Glad I could help Jane

For anyone wanting to make masks I received this in my email this morning.
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https://tinyurl.com/yx9edhtu   

I posted a Folk Song quiz, in the Trivia Quiz section of Village Clubhouse, the Place for Fun. 
Take a look, and take a guess at two of the songs.

Here is a picture of one of my works of art. I built this hutch.

Here is the picture of the hutch.

good evening everyone. well has been a busy day. Had to make two trips to warrensburg , but got the License renewed for the car and me also.I have C D L so i can drive curmishel vehicles trucks and or buses. I most likely wont,except my Owen cmi. truck and trailer. and maybe not even it. I will likely only drive our motor home and pull the trailer with the van on it, If they ever get things fixed where we can travel. sure glad grand daughter got this fixed and the picture posted. I think it needed to be resized. as you can see it is one drawer and door wider, you can see the edge of the fourth drawer and door to th right side. also maybe some of you can resize it and fix the problem. good day. some one asked the other day about our grand's and great grand's living with us. you can see they are lot more help than they are problem plus all the enjoyment the great grands are. the hutch is some of my handy work. I built it in my shop, it was appraised by a cabinet maker for $4,000.
have a great day. good night and sweet dreams' it is Made of red oak. sawed and planed out of a red oak log cut out of a tree on our farm and lumber was sawed by me on a wood Mizer saw mill I used to have. and planed on my big planer.

Lloyd

You do beautiful wood work, Lloyd. Nice that you are enjoying the little ones.

Extremely hot here today and I am exhausted. The humidity was over the top. I cut up a watermelon & took most of it over to my son since he will be taking care of his grands tomorrow. His wife is teaching (remote from school). I think it is more difficult than teaching in person. Also took enough taco soup for their supper tonight, it is a well balanced meal with 8 different types of cans of beans, corn, V8, tomatoes, RoTel & much more, plus fresh onion & garlic & couple pounds of scrambled/browned hamburger.

Cats had their last meal of the day and lounging in the pool area. Last night when I went down to the river, I saw a chicken hawk flying over as Callie followed me down. I made a swing of my arm to show the bird not to mess with us. I have a taller than I am pole I use to hike down into the river bed with and does give me a sense of security, like when I see the fox or coyote. They have never acted like they would chase me and I don't threaten them. They eat whatever I take down and don't feed the fish. I used to always carry a camera down because so many different critters, but have been lazy this year.

Jenny, sorry about the cat bite. Every now & then Tiger will want attention & reach up to pat me to look at her, her toenails are sharp & if they dig in at all they will itch & turn red fast. I do keep a bottle of alcohol handy & a tube of the ... mind went blank, stuff for scratches, etc. 

Amy, I bookmarked that link.... have another sewing job before making any more masks. I tried on a pair of cargo type pants from Chico's my daughter brought me... they have the tabs to roll lets up, but with my short legs it only brings them to ankles.... Decided I can cut them off at the knee & would wear them, they are baggy but I like baggy when hot, can't stand anything tight in summer or driving all day, so I have 2 sizes in my closets. She came with a big bag of tops that most had tags on yet. She's like her father, when he found something he liked he would get one of every color. With these I think when she wore the first one & washed, she didn't like the way it came out of the dryer so didn't wear again. I don't mind ironing, not sure why, but I've always ironed everything.... so have enjoyed all the new tops since we don't have a Chico's on my side of town. In my whole life I've only found one pair of pants too short when shopping... was so surprised I bought them anyway. After the first wash I cut them off for shorts because I was self conscious with them above my ankle. I've always had to hem them up or roll them up.

Gloria, so happy for you that you get extra hours with your buddy. You must be doing something right! 

I am off to bed, can't get enough water today. Cats have been the same, every time I look one or the other is drinking. I have a bowl on the edge of the swimming pool that I fill every time I go out. They will drink out of the pool but the wind & sun has been lowering it every few days so they look like they will fall in when bending down. One of my jobs in the morning, vac the pool and add a few inches of water.

Sweet dreams and God Bless. Prayers for all in need. Shirley

LLOYD, that is absolutely beautiful!  I used to work in the Pennsylvania House Furniture Company office and we had a showroom on the premises.  I don't think there was anything any more beautiful that that in the showroom.  And the fact that you not only built it but you grew the wood makes it very special!

