are being worked on prior to coming to my department (debone). It was around an hour long, plus the birds were unusually small today, making for a long, hard day. Quentin got to work today, though the van's not quite done yet, but he has my car. It essentially leaves me stranded at the house, but it also means he gets back and forth to work. His supervisor started teasing on him and I had to join in. "Hey, man, you made it, but why are you here? Your wife told me yesterday you wouldn't be here till Monday!" "Yeah, what happened, I told Pablo  you would be gone all week!" Heehee. Then Quentin got a look in the hoppers at allllll the tiny birds waiting for them and just groaned. "Aw, man, what the heck? This is so gonna suck!" Yeah, I know, better him at that point than me, I was whipped!

Reason the van's not done today, according to husband of mine, is that he had to spend some time in Harrison at O'Reilly's getting "custom fittings" made so that the transmission fluid coolant hoses would reattach to the radiator properly, because for some reason, the old hoses won't connect properly to the new fittings. It didn't occur to him to use the OLD fittings so he'd have the freaking job done already. Then he wonders why, when I saw him in the break room while I was on afternoon personal break, and he tells me this, that I got upset. Lack of thinking applied again. Ugh. And they posted today that we will be working Saturday, which means riding with Eric for another two days before I MIGHT see him getting the van fixed sometime Sunday, because I may have to run errands and do laundry myself while he works on things.

He did discover today that he will have to have the fan shroud back on the thing even though he doesn't like it, and considers it in the way when he wants to do things. This is mainly because with the honking big engine he has in there (a 351 Windsor 5.8L V-8), if he doesn't have the shroud on to help keep the air from the fan blowing more or less on the radiator, it will overheat badly. Ooops.

The boys are currently curled up on the other side of the bed playing a very serious game of Catball. For non-cat-people, or cat people who don't know the term offhand, it's when your cat curls up in a ball for a very important nap, and usually it's in homes with multiple cats. The more cats you have, the more seriously the loveable little furballs take this particular game. Bouncer and Smudge have been at it for over an hour and are still going strong. I can hear them both snoring. SNNNNXXXXXXX!!!!! Sheesh.

Me, I'm going to hunt down books for y'all and post them, and then likely go to bed early. I'm one taaahrd gal tonight!

KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST


Jerky :The Ultimate Recipe Guide - Beef, Turkey, Vinison, Alligator, and more!
Syrup :The Ultimate Guide - Over 30 Homemade & Best Selling Recipes
50 Recipes For Apple Crumble, Apple Trifle, Apple Cupcakes and Apple Cheesecake - Delicious Apple Dessert Recipes (The Ultimate Apple Desserts Cookbook ... Apple Desserts and Apple Recipes Collection)
Building a Wood Fired Oven in a Day

And one cookbook I thought was really interesting because it's beets. I don't know about you guys, but I like beets. Problem is, there only seems to be one or two ways folks in my family know how to cook them - plain or Harvard. I had to grab this one for some other possible ideas. Beets: The Ultimate Recipe Guide - Over 25 Healthy & Delicious Recipes

And that's it for tonight that's interesting. As usual, midweek there isn't a whole lot, but come the weekend, there will be a slew of them!

Kindle freebies of interest

This is a short post of basically just the day's Kindle freebies, which most posts will be from now on ... I'll post news as it happens but on days when there is none, it'll be just freebie books. Or at least freebie at the time I post them. Goodness knows, they don't stay free forever! On the upside, I have a ride to and from work with Eric for the next couple days while Quentin finished up the radiator repair on the van, because it's just cold enough that he can't be outside for long. He has to have bare hands to do the repair work so he can feel what he's doing, and he's nearly done with it, but not quite. He still has a couple bits and bobs to reattach, and the lower radiator hose (which we also had to get, the old one had blown up too), and the antifreeze to put in. With luck, he might get it done tomorrow before work and be able to take the truck to work.  If nothing else, he'll have the car so he can get back and forth to work without worry. More on this situation later, as things develop.

KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST


Garden Design and Landscaping - The Beginner's Guide to Successfully Landscaping a Garden ('How to Plan a Garden' Series)
COMPLETE HYDROPONIC GARDENING BOOK: 6 DIY garden set ups for growing vegetables, strawberries, lettuce, herbs and more.
Vertical Gardening Tips For Beginners
Fermented Foods: How to Ferment Vegetables
A Beginners Guide to Companion Planting: Companion Gardening with Flowers, Herbs & Vegetables (Simple Living)
A Beginners Guide to Keeping Backyard Chickens - Breeds Guide, Chicken Tractors & Coops, Hatching & Raising Chicks Plus More... (Simple Living)
Beginner Soap Making: Simple Homemade Recipes
The Dirt On Square Foot Gardening
Brewing Beer: The Simple Guide to Homebrewing Beer
Modern Rustic: Greenhouses and Gardening: A homesteading guidebook for subsistence gardening, heirloom vegetables and greenhouse ideas
Canning and Preserving Book for Beginners: Easy Canning Recipes and Supplies to Jump Start Your "How to Can, Preserve and Survival Food Storage"
Boxed Set 6 How to Make Natural Skin Care Products
Okay, this is a recipe book, but I love apples and all kinds of recipes for them. Pamela K's recipe books are full of goodies that are easy to make and generally call for easy to find ingredients. So I kind of had to toss this one in the mix, lol.
50 Delicious Apple Muffins and Apple Bread Recipes - Bake Homemade Apple Bread and Muffins Today (The Ultimate Apple Desserts Cookbook - The Delicious Apple Desserts and Apple Recipes Collection)

Van breakdown

I took a point today because I really didn't want to have to get up at 5AM to catch a ride with Eric to get to work. Good thing I did, much as I hated to, though now I'll have to ride with him no matter the time for a few days. Why, you ask? Good question!

Quentin's van somehow blew out the radiator yesterday. We knew late yesterday after digging out that it had a bit of a leak somewhere, but until this morning, we didn't know exactly how bad it was. We are NOT happy campers. This means he has to take another point tomorrow ... so his check next week will be super-duper short and mine won't be much better.

The day was long so far. We got dug out yesterday and the deck and stairs are dry, but take a look at our screen door!

That is after Quentin had to literally kick it open yesterday in order for us to get out to do any cleanup outside after the storm, including digging out the vehicles. We now need a new screen door, but at $20, it's relatively cheap compared to the fix on the van that he is now working on.

Because somehow, it's not just a leak. It's a blowout on the radiator. He took off the air cleaner and some other stuff that I have no clue what it is (vehicle smart I am not, I really need to be smarter than I am but I limp along on this particular topic), and poured a little antifreeze in to find the leak. It just gushed right back out just to the right of where his upper radiator hose comes out or goes in or whichever.

Which meant that I had to make some phone calls to auto parts stores. He does not do well on the phone, and considers everybody to be either deaf or stupid. He yells into the phone and then when they can't understand his shouting at them, shoves the phone at me and tells me to deal with it. Folks like dealing with me on the phone for some reason, gee, maybe it's because I modulate my voice and don't get mad if they don't understand immediately.

We finally found an O'Reilly's over in Huntsville that could have the part for us today, though it just about wipes us out financially. I've got a full check, lazy has a 3-day check from last week, and I'll get some child support in. Good thing the cash I had on hand hadn't been turned into a money order to go pay on a bill yet. I kept procrastinating all last week about it for some reason, and I guess it was a good thing I did. I was either too tired or there was a line at the service desk to get one, and I didn't feel like waiting.

The road grader came through just after lunch and plowed the road going downhill. He had chains on all four tires and got smart, going up to the top of the road and plowing everything downhill ahead of him so he wouldn't have to fight the weight of the snow and ice along with the hills. I crept my little car down the road right behind him. Victor, my Aveo, is a 5-speed standard transmission, and I love that little car. Four-cylinder, 16 valves, and a dual overhead cam. Heh heh. I may not be a gearhead like Quentin, but I do know some things, and one of them is that a compact car with that much engine power is a little pocket rocket. Still, even creeping down the road in neutral, riding the brake and the clutch all the way to be safely coasting, I still slid a few times.

