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I have been saving and drying my calendula flowers to use in home remedies. So how do I use them?

Oh, I love the Shaker Village, too! I may need to plan a trip down there this fall. :)

It's been awful around here, too, but thankfully the hens have been handling it OK. There was an article in our paper today with a number to call if you lose pigs or chickens due to the heat. Some program from the government to reimburse farmers who lose livestock. I've never seen that before...

I do the same thing! I read about it in an in-flight magazine several years ago, and have wanted to go ever since. Just have never found them time or money. It sounds awesome tho!

When I thaw mine, I usually put them in a colander to drain off the excess water, since I'm usually making sauce out of them & don't want extra water. You won't need to blanch them. Once they thaw, you'll see why: the skins slip off, and the tomatoes are pretty limp.

I still think I need to buy a couple of cartons of cigarettes. If money becomes worthless, I think cigarettes will be like gold. Britesea - that's a great idea about water! I'm canning pickles today, so I will be sure to do that if I have space left in the canner. :)

I think I'll try the brush first before taking it outside. :D Thanks guys!

Oh my gosh, one of my FAVORITE things about living as far out as we are is the huge number of stars we can see! It's amazing how many more stars actually show up without all the extra light. We had a security light, too, when we moved in, but had the power company come out and turn it off. I...

I love my metal strainer for straining out juices & such when I'm processing fruits & veggies. But it drives me CRAZY to clean it! I never let it sit, so I'm trying to clean it while it's 'fresh', but I feel like it's impossible to get all the bits out of the metal. Any one have any tips for me?

I had the same thought, Hen23!! :lol:

Oooh, fruit leather is a great idea too!!

Why didn't I think of mead??? We have about 3 quarts of unfinished honey to make mead, so that's perfect! DH will be sooo happy. :) And I could do pressure or water bath canning. I guess I would go with pressure canning just to be sure I'm not going to poison us.

Dear DEAR DH came home with 5 baskets full of peaches from our local orchard. They are culls, so they aren't the best quality, and some of them are really too soft to freeze IMO. I'm thinking of running them thru the food mill, and will probably make some more jam out of them, but the 2 of us...

I think we're going to hold off at this point. But thanks for all the advice! :)

I'm a fan of the coconut ones. MMMMMM!!!! At my work, we don't celebrate individual birthdays, but do celebrate our boss's birthday! I work at a branch office, so I generally miss out on the weirdness, but was up there this year when someone was collecting money for a PRESENT for our BOSS...

These are all males, so no eggs. :(

Thanks for the info, guys! I don't know anything about ducks, so I wanted to consult some experts before I do anything.

Are they pretty self-sufficient? We have a pond and are looking for some ducks that will keep the duckweed down. Someone is offering Indian runner ducks for free on Craigslist. I have heard that there are some ducks who will nest in trees, so you don't need to build them a house.

I just smashed my toe (and actually think I asked what to do about it here, too!). Someone recommended soaking it in epsom salts, and that helped a lot! Luckily, I didn't have the pressure build up, so I didn't have to do home surgery on it. :ep

Thanks for the tips! I generally have a glass or 2 of wine & then call it a day (or night, as the case may be). I've got too much to do to waste a day recovering! I was having a good time socializing with friends, and wasn't keeping track. :/