I accomplished a few odd jobs today...nothing spectacular but stuff that needed done and I made a casserole for supper that I can eat until I'm tired of it and freeze the rest.  It's one of my all time favorites. 

Now I'm off to Dreamland and I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy, healthy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!

Good morning everyone, I was so tired last night I was in bed and asleep by 8:30 and woke at 5:30 this morning.

JANE  hope you slept good last night and wake refreshed this morning.

AMY  oh YES when I have enough tomatoes frozen I will make my sauce with meatballs and Italian sausage, in store made at a market I like. Family owned and has a few other stores around the state, not a big chain. Best produce than other markets.

LLOYD  I was ready to call my grandson to check my computer, just not working right. Sunday Windows 10 did an update and now every thing is working better.

AMY  not my kind of mask, I prefer the elastic around my ears.

LLOYD  beautiful piece of furniture. You have a feeling for working with wood. What kind of wood is it?

SHIRLEY  I used to be 5'1" but now I am under 5'. Cannot stand straight anymore. Darn arthritis in my back.

Have a good day and stay safe.

Good morning everyone...

We had a storm last night..lots of welcoming rain ,lightening and not so welcome thunder.

We have the kids coming today so I need to get some thing ready before they come.

Lloyd, that is beautiful....a lot of hard work in that! One of a kind!

Gloria, I have made all kinds  ,neighbour likes the one with the ties, as they don't bother her hearing aid.

Shirley, I would rather make a quilt than shorten pants! I will do them but tis not my favourite thing to do.

Better git and give this place a cleaning before the kids get here.

Enjoy your day everyone. ..stay safe.

Gloria red oak. the log out of it was 20 feet tall before the first limb and 36" in diameter. at that time I had a woodmiser band saw Mill to make lumber with.
I Have in the shop three table saws one up to 14" in diameter two 10".  and two band saws a 14" and a 36" the 36" will cut up to 36" in with and 20" tall. but I wish I had never sold the woodmiser Band MILL. oh well i have enough equipment to play with. may give it all to the grand son he and his wife are the ones that do willing what ever we need.

Lloyd

Good Morning Everyfriend!  We're supposed to have a rainy day today but I'll believe it when I see it.  We we're supposed to have one yesterday and we ha tw small storms that lasted about 10 minutes each and left a few puddles but the roads were dry 15 minutes after they passed.  We could us one of those long, penetrating, soft rains.  Maybe the grass would be green again.

GLORIA, I did sleep better last night.  I woke a few times but went right back to sleep and we didn't get up until almost 7 this morning.  That sure beats 5 a.m.!

Don't know what's on tap for today except that Cooper will be joining us.  Frankie has a shift that will keep her away through suppertime and she doesn't like to leave him alone for so long.  So he comes over and joins us!  It makes Mickie hapy!  And I like him too.  It also gives me two short visits with Frankie!

I hope you all have a lovely day!  Make it your own in every way!  And don't forget to share it with your friends in the Soda Shoppe!

Lloyd, that is a beautiful hutch.  My daughter-in-law would love to have it...she loves oak furniture and that is particularly beautiful.  I'm impressed by your talent.

Supposed to be hot, humid, and a chance of rain here today.  I think the weather people just paste up the same old forecast because they don't know any more than we do what will actually happen.  I don't think I would care to have their job.

Hope everyone who is not feeling well is doing better today.  And, that the rest of us stay well and have a safe and happy day.

Good afternoon all,

After a fine day yesterday, today we have a weather warning, pouring rain and high winds. I went for my walk early, and was rewarded by seeing an otter playing in the river. I have never seen one here before, although I was aware that there is a local population. I was so excited to see it.

Gracie (my Siamese) and I are now snug as bugs indoors and I have no plans to go out again today. I took the precaution of putting all my little pots of plants into the greenhouse, didn't want them flattened by the rain or knocked over by the gales. I really enjoy being indoors sometimes, and never so more as when the weather is crashing about out there - but I appreciate it's easy for me to say when I know I can go out whenever I want to. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to improve and I am going for a walk with my friend in the morning.

Lloyd: your cabinet is amazing, I have no idea how one would begin to make such a beautiful thing. And how lovely to make it from your own wood. I was a bit confused at first as for us in the UK 'hutch' almost always refers to a house for rabbits or guinea pigs! 