Going as slow as I was, to where the spedometer needle was literally buried at zero, we wouldn't have gotten stuck too badly, but you should have heard Quentin. "Oh, God, here we go, we're done." EVERY single time I started to slide the least little bit. Never mind that was when I'd let off the brake a bit and steer into the skid and get out of it and headed back down the road. No, Mr. Doom and Gloom was certain that we were done for.

Got down to the bottom and headed over to Huntsville. The main roads were clear and reasonably dry, but good thing we had the toboggan with us. That radiator is a heavy thing, and Quentin was certain to begin with that he'd be able to just hoist it on his shoulder and walk up the road with it. As much as I slid going down, I am not about to try driving up the road till at least Friday. Add in three gallons of antifreeze, and you have a load and a half. So, up the road we went, Quentin insisting on doing all the pulling. (Momma didn't raise no fool in that respect - somebody wants to do all the work, I'll be a nice lady and let 'em and not say a word.)

Partway up, neighbor Chip was coming up and took pity on us and loaded us, radiator, antifreeze and all in his Kia Sorrento and drove us uphill to our drive and in behind the van to unload. So now while it's just after 5PM, Quentin is outside doing what he can to tear the old radiator out and put in the new one before dark. He'll probably have to take a point tomorrow too in order to get it all done, but he's already been warned that if it isn't finished by the time I get home tomorrow night, he's getting laid into and he will deserve it. I love him to death, but I also know how lazy he can be given an opportunity to be so.

I have water heating up to get some dishes done in a bit and still have to finish up putting away the laundry, but after the way today's goine, it's time for some blogging and books and then finish chores before I have some well-earned supper. Meanwhile, imagine the kitties happily curled up on the end of the bed by my feet, purring their little hearts out. Smudge esecially is loud, Bouncer I can just feel him vibrating against my foot.

Till next time ... I'm off to find some good books for y'all.

KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST


8 Different Crochet Stitches: Learn to Crochet Something New with Free Crochet Patterns
The History of Herbs (The Herb Books)
50 Popular Types of Herb (The Herb Books)
The Coriander Book
Simple Food Storage Strategies: The Delicious Beginners Guide to Canning, Pickling, Smoking and Preserving Your Way to Savings and Preparedness! [Illustrated Ed]
The Fermentation Process: Of Beer, Wine, Bread, Cheese, Yogurt and Chocolate
Fermenting: How to Ferment Vegetables
Backyard Chickens: The Beginner's Guide to Raising and Caring for Backyard Chickens (Homesteading Life)
Growing and Cooking Herbs - A guide for taking herbs from garden to plate
Grow Your Own Vegetables - 3 Book Bundle: The Vegetable Growers Guide to Companion Planting: The Role of Flowers, Herbs & Organic Thinking. Raised Bed Gardening.Vegetable Container Gardening
Vegetables and Spices
Everything You Need To Know About Vegetable Gardening
Detailed Instructions For The Gunsmith At Home
Growing Basil (Growing Herbs)
Growing Upside Down Tomato Plants: Learn How to Set Up a Topsy Turvy Planter (Gardening)
Easy Homemade Organic Dog Food Recipes: A Complete Recipe Guide
Container Gardening Secrets
That's it for today. BUNCH of them this time, wow!

PS - And of course today has to be the day that the bedroom's space heater goes out. We still have the one in the living room but boy are we hard on heaters ... course when you have to run them 24/7 they do not last long!

Hooo boy!

Weather is continuing to be freaking cold. Temps are barely in the teens and I'm not thrilled with the plant not closing tomorrow as well. I grant, it will be much warmer and all, but there's a lot of us who don't have 4x4 and won't be able to get to work. I might be able to ride with Eric if he takes his mother-in-law's 4x4, but if not, I will likely have to take the day off due to the mountain road. It's near impassable again with close to four inches of sleet frozen onto it and they haven't plowed it yet. We shall see.

