Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I found this battery operated light for the bathroom re-do.  I just love it.  I'm trying to find another one the same color for the other bathroom.  They will come in handy during power outages vs. lighting a candle.  It was the only they had, and not sold online.  I am having my daughter check stores, as I am so dang super busy in the garden. Snagged these for $.50/each I love this one!  I could only find one, but for $1.00!  And of course the last one they had as well.  I like this one the best. I found this post in my drafts from last year, ha ha!  Well, it's getting posted.  Oh, and the battery operated lights have come in handy.

We sort of had shopping plans, and ended up at another Wal-mart first.  I finally found a lot of white ribbon, and a few other colors, but still need pink and peach.  Only $.47 a roll, but only 20 feet per roll.  Anyway, I was very happy to locate some.  Now this means the next crochet project ha ha - baby booties. The weekend went by way too fast.  A lot work that we planned to do on the house did not happen. Today I will be joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom I will link up when she posts. The weather . . . Thunderstorms today, and a possibility of snow this coming weekend. As I look outside my window . . . The sun is starting to come up. Right now I am . . . Brewing another pot of coffee. Thinking and pondering . . . We are considering removing the bedroom carpet next.  Not sure when, but next on the list, as I get back to painting.  I have a door to paint in the utility room (for a cubbie) as well. On my bedside table . . . Water, two fra...

  First time to try using a seedling heat mat to start the hottest of the hot peppers.  I typically do not have any problems starting my jalapenos, but the hotter peppers like the Serrano etc. I do. I bought my heat mat online, and about $10.00 less than at our hardware/garden store (be sure to check reviews). The one I bought was a simple, plug it in and put your seed tray on it.  There were a lot of "don'ts" so I put my mat and tray on my wood stove hearth (we are not using the wood stove right now). In 6 days the serrano pepper seeds started to sprout. In 7 days the cayenne started to sprout. In 9 days the Datil started sprouting.  Did you know these are native to St. Augustine, FL?  I just learned this fun fact. In 10 days the Cherry Bomb peppers, and Anaheim peppers started to sprout. My hot banana have not sprouted yet (those were saved seeds), so I will keep an eye on that.  So far, it's helped the hot peppers to sprout much better than without the m...

I'm growing sprouts for my ladies (chickens) right now.  So easy to do, healthy and fun for the chickens, and in expensive to do. I bought a large splatter screen at the nearest Dollar Tree store.  You can of course, order a seed sprout lid online as well. I then used my quart jar to draw a template, and then cut those out to match the tops of the jars.  Simple right? Fill your quart jar with water to the top.  Each day, soak, dump and rinse.  You can get complete instructions online (never leave them soak over night). After each day of that process, I let it sit upside down on a towel for a bit.  I wanted to make sure all of the older water was out before leaning the jar on it's side, and covering with a towel.  It gets air flow, and sprouts grow this way.  They have gadget kits for standing your jar(s) tilted.  I'm just easy peasy, use what I have right now. In about 3-4 days your sprouts will look like this.  Fun for the ladies and he...

Painting  has been paused.  I wish I could be in the gardens, getting them ready, as the temperature warmed up to the low 60's.  It's so wet out there from the down pour we got. I, instead, did a freezer clean out.  It wasn't too bad actually, but I rotated some, so the older was on top in the meat drawer.  I did find a small bag of jalapenos from 2021 (sheesh).  Oh and some homemade sweet potato butter that didn't make the cut. I made a list of what was in stock, and meals will be made as I rotate items out.  I noticed I still have a good amount of tomatoes in the freezer, so I may be focusing on that first.  I hate to have them wasted.   What's cooking this weekend?  First, walleye.  It's the last bag in the freezer.   While digging around for a box of homemade vanilla (I need to refill my kitchen bottle), I saw a grocery bag with stuff in it.  Odd.  Ha!  Not sure how it ended up in my closet, bu...

Last weekend was a bit rough.  It's been one year since Mom's passing.  Doesn't seem like it's been a year either.  Rough weekend, but glad the kids came to visit.  I'm getting flowers together to take to the cemetery, but still need a base with styrofoam for them.  I forgot to check dollar tree for those, but on the to-do list.  Anywho, missing Mom hit hard.   Oh boy did we get rain yesterday.   I had to run around the house and check all the drain spout extensions.  Sheesh, talk about squishy, flooded yard. I , like a dummy, rammed my little toe and I got a very nasty bruise.  I should have taken before and after, because the bruise is almost gone in 3 days using my homemade comfrey salve.  I believe the salve was also made with some plantain in it.  Anyway, the power of medicinal weeds is mind blowing. Fun Fact:  Did you know a "chipotle" pepper is a ripened (red on the vine) jalapeno, smoked and then dri...