I am reading as fast as I can at the moment to get through a 20 Books of Summer reading challenge that is supposed to be finished by the end of this month. Of course it is just for fun, but I don't want to be beaten by it. I have just finished The Family From One End Street and now I have moved on to Fear in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope - it is part of a long series about a house-sitter who inevitably comes across murders wherever she goes. It is quite 'cosy', and although I don't much like the main character, the plots are quite good and I enjoy reading about the Cotswolds, which are a very beautiful part of England (mainly Gloucestershire).

The amount of 'canning' some of you do is so impressive. Last week I did make a few jars of chutney (rhubarb, date and apple) and jam (rhubarb and ginger) but that is the most I have done for years (it was brought on by finding some packets of rhubarb being sold off at Tesco). 'Canning' is another confusing word for us - I first read it in a James Beard cook book many years ago, and I had visions of American people somehow preserving produce in tin cans (the sort we get soup or beans in), I always wondered how you sealed the tins!  But now I think you must mean what we would call bottling or preserving - in glass jars?

I hope everyone is having a good day,

Rosemary

Kids have left for home..house seems so quiet now.  We left the men at home and went to the Mennonite market where I got a half bushel of lovely tomatoes to can . I know what my work will be tomorrow and I hope to get it all done before the Dr calls.
. 

Amy, wish I had your ambition & Jane's to can, but I am good at eating!!!! I started the day like a house afire, had the front watered, ran the vac in the pool & filled water level back a couple inches, cut down all the dead flowers in the little flower bed in pool area. BIG jobs. Every change of water setting means a run to the basement where the controls are for the well. Gloria, I think I wore my short legs down another inch!

Lloyd, my brother had all that wood working equipment you talk about because he had some acres with a creek that ran through & brought him many downed trees, besides the ones on his property. He was shocked when he saw me pay $75. & another $50 for 2 small slabs of walnut that was about 2 inches thick. I was sculpting at that time & needed walnut bases. Man that did that work of cutting, sanding smooth & staining charged me $8. each base he got out of the wood.

Still have some bases but haven't sculpted anything new for years because I quit doing the art shows. I did donate a couple pieces to different charities that brought well over $200 each, not big pieces. Had a lady that fired the pieces for me in exchange for me painting portraits of her dog. I've painted hundreds of dog portraits, started out charging $10-$15 each & quit when making $300-$500 each.

I did sell to a shop but they said they would double but instead tripled what I sold to them for. Got to be too much work to keep track of supplies, the government wanted every tube of paint, canvas & brush accounted for to do the shows and no allowance for how many hours & weeks it took. So last 30 years I've done special paintings as gifts for people that have done a favor for us. I still have a room full of art equipment & supplies but not ready to part with any yet, something to think about "someday".

Well, my mind wandered when Lloyd talked about the oak tree. Lloyd, I still have the table saw we built the house with but most of the other saws eventually wore out. I've given or offered any of the stuff to our sons but they think we may need them here as long as I stay in this house.

Time for me to go feed the fish. Fed the cats but not me. Been a busy day & I am getting my second wind, had a short nap after the yard guys left. Happy to see everyone checking in today. I don't think we will get any of the rain from the hurricanes but daughter is afraid it might mess with her flight plans to come home on Friday. So many bad things going on this year I'm afraid much more and people will really get depressed. 

Hey there Everyfriend!  I didn't have a plan for today but it worked out pretty well.  A few weeks ago, I ran across a recipe for
Carrot Soup that sounded pretty good.  I had some huge carrots in the fridge from the Mennonite store and had everything else on hand to make it so I did.  But when I weighed out the carrots I only had enough for a half batch so I have 4 pints and a half pint in the fridge to eat tomorrow.  I'll let you know how it is.  Sounded like a good lunch for a cold winter day.  And it sure is pretty!

AMY, I think my next project will be tomatoes and/or tomato sauce!  I'm out of both!

Right now, I'm tired enough to be thinking longingly of my bed!  But I can't go there until Frankie picks up her little boy!  He's such a sweetie!

I think this will be my last visit with you all today so I wish you all a peaceful night's sleep and a happy, healthy tomorrow.  And may God bless us, every one!

OK.....I posted something yesterday and I do not see it!  Now what did I do? 

I commented on a few things that I wanted to after reading all the post that you all did before I was able to get in.  Then I told you we are working on something that I would tell you all about after we got the final word and I asked for your prayers that if we are suppose to go through with this then it will work out.....and if we arbor suppose to do this it just will not......well here I am a full day later plus some hours and we still do not have a answer.  It is a glitch on the other end that is holding things up, so hope you noon tomorrow we will have our answer!  God willing.