Quentin doesn't want to worry about ditching the van again, because even with chains on the rear drive wheels, there's always that chance when there's this much ice on the road. I don't like him taking a point, but at least he's off probation so he has points to use for that. I wouldn't like taking a point myself tomorrow, because I've only got to get through the end of this week and I get a point back, but better safe than sorry. Short checks are not fun, when you have bills to pay and gas to get and groceries to get and such, but it's better that than having to spend a bunch of money on a tow bill to get out of a ditch, or worse, not being able to get out or wrecking the vehicle.

We did get the vehicles out, though, and the deck/stairs cleared. If they plow the road, Quentin's promised to get the front of the drive cleared, so that's something I won't have to do. AND I just heard from Eric. I'll have to be up super-early because he wants to be on the road by six, which means I have to be up by about 5AM (two hours early, ugh), but if we can get out with his MILs 4x4, we are off to work. Quentin gave him a couple of beers to haul home with him in thanks, so I have a ride. Eric, it seems, really doesn't want to have to take a day off, either. He's only got one point left to spare with all this craptastic weather we've had, so he almost has to go in, like it or not. Me, I want to get the hours (and therefore the money) and get a point back rather than burning one. Most of us would rather have points to spare than not ... it's easier to deal with work knowing if you NEED to desperately, you can take a day off, rather than saying oh gosh, I have got to go in no matter what for a month.

So now it's time to do some Kindle freebies, online money making and some knitting. I'm going to have fun relaxing the night away before I have to be up at the ungodly hour I do to get to work on time ... hugs all, till I have time to write again!

KINDLE FREEBIES

Homegrown Humus: Cover Crops in a No-till Garden (Permaculture Gardener)
Pickle It!
Simple Recipes for Easy Homemade Face Scrubs and Body Exfoliants (All Natural Cosmetics)
Natural Essential Oils and Aromatherapy For Beginners
Food Storage and Emergency Bread Guide: Methods and Tips about Food Storage and Making Bread without an Oven
Aromatherapy: Essential Oils and Healing
Beekeeping Buzz: The Beginning Beekeepers Guide to Their First Hive
The Greenhorn's Guide to Chainsaws and Firewood Cutting

You local news and weather ...

from the Ozarks. Here, it is starting to pick up with the storm the Ozarks is getting. About 5AM this morning, we started to get intermittent sleet and wintry mix, which got steady till about 20 minutes ago. There was some thunder as well. It has stopped for the moment, but it's pretty white out there from this stuff. I'll have to go out and clear the deck and steps later today before dark, but generally, I'm just going to hunker down in bed with the laptop. I'm so glad the internet got turned on Friday and that I picked up a cheap router so I don't have to go sit in the living room if I don't want to.

I guess I'm just a bit of a lazy homesteader, in that I don't want to go outside in crappy weather to do things if I don't have to. Maybe that's just everybody in general, but doing outdoor chores in weather like this really is not the least bit appealing!

But having internet does mean I can work online more often and make some money, which will mean things get done faster around here. It also means that all those Kindle freebies will e a near daily occurence now, and will likely be free when you guys get to them instead of having to HOPE they'll be free when you get to them. That's been annoying for a lot of folks, I know, and I'm glad to have internet at home so that it won't be an issue anymore. And that concludes our weather and news for the day. Hugs all - it's off to hunt down books! And there's a reason I'm doing all text links anymore ... I do not like the new scripting Amazon has for "text and image" for books. It's a bit wonky in that it has a LOT of lines of code, which is fine ... unless you really don't like to have ten lines of characters in your blog post when three will do the job. What was wrong with the OLD way, I'd like to know?

