DUCKS for THEE in 2023

[Dahlia]

because they can serve so many purposes that we get very engaged with them and then when they don't work we really feel it.

as to chattering about various Linux distributions... (aka this is an aside - you can skip it if you'd like )...

ok, my previous other posts on the topic mentioned i was was runnig a testing Debian Linux distribution but that is a choice i've made to help out in finding problems before the testing version becomes the stable version. if you were going to run a Linux version where you wanted it to be less of a risk definitely pick a stable one instead. Debian does have that and it goes through regular upgrades but they are much more careful and the upgrades are usually called point releases because they do not change the major versions of programs without a lot more testing.

for their regular upgrade cycle for the stable systems they do this about every two years but it is often rather painless for a normal person.

i usually keep a stable partition available just in case the testing one has issues and i need access now.

all this talk about different kinds of distributions can be fun, for Debian they have plenty of different levels of mayhem you can pick and it is all covered on their website. for those who really like living on the edge they have a distribution which is called sid (which is actually not really distributed formally as their main goal as a project is to put out their stable distribution). if you want to know what this means, they base all their release names upon characters from the movies Toy Story and sequels. sid is the kid that always broke the toys... chaotic. so, while i can run it i don't because i want to help out with testing so...

for someone who's running a production system that needs access all the time you never would run a testing installation other than to test it before you used it in a stable system.

and then aside from Debian there is another Linux distribution called Ubuntu (which is based upon Debian). so there's that too which is more user friendly and popular.

there's a large number of Linux distributions and then beyond that there are also many layers you can put on top of it which are called desktops and each has their own entire ecosystem of programs. i happen to use the MATE desktop because i like keeping things more on the simple side (it's not as demanding upon the hardware). and the other issue is the web browser you like and how it works with your desktop. and then to make things even more fun there are people who don't use desktops at all so it is all command line terminals for them... which is ok and how i do most of my own programming...

so that's a sort of summary (and summery? ) version of an introduction to Debian and other ways of doing the same thing (computing)... i'm always happy to answer questions in PMs or other threads (who me hijack? )...

I use Ubuntu / Linux on my laptop and I love it! I like to use all of the open source drawing and designing programs out there like Inkscape, Gimp, and Scribus just to name a few!

 

[ducks4you]

Checking in, so you y'all don't worry!
Handful of the beets are up, and 4 potatoes.
DD, who housesat, froze 2 gallon bags of tomatoes while we were in Alaska, and ate a BUNCH! She made herself 3 meals of BLT's.
I brought in tomatoes with cracks, bagged and refrigerated after 2 went MOLDY sitting out, so I pressure canned 3 quarts, just to be sure.

 

[ducks4you]

So I asked DD's if we should have BLT's for Sunday lunch, and frozen pizza with cut tomatoes for dinner.
They said, "YES!!!!!", and came for lunch to stay through dinner.
They dragged me to the guest room, called me a hoarder and we filled 5 garbage bags to the big can, so this week it's full.
I had started the above tomatoes and they were cooking away in my crock pot All afternoon, making the house smell wonderful.
Seems like 10 minutes at 10 pounds pressure (according to the pressure canner meter) seemed a little shy, so I cooked them for 15 minutes, instead.
EVERYBODY is eating through the tomatoes!!! Good thing we didn't use all of the ones from 2022.
I have the Typical horse owner/water hose problem, of leaving it on. I have left it run all night, more times than I care to say. DH came up with a brilliant solution. I have taken a necklace that I will NEVER wear ever again, I hang it by the back door with keys. When I turn on either the city water faucet OR the cistern water faucet I wear it on my hand and twist the end around my pinky, so I remember that the water is running.
Then I also wear a watch and decide how long I need to run the water.
Works like a charm!

 

[ducks4you]

i don't think kitchen garbage bags are food contact safe... i hope you had those grapes in something else besides.

I am using biodegradable garbage bags.

 

[heirloomgal]

How was your trip to Alaska?