I wish I had news to tell about the fresh tomatoes I was able to purchase from a farmer or the like!  Not so lucky!

JANE, your carrot 🥕 soup sure sounds yummy!  I hope Frankie arrived shortly after you posted to pick up her Boy Cooper so you could hit the hay!

SHIRLEY, they had a nice rain just south of us this evening but we did not even get a drop!  The smoke was really bad again here today..


AMY, always nice to read that you were able to spend time with your family today. 

PHYLLIS, we are on day 65 of temperatures in the nineties this year.  I think it will go on record that this is the hottest summer in Colorado ever!  The fires are still terrible here in the west.  Sadly, others are having the hurricanes.....I think we are being told some this with all these tragedies going on in our world😘

GLORIA, I sent Regina a friend request n Face Book today.  I thought it would be nice to have her contact so incase you are not able to post.  Of course she will not know who I am so maybe it would be nice if you could tell her.

LLOYD, the hutch you made is beautiful.....thank you for sharing this picture with us. 

It is after midnight so I hopefully can  post this and head off to bed.....sweet dreams to all.

Jenny

Good morning everyone.

Lovely morning here with a temp of 43°F  We are heading into town to pick up a few things.....need hamburg to cook up for the dogs and freeze some too while it is still on sale. Then
 into canning tomatoes.

Jenny, computer gremlins got it   Prayers for you and hope it all works out the way you want it to. Visit was fun and too short....but they have two huge Great Danes they had to get back to..

Jane carrot soup sounds good..now you have me thinking should I do some???

Shirley, you would have loved to spy on the crows here ther other day.....first 5 came to eat and then later on the day 6 came.......must have had company. Next I watch a crow try to take a bath in the bird bath......well it is a bird bath but he was just too big to fit.

Joy, hope all is well at your end.

Better get ready to go.

Enjoy your day everyone  stay safe.

Good morning everyone. Slept good but my eyes stll want to close for more sleep. Just might go lay on the couch for more ZZZzzz's. Nothing much to do till Yvette gets here at 12. Laundry day today. She went for groceries yesterday. Markets having good sales this week and she went to 2 of them. Wow did she get a lot I did not have on my list but things I use all the time. She believes in being well stocked.

AMY  I have a hard time getting my arms up to tie sometimg in back of my head.

LLOYD  that was a huge oak tree. We have a lot of oaks here that a re very tall but not that big around.

JANE  glad you get to see Frankie often. Wish I saw my grands that often.

JENNY  I will let my daughter know who Jenny in Facebook is. I do t grt on it often, only re ason I let my grandson install it for me was to see the pictur es of his son that they used to post often. What name did you use?

Think I will go lay on the couch to watch the news.
Have a good day everyone and stay safe.

Good Morning Everyfriend!  I still have Cooper and I didn't get even a short visit with Frankie!  They asked her to stay and extra hour and then come in at 8 this morning so we agreed that they would both be better off if he just spent the night here.

We did get some rain yesterday.  Just enough so that I didn't have to go out and water the tomato plants and the flowers and that's good because I didn't really want to.

I'm going to eat the leftover carrot soup for lunch.  I'll let you know how it is!

GLORIA, as you can see above, I didn't really have a visit with Frankie yesterday.  But she'll pick up Cooper after work today and we'll have a short visit.  Maybe we'll have supper.  I have two pork chops in the freezer.  Now what goes with them?

The boinger just went off and I have two doggies to feed and walk and my own breakfast to squeeze in there somewhere.  Have a great day!

I just love    good news!!!

BUBBLE will be back with us tomorrow...

Jane, I am sitting here listening to the pop pop of the canning lids.  I am glad the tomatoes are done.....all 19 jars plus a jar of juice to throw in soup. Question.......have you ever canned carrots? If so did you like the end results? I bought two bags and thought if they can ok I would do some.

 

Good Afternoon!  I'm delighted to hea that BUBBLE will be back with us, although I'm not truly surprised.  I just had a really funny email from her.  In fact, I'm still laughing off and on!

AMY, I was that a half bushel or a peck of tomatoes?  That's a lot!  I don't even have that many jars left!  I'm going to have to order some on line because WalMart is out and if they are, I'd be willing to bet most of the stores around her are out too.

