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, May 20, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday




I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.   Back weeks ago, I guessed I had 4 roosters and 3 hens with my spring chick purchase.  The other day I took another closer look.  I may be right, but time will tell.

Debby Flowers do you make and sell goat's milk soap?  Or anyone else that follows my blog?  If so, comment types and prices etc. please.

Breaking news! With the hot day we had on Saturday, and the early morning break from rain, the tiller was humming away.  Mower too.  We had to mow down the garden (last year's neglect), to start tilling where it was dry enough.  Hubby got 3/4 of the larger tomato patch tilled, but it started to rain.  Only a small portion of the large garden was mowed down.


On the breakfast plate. . .
Have no idea yet.


The weather outside is . . .
Cold.  We went from 80's and major storms yesterday to no rain, and we'll dip into the 40's tonight.

On my reading pile. . .
Book from the library

On my TV . . .
Justified on Amazon Prime


On the to-do list . . .
-laundry
-dishes
-floors
-errands


...for the month to-do list
-make horse chestnut tincture and infused oil
-make homemade bug spray
-make homemade tick oil
-plant garden
-finish flower beds, drop seeds etc.
-flip rain barrels
-start potted weeds and herbs
-build raised bed
-call greenhouses for sweet potato slips
-order more wasp/bee traps (non toxic)
-place an order for dried fruits, and other needs
-place order for essential oils, etc.
-clean oven
-clean fridge out

On the menu . . .
Spaghetti, asparagus
Grilled steaks, baked sweet potatoes with whiskey butter
...have no idea on the rest of the week
Hot taco dip for snacks
Banana bread for snacks


What I am creating . . .


In case you didn't see my post, I'm putting together these.  One for the truck, camper and car - notepad, pen, pencil crochet hook, eye needle, tape measure, scissors.  I'm still trying to restock my knitted dishcloths as well.


Looking forward to . . .
Planting the garden, better weather, no rain and another motorcycle ride.  A trip to the island.


Looking around the house . . .
It's a mess.  Again.  We had the grandkids over last night for a grill out.  Thankfully, the rain stopped for that to happen.  The colder, wet weather will keep me inside, so indoor cleaning will happen today.


From the camera. . .
Aurora watching the new cardinals make their nest in a tree just outside my study.  They were making all kinds of rukus to scare off the cat.  Super excited that we'll see baby cardinals.  Oh, I won the battle with the chickadees too.  They'd pack grass in outside next to an air conditioner, and I'd dig it out.  In it went, out it went.  So far, I've won.  Oh, and our hummingbird is back.  He/she was out getting dinner from my hanging plants last night.


I bit of porch cuteness.

The mailbox garden.  Making progress.

New to the flower beds.  Gorgeous begonias.

One of my simple pleasures . . .
A soak in the tub with essential oils.


Prayers . . .
A family friend with severe back pain, and no insurance.  




18 comments:

Schotzy said...

What a great idea.. Crochet emergency kit... you know what they say about idle hands...have a wonderful week!!!

mamasmercantile said...

The mailbox garden is really starting to take shape. The begonias are a delight such beautiful colours. My heart goes out to your friend with back pain, hope she finds some relief. It most be so worrying not to have insurance we are so blessed with the NHS scheme that we have here in the UK.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Schotzy

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you mamasmercantile, I've been progressive with the flowers this year.

Sandra said...

I may need one of those crochet emergency kits hahah What a great idea :)

Love your mailbox garden, what a neat idea too.

I hope you have a blessed week :)

Luludou said...

Love the crochet emergency kit!
Now for the questions:
What is horse chestnut tincture used for?
Would love to know how you make homemade bug spray and tick oil
Lots to learn here!
Have a great week

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Sandra

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Luludou, horse chestnut tincture is for internally treating varicose veins. I'll have to make a blog post for the bug spray too. And tick oil. When I get time to make it lol.

Jodi said...

Justified is really good... wish it didn't get cancelled!! Love the flower pics! A crochet emergency kit...perfect!! Have a great Monday and week!

Debby Flowers said...

HI Kristina. NIce post as usual - you always get great photos!Yes, sure do make goats milk soap - lots of it, to the point that I have had to curtail my garden activities considerably. That part of our farm business is going very well - I'm really up to as much as I can do at this point without quitting my day job. I make 10 lb batches and 20 different varieties including a shampoo bar and shaving soap. The most popular are what you might expect - lavender, lemongrass, the shampoo bars, and patchouli. I do a charcoal bar and sell quite a bit of that. My newest ones are Bergamot and Turmeric which is scented with Lemongrass Essential Oil. I only use Essential Oils for scents, no artificial fragrances. I purchase most of my supplies from Brambleberry but also use lard either from pigs we have raised or from trusted farmer friends. I also use sunflower oil from a Minnesota producer - I want my product to be as local as I can make it. Other oils I use are mainly coconut and olive. Does that answer you question?

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Jodi.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby, can you email me prices on your soaps? I cannot find anyone with dairy goats in my area who will barter soap for milk. Sad country I live in.

Debby Flowers said...

HI Kristina - sure, happy to email you, amazing to me though that you cannot find milk! Not ready to have goats again? I understand though, they really do tie a person down - would make it difficult to take off for camping trips for you. Where do I find your email address? I suppose it's in some obvious place and I am missing it. Here is mine - why don't you email me - olelakefarm@gmail.com

And thank you for thinking of me. -

threesidesofcrazy said...

I LOVE your pictures - such pretty flowers and those emergency crochet kits are inspired. We LOVED justified! Have a GREAT week.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thanks Debby. We had one very large farm with goats, but they divorced and were forced to sell everything including their place and land. No one around us raises them, and we are not yet in a situation to raise them again here. I'd have to make sure I have a goat sitter, lol!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you threesidesofcrazy

Jean said...

Beautiful photos! Hope you get to see your baby Cardinals. Sadly, the nest by our house didn't do so well. We heard them and then, they just seemed to disappear. I'm hoping some flew off and we missed it but my husband checked and found one baby who didn't make it in the nest (and an egg!?). I don't do crafts but there is a local company in KC that I buy goat's milk soap from (actually through their section in our grocery store)...it's $5.95 for a bar. Indigo Wild is the company name if you want to check out their items for ideas. Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jean, we are surely hoping to see baby cardinals. Thanks.