 

[flowerbug]

I am using biodegradable garbage bags.

that doesn't sound particularly food safe to me either, but good luck...

 

[ducks4you]

I finished weeding the sawgrass, crabgrass and violets out of the wildflower garden. I got tasked with dinner tonight and haven't YET made it outside to do some digging and planting.
I took a bunch of older flower seed and herb packages, emptied them into a cleaned out plastic applesauce container and shook them up. Might be tomorrow before I can plant, BUT, ANYTHING that will set some roots may/may not make it until 2024, but might grow there.
It's a work in progress...
DD froze 2 gallon ziploc bags of tomatoes while I was in Alaska. I have never frozen tomatoes before, so I looked online for advice.
I will NEVER process the way this one woman does it!!
She empties the frozen tomatoes into a crock and a stock pot, then covers them with cheesecloth to let them defrost.
THEN, she hot water baths them right after sticking her hands in the tomato mess, even squeezing the juices out of one tomato,.
THEN, she used a dishtowel to wipe the rims.
Bacterial growth, anyone?!?!?
I use a clean paper towel every time I can and I replace it if it gets any produce on it.
I poured the tomatoes frozen into a colandar in the sink, ran hot water over them to release the skins, then put them in my crockpot to cook. It took 4 hours for them to boil, SO, it will be aNOTHER pressure canning of tomatoes, just to be sure.

 

[flowerbug]

I finished weeding the sawgrass, crabgrass and violets out of the wildflower garden. I got tasked with dinner tonight and haven't YET made it outside to do some digging and planting.
I took a bunch of older flower seed and herb packages, emptied them into a cleaned out plastic applesauce container and shook them up. Might be tomorrow before I can plant, BUT, ANYTHING that will set some roots may/may not make it until 2024, but might grow there.
It's a work in progress...
DD froze 2 gallon ziploc bags of tomatoes while I was in Alaska. I have never frozen tomatoes before, so I looked online for advice.
I will NEVER process the way this one woman does it!!
She empties the frozen tomatoes into a crock and a stock pot, then covers them with cheesecloth to let them defrost.
THEN, she hot water baths them right after sticking her hands in the tomato mess, even squeezing the juices out of one tomato,.
THEN, she used a dishtowel to wipe the rims.
Bacterial growth, anyone?!?!?
I use a clean paper towel every time I can and I replace it if it gets any produce on it.
I poured the tomatoes frozen into a colandar in the sink, ran hot water over them to release the skins, then put them in my crockpot to cook. It took 4 hours for them to boil, SO, it will be aNOTHER pressure canning of tomatoes, just to be sure.

i don't use paper towels for anything here other than the once a year oil change on the lawn mower... instead of wiping the rims of jars with a paper towel i use a clean dish cloth, it can be a little wet without any issues. i use a dry towel or dry washcloth to wipe the tops of the jars to keep the water spots from showing.

as for getting your hands in tomatoes and worrying about bacterial issues and canning tomatoes it really comes down to how acidic the varieties of tomatoes you can. BWB is fine for suitably acidic enough tomatoes. hands aren't going to have bacteria or anything else on them that isn't already around. it's the botulism bacteria that's the stinker and that's not going to be an issue if your acidity is high enough.

if you've frozen the tomatoes then after thawing the skins are supposed to slip right off without any other processing needed. i've never done it that ways, can't say what actually happens. we just don't have enough room in the freezer to do things that way.

 

[ducks4you]

Sorry, her operation grossed me out.
I have had 5 jars of tomatoes go bad on me in 25 years of canning.
Good news--canned 7 quarts this week, and the total in pantry is 50, so every thing else I can is gravy.
Family is devouring every tomato I harvest.

 

[ducks4you]

Put in a 2nd and smaller order to Seeds'NSuch, since I have been getting great deals from them.
I replaced old vegetable seeds that I planted this year and I intend to inventory soon, and use discounts to finish my seed ordering this Fall, for 2024.