09:49 – It was 48.1F (9C) when I took Colin out around 0730 this morning, damp and with heavy fog. The forecast for the rest of this week is pretty crappy, with heavy rains/thunderstorms today and rain/snow the rest of the week, with temperatures falling below freezing starting Thursday and into the weekend.
We got some of our plants started yesterday in small pots: five pots each of amaranth, St. John’s Wort, basil, dill, sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, and jalapeno peppers; six pots each of broccoli and California Wonder sweet peppers; and eight pots each of Salad Bowl lettuce, ruby red onions, and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce. The two lettuces and jalapeno peppers are Burpee hybrid seeds. The others are all heirloom/open-pollinated. A lot of the other stuff like tomatoes, green beans, squash, turnips, parsnips, garlic, potatoes, etc. will be direct-seeded in the garden over the coming weeks.
We’re going to make up another batch of barbecue sauce today and have pork barbecue sandwiches for dinner. I’d ordered a bunch of stuff from Walmart to make it up, including three 114-ounce jugs of ketchup, two 105-ounce jugs of mustard, and four bottles of Worcestershire sauce. The first time UPS damaged the order, and Walmart re-shipped it. That was to arrive March 27th, but on March 24th I found out that UPS had also destroyed the second shipment. I figured Walmart would re-ship automatically, but as of this morning they hadn’t. So I contact their support via Chat and asked them to do so. I just go the confirming email that they’re reshipping it, so I’m hoping the third time will be a charm.
After initially having reservations, Barbara has decided that she really likes the Keystone Pork. We’ve used it so far for barbecue and in the slow cooker to make pork gloppita. We’ll be using it regularly for normal meals, so I’d better order another couple of cases.
Keystone claims a 5-year shelf life officially, but I’ve spoken to them about shelf life. One woman there told me that while they call it shelf life, in fact it’s a best-by date, and even that is really pessimistic. She said she’d eaten several of their meats that had been packed ten or more years previously and she couldn’t tell any difference between them and stuff they’d just packaged. Like most canned goods, these canned meats have actual shelf lives of decades. Other times, I talked to two different people there, who said pretty much the same thing.
Unfortunately, Walmart will let me order only the pork and beef chunks. I’d like to order more of their chicken and ground beef, but even when Walmart has those allegedly in stock they won’t let me add them to my cart. I just get a message that tells me they’re unavailable and that they can’t ship or deliver them to my nearest store with that combination of options. Oh, well. We like both the beef chunks and the pork, so that’s what I’ll order.
Speaking of which, just for a giggle I decided to check Target on-line yesterday. They do carry Augason products, although not Keystone meats. The problem is the same as it was the last time I checked, a year or two ago. Their prices are much, much higher than Walmart for the same items. They’re usually even higher than Amazon, which is saying something.
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