Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Over the last 20 plus years, my baking utensil drawer and my smaller kitchen drawer were a piled mess, due to the space in the kitchen.  I'm so glad I was limited to indoor work (while my eye regains better sensitivity to light), as I dumped both drawers and purged them.   We allowed kids to move back in, after moving out (something my own Mother would not allow me to do as a young adult), and they brought their belongings with them.  Belongings often included kitchen items, and without my knowledge, they filled the kitchen drawers with extra items. Our local schools are doing a contest for a thrift store.  Each school is collecting donations, and they are weighed for this collection contest.  I have filled two boxes of items to donate, that are extra here, or not used any longer.   I wonder what other stuff I'll discover? 42°F this morning (feels like 40°F).  High of 74°F. Organized yet?   ©  October 2026 by Kristina at Pion...

   Not my feeder, but I got the pleasure of watching these guys have breakfast one morning.  I took the photos.  At one time there were two of them.  Just a wonderfully peaceful moment from last month. A reminder how precious our eyesight is. Hummingbird  ©  October 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Can anyone else relate?  I use them all too.  Crazy, but when you grow a garden or cook from scratch, it's necessary.  Reality at it's best, and one more drawer emptied and organized. It's cold here now.  In the evenings anyway.  We are waking up to below 40 degree weather now.  I'm still using my clothesline.   I have two appointments this week with the ophthalmologist.   Organized?  ©  October 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Our Calendula Resina look fantastic for this fall weather.  They are such a vibrant orange.  Looks so attractive and boosts the mood just looking at it.  Out of all of the flowers and herbs, even my husband pointed them out, and said they are "beautiful."  Double feature is it's medicinal qualities.  I'm saving seeds of course. Posts have been short and not very interesting to most, but I'm dealing with an eye issue.  I'll be back when I am done with doctor appointments and healed up.   Calendula Resina   ©  October 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The last of the hot banana peppers, and jalapenos, and we harvested maybe 8 jalapenos this year (vs. 100's).  Sigh.  We can only laugh at this point.  No hot pepper relish, no hot pepper jelly, etc.  We use everything we plant for other recipes that are either canned or made fresh, like salsa.  The potato harvest is not that great either, but we are starting to dig them up.  The basket has potatoes from about 3 plants. It's a harvest no less. The story behind the hot peppers?  If you are a follower, you already know. We planted over 80 plants of different hot peppers.  In our one fenced garden.  For the first year ever, something small enough got thru the holes in this particular fence.  Most likely a baby rabbit.  It chewed every single hot pepper plant top off and they all died. We replanted a few, but it's a pathetic harvest.  We already have smaller hole fencing on a roll, to wrap the garden next spring.  We can...

  One more new bloom from my Strawberry Blonde Calendula.  It looked dark pink before the flower opened.  The blooms are not as pink as the packet displays them as.  Yet.  I'm hoping it just needs time to grow. Calendula   ©  October 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart