Douglas Alpenstock

Welcome aboard!

I can't handle feather pillows either, but I kept a couple in the garage for the birds.

In spring, I take a couple of handfulls and spread them around when there's a light breeze. Migrating songbirds pick them up to line their nests.

It's particularly delightful to watch swallows catch them on the wing.

Anne Miller wrote:Do you plan your meals before grocery shopping?​

What does meal planning mean to you?

We don't do meal planning per se. Rather, we have a dozen or so "go-to" dishes we consistently enjoy and keep all the ingredients on hand.

We also have a few "emergency meals" in the freezer for times we are tired or brain-dead and don't feel like cooking. Some are frozen meals from scratch (like chili), some are commercial products like chicken pot pies, unseasoned beef burgers, frozen breaded fish, and smokies for roasting. 10-30 minutes and they're on the table, padded out with rice/potatoes/bread and raw carrots or frozen peas.

Anne Miller wrote:Do you use a list to remind you what to buy?

Yes, always. I'll never remember the fiddly bits we need. And I blanche at the prospect of wandering aimlessly through a grocery store -- I want to be in and out with military precision.

One good thing about smart phones is that I can take a snapshot of the list before heading out for assorted errands. Or my wife and I can text other a picture of it depending on who is home.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Yeah, I am growing them, but the OP said she can’t use them because her mother (I think) has an allergy…

Ah! Right you are. Missed that.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:How would lilacs do there?

I was thinking lilacs as well. They have been grown in my area (Zone 3b) since forever. Once established they are tough. As a bonus you can cut them down to the base if needed and they will pop back up.

For evergreens, there are dwarf mugo pines that top out at about 7' and look really nice.

Hey all, I thought this was very interesting and readable.  (Edit: This got caught in the auto spam filter, but it's a legit site run by two smart and sassy women who focus on financial literacy and frugality that's more focused on young women. And they have a lot of fun doing it -- they are very entertaining writers! Lots of useful articles on this site. Please un-spam me )

https://www.bitchesgetriches.com/cheap-grocery-shopping/

Such a system, hypothetical or hopefully not, might be of interest to the poorest of the poor in Banda, India -- one of the hottest places in the country, where the heat won't relent.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmp0krp98ro

I'm glad you have a solution for the moment. I thought it was odd that it wasn't a 240V system, which is standard for well pumps. I suspect you're right, the previous owner jury rigged it to save money on the pump.

Even with the 20A breaker (which should be safe given the wire), at 120V you already have a 9V line loss before the final run to the pump. So the pump is running at a lower voltage, which makes it run hot (counterintuitive), which draws more current. The only risk is a reduced service life for the pump. Naturally these things fail at the most inconvenient time.

Yes, something like that. It's hard to describe in words yet completely obvious when you look at the handle.

M Ljin wrote:You are saying they are made of young poles though?

Yes, I am confident that is the case with many of my garden tools. There is no way you could get that grain from a sawn log.

Though your point is well noted -- I can see how axe handles, for example, could be sawn from larger logs. Hm! Interesting.