I have canned carrots and they were OK but not good enough to tempt me to can them again.  You might like them better and I might like them if I could find another way to can them than the Ball Blue Book's way. and by the way, the Carrot soup is great!  I almost wish there had been more left than a half pint.  I have a feeling that won't last long on the shelf!

Today I made cucumber mint jam out of the cucumbers left from making mustard pickles and my mothers cucumbers and onions (not canned, just eaten).  I'll let you know how that is after breakfast tomorrow.  My plan is for a bagel with cucumber jam for breakfast.  I did lick my fingers and it tasted pretty good!

I don't seem to have the energy I used to have to do all this canning stuff and take care of a house and two dogs.  You don't suppose it has something to do with my age, do you!  I couldn't be getting old!  I was just 45 a couple of weeksago. 

Jane, that was 1/2 bushel. I am also going to have to get more jars, just bought 4 cases but tomatoes took some and I have beets plus a LOT of pumpkin squash!!! Did you get the photos I sent? They are getting huge plus taking on a curl in their shape. I hope to save some seeds for next year..

Wednesday afternoon already!  My goodness the time sure does seem to fly.

Such wonderful news that BUBBLE is feeling better and will return tomorrow. 

AMY, I just heard on our local news that lumber prices are up 80% and there is a very short supply here.  You of course mentioned this awhile back, so I was not surprised.  It has to be Gremlins for sure, that messed with my posts.  I will admit that I was messing back and forth with one message for SS and Norm's but one would think I would not forget to hit post on both of them.  To be honest though, right now, anything is possible with me as I truly question my brain right now🤪. I definitely remember my mom canning 🥕!   How nice to be hearing pop pop pop from the canned tomato lids!  Hope you got the doggies Hamburg cooked and ready for them.  Those lucky doggies😘 Do you put veggies in their meat? 

GLORIA, I am Jenny Hardin on Facebook.  I look forward to hearing back from Regina. How nice Yvette did such a good job of buying specials at the store for you yesterday.....she sure is a great friend and helper for you.

JANE.....yummm, cucumber 🥒 mint jam👍👍  You always have so many nice yummy things you make.  I think your carrot soup may not last through the entire winter!  As good as it sounds, it may not make it to winter 🤣🤣🤣 Hope you are enjoying your time with Frankie tonight.

Believe it or not, we STILL are on hold with our wait for what JACKIE, in Norm's group guessed, a real estate deal.  We are nearly beside ourself!  Bob has had about enough with the selling agent and he is ready to say....forget it!  Word is, the selling agents computer died on him yesterday afternoon.....so he has been unable to get the offer to the lady selling for a signature, and in turn get it to us.  He is to purchase a new computer and hopes to have it to us tonight🤬🤬🤬🤬 My question is??  What kind of fly by night RE Agent only has access to only one computer to get his work done?  Sadly, we are taking this as a bit of a warning sign. 

I made meatloaf in our air fryer for dinner and we are setting down to eat right no....it seemed to do a great job of cooking it.

More later,
 Jenny

JENNY, I have to make a stop at the Mennonite store down the road by the weekend and if I go down the right aisle, those great big, locally grown carrots might just jump out in my basket and cry to be made into more soup!

I hope things work out the way you want them to with the RE deal.  If it was meant to be, it will happen. 

AMY, FYI, I've always found that pumpkin freezes nicer than it cans.  My recipe used a cup and half of pumpkin so I kind of developed the habit of freezing it in 1 cup portions.  (Around here, you can NEVER make 1 pumpkin pie at a time so one cup packs worked out just right).  Make sure you drain it well before you mash it.  I did that in the food processor.  It was one of the few things I did do in the Instant Pot and it went fast with not all the moisture of boiling.

Enough of the canning stuff.  We're probably boring all of you who don't can.  I'm going to go in the living room and perch of the couch with dog on each side and watch whatever comes on before my eyes slam shut. 

Thanks everyone. total height is 6'7: tall and bottom to just above the drawers is 28" and it is 6'8" long. On the bottom shelf of the top part right in the middle are, three angles made from over 100 years old stinted glass from the old church windows I tore down in 1999. I also have a little kids rocking chair I built from some of the same lumber that the hutch is of. I will try to post a Picture of it here also, this house is built out of used Lumber rock and bricks out of old buildings I and son Jeff (deceased ) tore down.