  I sort of followed a recipe for the crock pot Barbacoa beef that my husband requested.  I didn't brown the meat, but used a technique to help create a tender meat at the end of the cook time. (How dinner turned out and topped with red onion and cilantro - delicious!) While the meat was cooking in the crockpot, I made a breakfast, using my smaller cast iron pan - Sausage Gravy Dutch Baby.   I completely forgot to top it with green onion.  I have some in the freezer.  Our outside green onion is not weather ready yet. I don't think I have ever made one of these before, but it is soooo good!  I would add more scrambled eggs next time on top, and I used my own homemade sausage gravy (vs.  just sprinkling the sausage and drizzling gravy).  Plus, it's only a 1/2 lb. of sausage, so I have the other half already cooked now for pizza this week.  We will freeze half of the beef we made too, and that will be great to have on hand for another meal ...

  I had all the ingredients to make this (for a potluck that I did not make it to), so I did, and sent most of it to work with my husband.  It is not diabetic friendly.  It is very good however.  I saved some for my own lunch (comfort food).  It is "corn bread" however.  There is a layer of bread then meat/veggies then more corn bread on top.  It's more of a side dish for your next Mexican meal night or potluck. Anyway, you top this with sour cream, or whatever you'd like, and is perfect for a potluck dish for a Mexican food meal. The actual recipe is online, but we adjusted it with organic ingredients.  Recipe is online with "Bake it with Love." Did you know you can make homemade "jiffy" mix ? I also make homemade taco seasoning .  I have been doing this for years now. "Rotel" can be substituted with home canned tomatoes and added organic chilies. You can add more flavor by adding diced jalapeno to the ground beef mix as well.  So good,...

  Our weather keeps going up and down, which is typical for our state.  We had snow a few days ago.  If you didn't see the post, my stove burner is working again. It's a good thing I baked banana bread.  We had company on Sunday.  My freezer is out of home baked cookies right now. We've taken a few short road trips lately, and I once again dropped my crochet hook in the truck. Funny story.  I found a crochet hook necklace online (Etsy), but you can literally put one together yourself. (Penn State Ind.) It's a 35inch necklace with magnet, that hooks to a magnet on the interchangeable hook.   I read reviews.  Not sure it's ideal, so I didn't waste my money, but still funny it exists.  I think I will just keep a spare hook in the glove compartment for now.  Fun gift idea for the crocheter who has everything ha ha! Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. The weather . . . We are having sunny weather in the 50's, but wi...

  Crazy stuff here.  I could have sworn, that I had a banana-blueberry bread recipe some where.  If I did, I cannot find it.  Not with Einkorn flour.  I searched Jovial's recipes too.  I ended up making banana bread.  Does anyone have an Einkorn flour bread recipe with bananas and blueberries? I made a short road trip to the health store. I am still dealing with hoarseness.  I'm getting better, just not all the way yet.  The owner recommended slippery elm lozenges.   I did some research and you can make these at home.  I found a recipe with Learning Herbs:  HERE   They are pretty inexpensive, so I'm not sure if buying all the ingredients, making them myself, is worth it.  I am wondering if they would be better for my throat if they were homemade.   I also found a recipe for making them, and using my dehydrator.  They do have to dry out a bit after making them. Has anyone made these lozenges?...

My husband is pretty smart.  He said it was the control from the knob to the burner causing the burner to over heat.  I watched some YouTube videos on replacing the control board.   Then we watched more YouTube videos regarding only one burner over heating, and saw that it may be the "switch" to the actual burner.   I located our stove model number by pulling out the bottom drawer.  The sticker was inside the side of the drawer. Once I found that, we ordered a new switch.  Note:  The switch to the larger burner is different than the one to the smaller burner.  Make sure you order the correct switch per your stove model/make etc. Amazon had switches as well, but we read the model numbers, and our model was not listed.  We purchased our switch from a parts store online. Cost:  $28.89 plus tax and shipping (shipping was $8.88) We had a file for books like this, but that system was a fail.  We now put them all in a clear small...

  I've been spending morning coffee hour looking at paint colors for the next upcoming rooms/hallway.  It's not easy for sure.  I may buy samples again, as the color is never the same on the paint chip as it is on the wall.  Lighting can also change the color in a room or hallway. By looking them up online first, it saves me a lot of him-hawing time at the hardware store.  It also helps me visualize the room/trim etc.   I've also been pretty regular at devoting a few days a week to load any useable digital coupons from two stores, but thinking about starting up digital with a third.  The way things are going, any savings helps these days. Boring post today folks.

  We have had some beautiful sunrises this week.  It makes me want to be outside and enjoy the warmer weather.  The evenings have been cold though.  Yesterday we hit the lower 60's, but with a wind warning.  Today thunderstorms move in. My wonderful husband had these delivered on Valentine's Day.  This is big!  We live in the boonies, so he paid greatly for these beautiful roses. I tried a new recipe.  I forgot to take a photo of it, but took a picture of the cookbook. It's in one of my fix-it and forget it cookbooks - Enchilada Shredded Chicken.  I served it over quinoa (with diced jalapenos, oregano and cumin - I didn't have cilantro).  A nice recipe for a Mexican Potluck Meal.  I honestly don't know how this would be good on a tortilla, unless you drain the liquid off at the end of cooking.  Anyway, we topped it with some shredded cheese and sour cream.  Delicious. The part for the stove has arrived.  It most likel...