Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Monday, January 28, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  


We got more snow, so the wood is buried.  We will forever, never forget to stock up this summer.  We both agree, last year was very tough on our family emotionally, and physically we just went into hibernation with grief.  We do realize now that maybe staying busy would have helped us much more in more ways than one.

We made a call, fired up "Big Red" with a jump (too cold out to work on her), and headed out for a road trip.  Back home with a load of wood.  We will have the worst cold weather here in 4-5 years they said.  It's also the anniversary of the blizzard of '78 when we had 1 inch of snow and 10 foot high drifts due to the wind that year.  I do remember some of that.  Mom filled the bathtub with water and a boil advisory was on.

They are predicting 3-7 inches of snow today, but Daughter's school was not delayed or closed.  I'm predicting the let them out early today.

They are now saying we'll get wind chills of -39 to -50°F in our state.  I'm so worried about the chickens right now.  We also haven't seen the stray "Leo" that would come to our house to eat.  I am worried about him too.  Wednesday will be our worst day yet.  We literally just thawed the pipes and woke up to the hot water frozen, so doing dishes today will be oh so fun. Not.  Meanwhile our electric bill is skyrocketing.  Lord help us all.  We may purchase a propane heater (aside from the one we borrowed) as a back up.

Yesterday I got my very first manicure.  Daughter is being trained in school and I was her practice person.  I'll admit it feels strange to have polish on (I only use non-chemical polish and not very often due to the work I do around here).  She was pretty proud of herself, and I found out I can book appts. with her at her school.  


On the breakfast plate. . .
Bagel and Coffee


The weather outside . . .
I think I covered this in my intro...ugh


On the to-do list . . .
-dishes
-laundry
-winterize the coop more than ever (toss straw down to make sure their feet stay dry, put plastic over their ramp door and look for another heat lamp)
-sweep floors, vacuum
-put trash out (I missed last week due to drifting)
-Clean one bathroom
-dinner prep
-make homemade shampoo



On the menu . . .
In no particular order-
-Homemade pizza
-Beef Burgundy(Crock pot, recipe will be posted soon)
-Biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs
-Meatballs and hot pepper mustard sauce, quinoa, broccoli
-cabbage/sausage/potatoes
-Tuna and noodle, steamed broccoli
-homemade sloppy joes and sweet potato fries
-spinach/parsley pesto pasta and a veggie
-waffles (for this weeks breakfast), sausage
Snacks - hummus, deviled eggs


Reading . . .
Same book - Snow, Stars and Wild Honey


On the TV . . .
We finished The Ranch, as well as You (which by the way was very creepy).  Now we are stumped on what to watch next.


What I am Creating . . .
Pot holder set and more bookmarks.  Pictures to come soon I hope.  


From the camera . . .
We literally ate this in bed watching netflix yesterday.  Mmmm...so good.

One of my simple pleasures . . .
Slipping into PJ's around 3-4pm, with crochet, a beverage, the TV, and a dog at my feet during cold winter nights.


Prayers . . .
To be honest - for my chickens/rooster and our stray cat Leo (and our entire state we live in).  We have never had these predicted temps.

24 comments:

WILLIE...! =(^..^)= said...

Well..I was Baptised a Catholic..raised as one, until
l was 12yrs old, then l made my own decisions..but,
l'm still a Catholic..people ask me..are you a practising
Catholic?..l always tell them.."No! I'm very good at it"..
Point of this..l do still pray..! And, more often than not..
It works, just for people in life, with family and friends,
and finding a few things a bit difficult..NO! Need to get
down on hands and knees, just a sweeping prayer/comment in
that direction..works wonders..! Bless!

Still the menu looks good as always..You can't go wrong
with a homemade pizza..but then l'm bias..! Enjoy! :).

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Willie. I do believe in prayer. We are going to need lots of them this week. The entire state. Yes, pizza is delicious.

mamasmercantile said...

You will be in our prayers that the weather is not going to be as bad as predicted. You have done all the right things for the chickens, extra bedding will surely help. Your menu looks delicious but the icecream and sauce topped it all.

Jodi said...

We are in the midst of a winter storm warning through 7 tonight...so far 5 inches has fallen, and its still coming down.... Wednesday is going to be our coldest day ever.... negative actual air temps all day with horrid neg wind chill temps like you. I so hate winter!

Oh my that dessert looks yummy!!! Try and stay warm! Have a great week!

Susan said...

Kristina, I will keep you all in my thoughts, too. We are bracing for the same weather and I am so worried about my quail. We can only do the best we can and hope it is enough. I'd love to be in my jim-jams in the afternoon! But it's too cold to go out and do chores in the evening in your jim-jams! xo

Luludou said...

Hope it doesn't get as cold as predicted - and that the electricity stays on! what would we do without it? Stay warm. Beef burgundy.... miam! haven't made it in a long time, waiting for the beef to go on sale. Have a great week

Rebecca Knox said...

Sounds like you all under the gun for sure, Willie! I am lifting you, your family, and your entire state up in prayers here...even as I type this...and hope that the temperatures don't drop as low as they're saying. I used to wallpaper my chicken house with empty feed sacks stapled to the walls and always added extra layers of straw when I could. Do you have some sort of heat lamp or something that you can rig up for them during the worst of this? Am praying that Leo shows up soon. Stay warm and blessings over all! <3

Sherry Jolly said...

We are going to be getting that arctic cold too - not quite as bad as yours, but close! I hope all of the animals make it through safely!

My daughter will be starting cosmetology school in the fall! I told her I'm looking forward to her giving me manicures :)

Becki said...

My kids' schools and all the others in our area were closed today, and will almost certainly be closed at least Wednesday too. We were having such a nice, mild winter! Hahaha... I'll be watching for that beef burgundy recipe - sounds good :)

Jean said...

Praying you and your furry and feathered family all stay safe and warm during this wild winter weather. My husband and boys have been obsessed with some You-tube show called Hot Ones where guests eat hot wings while getting interviewed. The Gordon Ramsay episode is quite entertaining. Hope you have a wonderful (and warmer) week!

Katmom said...

Kristina,,, stay safe and stay warm.. we have been watching the weather and you all are really going to have a battle with the Polar Vortex.. farmgirl hugz

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you mamasmercantile.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jodi, prayers for you too. Sounds like many of us will be in bad weather.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Susan, you are right about doing work outside in PJ's, ha ha! I don't like to change until it's done and then again I have the dog to take out too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Luludou, it's been hard to find organic meats in our area lately. I am hoping for some good meals this week.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Rebecca, yes they have a heat lamp on them. Thank you.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Sherry that is great! Our daughter loves her school and we are thankful to have that type of school nearby.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Becki!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jean, thanks for those suggestions.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you Katmom!

Sandra said...

Oh Kristina, that is just too cold, my word. Our electric bill has been high as well because we keep our heaters on in the bedrooms at night, as it's so cold.

I don't get my nails done, it doesn't last and with the housework they just get in the way LOL But if my daughter was doing them for school, I would also let her.

Have a great week!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Sandra, we have the highest electric in the county too, so we plan to research for another resource for heating next year. I don't paint my nails due to the work I do - chickens, garden, cutting wood, etc. Right now it's just wood and chickens, but the polish doesn't last long. She needs practice, and the students go to regionals to compete and they even do state contests later.

threesidesofcrazy said...

I'm running so late this week in visiting! I hope you have had a great one. So hope you're staying safe and warm.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Tamy