Lloyd

well I messed up and lost s&f all together but stumbled around and got it back on line by shutting down and re starting computer. so I am going to shut it down for today and bid you all good night and sweet dreams.  i will tomorrow night get dil to help me get a picture of a child's chair i built. It comes all apart for storage.

Lloyd

Reading about the carrot soup & canning, I've never been a BIG fan of carrots but know they are so good for us, so did what my mother did, made "candied carrots". I use a small pressure cooker so works fast, pound or two carrots, put some celery (heart) chopped up as well as Mrs.Dash... and I do salt everything.... and when done pour off most (not all) of the liquid and throw in brown sugar & simmer a while longer. I buy the bags of already cleaned baby carrots & rarely have any left over. Even the grands & great grands love them.

I've been on a potato salad kick & not real happy with the store bought so experimenting with my own recipes. Did a potato in the microwave first time, took the skin off & chopped up, added the usual hard boiled egg, chopped onion, sweet pickle relish, mayo & mustard. So good I peeled 2 fairly large potatoes, hard boiled eggs & all the rest & made enough for 2 meals. Took some of my baked salmon out of the freezer & heated it in a skillet with butter, filled my tummy & was ready for a nap. Seems all I do is eat & sleep... and feed cats.

Amy, I would have loved watching the crows. Have not seen any this year. Not many birds of any kind. Not the fault of the cats, don't see many birds anywhere. Am not seeing any red winged blackbirds down along the river this year. Kind of concerned, what will eat the bugs if no birds?  I'm afraid that is what has happened to them... too much spraying on yards, shrubs & trees and killing off the birds. FYI, my cats prefer their hamburger raw instead of cooked. They are going through a real picky stage right now... 

Good luck with the deal, Jenny, but I don't envy you any kind of moving. I went down to sort clothes today & gave up because too many stacks of all kinds. Goodness, can't believe how many I've accumulated. I don't visit my fav store as much since it moved, but my daughter brought me boxes & bags of shirts so time to pick out the comfy ones that I will wear & take to Goodwill the ones I will put on & take right back off. I'd like to have a garage sale, so much to get rid of & it pains me after hearing that lady with Salvation Army say "75% of clothes donated go to the dump". I needed a dust rag as I was sorting & took one of the oldest shirts & used it instead of coming up to get the Swifter!

Gloria, I'm still amazed that you have found such a jewel to help you. I would settle for a couple hours once a week or every other week, but have not found anyone I am comfortable having inside the house. I did not have a good experience with Home Advisor. My biggest problem is I am the only one that knows what I want to keep or get rid of so have to work right with them & not everyone works well together. One of these days........

So glad Bubble is okay & about ready to return. Being sick today is scary with the vicious virus hiding in every corner & breath.

My son called today to say he just got out of the doctor's office & for sure he has shingles again. This time on the opposite side of his face. On several medications because of being near the eye. He has been under stress with teaching grad students and not all the right size rooms & equipment. He loves working with them but an enormous job when some of the students are in foreign countries & other states so must do virtual as well as work with the ones on campus. We never stop worrying about them, do we?

Good night, Lloyd. One of our neighbors long ago owned a demolition company and their house was built of a lot of stuff they salvaged. They had a wrought iron spiral staircase that went up to a sort of loft over part of  the living room... a library.

Time to feed cats again so will wish all Sweet dreams & God Bless. Shirley

Please don't quit talking about canning!  I've never done it.  My mom used to long, long ago.  My M-I-L did that too.  Her canned, home grown tomatoes were to die for.
I love seeing anything about cooking, baking (eating).  I did get really industrious last week.  Made banana bread, just one loaf, and I'm still eating on that, from a recipe my daughter gave me.  Absolutely yummy!  Also, made some "chicken stew".  A saga about that:  several years ago, I made a pot of chicken stew (accidentally).  Was working with just what I had on hand, and it was delicious.  But, I did not write down what I put in it, and so could never duplicate the non-existent recipe.  So, this time, I had some pre-seasoned chicken breasts, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and chicken broth.  Put that in the slow cooker, and Bam, it was awesome.  Had turned the cooker up the last hour or so (as the carrots were not done) and the chicken kind of made itself into shredded or pulled chicken. Not to worry, it didn't harm the stew/soup at all.  I shared some with two of my neighbors, who loved it.  Ate several times on the rest, and today was the last of it.  I fished out the remainder of the shredded chicken and made me several chicken tacos!  Ta Da!  I am not one who is opposed to left-overs.