KINDLE FREEBIES

Homesteading Books

Beginner's Guide to Home Brewing
CONTAINER GARDENING: IDEAS & WOODWORKING PLANS HOW TO PRODUCE MORE ORGANIC VEGETABLES IN LESS SPACE - This is one set you MUST get. LOTS of great plans!
Pest Control for Organic Gardening: Natural Methods for Pest and Disease Control for a Healthy Garden
How To Grow Garlic, Growing Garlic Made Easy
A-Z of Traditional Home Remedies
101 Top Herbal Remedies: With Fast & Helpful Uses
Vertical Gardening: Designs & Wood Working Plans - Ideas for Organic Gardening & Urban Gardening
Canning Vegetables, How To Can Vegetables,Step By Step Guide (Canning and Preserving Guides)
Food Dehydration For Beginners, Drying Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, Jerky, Seeds, Nuts
Fall and Winter Gardening: 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and Grow for Late Season Food
Organic Pest Control: The Ultimate Organic Pest Control System to Protect Your House, Garden, and Food (Organic Gardening - How to Guide on Natural Pest Control and Growing Your Own Food)
The Magic of Marigolds - Marigolds for Health and Beauty (Health Learning Series)
Our Survival Essentials: The self-sufficiency, homestead, prepper book for people that want to not only survive, but to thrive, in a difficult world
Year Round Vegetable Gardening with Deep Organic Techniques: Expert Tips for Small Farmers - How to Make Money from Year Round Organic Gardening
Chinese Cabbages Growing Practices and Nutritional Information


Cookbooks

76 Delicious, Quick & Easy Chicken Recipes - Healthy Yet Simple Chicken Recipes
EASY ONE BOWL CAKES AND CUPCAKES PLUS FROSTING! - Easy, No-Fuss Cake and Cupcake Recipes - 40 Favorite Recipes!
Chicken Recipes: 21 Classic Italian Chicken Recipes That You Will Love!
Top 30 Most Popular Mexican One Dish Recipes in Just 3 Or Less Steps That You Must Eat Before You Die
Italian Holiday Cookie Tray - Best Homemade Biscotti & Cookie Recipes For All Occasions!
30 Delicious Sweet Potato Recipes - Tasty and Healthy Sweet Potato Recipes (The Ultimate Sweet Potato Cookbook Including Recipes For Sweet Potato Soup, ... Potato Salad, Sweet Potato Souffle and More)
Paleo Cookbook : A Quick Guide With Deliciously Easy Recipes For Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Sandwich Ideas Cookbook. 75 Delicious Sandwich Recipes With Easy To Find Ingredients
50 Quick and Easy Vegetarian Meals - 5 Ingredients or Less Easy Vegetarian Recipes (Vegetarian Cookbook and Vegetarian Recipes Collection)
30 Easy Breakfast Recipes - Including Egg Recipes, Omelette Recipes, Pancake Recipes, Waffle Recipes and More (Breakfast Ideas - The Breakfast Recipes Cookbook Collection)
21 Classic Italian - Vegetable Side Dish Recipes To Compliment Your Main Dish!
Quick & Delicious - EASY NO-BAKE DESSERT RECIPES - AMAZING Pies, Cakes, and Cheesecake Recipes (Easy Dessert Recipes Collection)
50 Delicious Apple Cake Recipes - Delicious Apple Cakes To Make And Share (The Ultimate Apple Desserts Cookbook - The Delicious Apple Desserts and Apple Recipes Collection) - Oh yeah. One of my favorite fruits!
Piece of Cake Paleo - Bread and Breakfast Recipes
Top 30 Most Popular Mexican Salad Recipes in Just 3 Or Less Steps That You Must Eat Before You Die
Easy & Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes (Delicious Beef, Chicken, Turkey and Pork Recipes)
Easy Healthy Recipes: Easy & Healthy. Delicious & Satisfying. Plus Healthy Nutrition Tips.
Healthy Soup Recipes: 40 Delicious Tasting Home made Recipes
Delicious Duos: 50 Appetizer and Dessert Recipes
Wheat-Free Classics - Breakfast and Dessert Recipes
Vegetarian Lunches (Love, Laugh, and Live Vegetarian)
Barbecurious: A Beginner's Guide to American Barbecue
Even More Make and Freeze Recipes (Eat Better For Less Guides)
30 Delicious Chicken Breast Recipes (Fabulous Chicken Dishes - The Chicken Recipes Collection)
The Vegetarian Soup Bible (The Vegetarian Bible Series)
165 Campfire Recipes Grilling - Foil Packets-Dutch Oven- How to Build a Fire- Camping with Kids & MORE!