Last Day of June (Already?)

 Despite our efforts with solar alarms and solar rodent alarms, the rabbits got the green beans (again).  I know we have to fence the other area, but it's just not in the $$ pocket book right now.  I should have planted a squash plant at the end of every row.  I guess we were really lucky all the years we've lived here and not fenced it.

The birds got all our blueberries.  I just didn't make it to town for netting yet.  It's been on my list, but I have to figure a way to cover the bushes without it touching the plants, and easy to remove.

I need to replace my mandolin this year.  If you have one that you really like, let me know in the comments.  The one I have is 15 years old, and has limited thickness for slicing.  It's not sharp anymore, and the case broke years ago.  It's just time to upgrade.

June went by way too fast.  It really depresses me to see the summer go by so fast, as we have not gone camping one single time yet.  It seems that we have such busy weekends most times, with battling the weather this year, I feel like we haven't lived life to the fullest this month.  Of course there was my fractured foot that set me behind on all things too.

At least I can say I didn't let the month go out without some fun.  We did take a weekend to the island and we recently visited a car and truck museum (which was worth the admission to see).

Are you doing anything fun for the last day of June?

Plans for July?  Maybe.  It's the hot time of the year, so camping can be a bit uncomfortable.  I should write out a few options to motivate me.  

As for home repairs and checking off the honey-do list, my husband knocked 6 off his list of 11 yesterday.   He actually installed the mole chasing windmill, that we purchased over a year ago.  He also replaced 3 more electrical outlets, and put a new bottom seal on one of our doors.  The hallway is not complete yet.  It's also on his list.  We just need to finish one step and install floor trim on half the hall.

There are two very large items in our garage, so I do have plans to have a delivery day and return them to their owners.  Not sure why we still have them (or even why) but I do have plans to get them out of our garage (space wasters, and not ours).

Last Day of June (Already?)   © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

More Rain ~ The Craft Purge ~ New Recipe Tried

 The rain is flowing again here.  The weeds are getting taller, ha ha!  Some garden seasons can be a real struggle.

Today is probably the most boring post of all times.  It's the time after planting, and the wait in between the rain storms time of year.

I spent more time purging craft supplies.  I had everything you wouldn't even think of, and some in mass amounts thinking I would make and sell some new items I was making.  I literally had a bag full of medicine cups for crafting, and have had them since before 2011! 

In 2011 I made Christmas ornaments with them, using belt buckle pieces for top and bottom, added the tiny bird, and used embroidery floss for the hanger and added a scrap bead that was part of a set of beads I was given.  Oh, and a circle of red felt.  Very creative, ha ha!  I wish kids were creative more than on their electronics these days.  

Anyway, I emptied several more containers of crafting stuff.  Much is in boxes to go to recovery home for those with addictions (some have their kids with them).  They are getting most of my supplies.  Anything else will go to the donation station (local thrift store, that is not a chain).

There are a few more expensive craft supplies I may attempt to sell, but when I was on the sale online sites, there is another person "going out of business" with her craft sale supplies and finished crafts.  So....it's not just me.

In the process of my (sigh of relief) craft purge, my husband fell into the process and put some jeans in the boxes to donate.  No more space wasters, as I told him.  Let someone else use it, wear it, etc.

Blueberry Lemon Power Bites (Clean Food Crush online).  I tried a new recipe.  I mean what else can I entertain my blog readers with, besides cleaning and organizing right now? 

These start with raw cashews, pitted dates and dried blueberries.  All done in the food processor and then chilled in the fridge.  Oh, the real lemon juice and lemon zest is a bonus.

They are delicous!  I still like the peanut butter energy bites I make, but this gives us another option, and boy are they good.  Just be sure to read your dried blueberry package.  Some of the packages include sugar and bad oils.  Others contain apple juice.  I may be dehydrating some blueberries this year, but that is my least favorite way to stock up on them. Anyway, they are very good!

On a side note:  I roasted my raw cashews.  If you have ever tasted a "raw" cashew, they taste terrible.  I let them cool before making these.  I also used organic/non-gmo ingredients.  Recipe on requires 2 Tbsp. of honey, as the pitted dates give a natural sweetness.

Something I learned:  you can add chia seeds to your scrambled eggs, for more protein, overall health, and it will help you feel full longer.  

As for closings, Walgreens are closing more doors now.

More Rain ~ The Craft Purge ~ New Recipe Tried © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Rainy Day

 

Photo is June of 2023.  The zucchini plants grew to almost 6 feet tall last year, thanks to our compost pile.  I have yet to check on the garden after a torrential downpour.

We had flood warnings, flooded areas, and it was worse north of us. 

Strange weather this year, and mostly frustrating for gardeners.

Another strange event. . .

I walked out the door a few days ago, and right in the driveway, not very far from me stood a baby deer.  No Mom around.  Of course I think I scared it, because it ran off, but a very rare sight around here.  At least that close to the house anyway.

Rainy days can be productive here.

I took advantage of the rainy day and purged/organized "stuff."

I emptied 4 plastic storage drawers of craft supplies, of much will be donated.  A few items went to other people (or will go soon).  A few items went to the garage, like my eye screws I used for crafting.

I also emptied two entire totes from the garage.  I had a tote of tablecloths I no longer use.  I also had a entire tote of saved baby blankets from when I raised the kids.  The blankets are all going to be donated, aside from any the kids want. I also eliminated one large tote of yarn.

I also found a bag of scrap balls of cotton yarn, leftover from knitting dishcloths to sell last year.  The yarn is all twisted up and a hot mess.  I have yet to decide on that mess.  It's either toss it all, or try to rescue it on another rainy day, and then donate it all.  I have no plans to crochet anything with it.  

I may get that rainy day to do more purging too.  Rain is in the forecast for the weekend. 

I would not be purging my craft supplies, had we sold more last year, but sadly no one in the area supports handmade right now.  So basically, I closed my doors on the craft shows for good.  Too much work for no income.  Does it sadden me a bit?  Yes, but now I can crochet/knit on my own time, and not feel the pressure of having it all made by a certain time.  I had a TON of inventory for this last show, and it's now down to a few items thanks to one of my kids (she took it all and sold "mystery" bags).

Speaking of closing doors, another business in my home town (other than Rite Aid stores) is closing it's doors.  Another business in another town nearby is also closing it's doors.  It just seems as if more and more are closing.  

Rainy Day  © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

There are never too many eggs part 2

 

Too many eggs?  Never!  You can not only boil them, but pickle the boiled eggs.  I forgot all about this, until I found us with more eggs on hand (again).

You can get the recipe for our Hot Pickled Boiled Eggs:  HERE

Part 1, was my blog post about baking an Angel food cake:  HERE (sorry, the link for the original recipe online no longer works).

 There are never too many eggs part 2 © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Identified! It's Wineberry ~ Garden Tidbits

 

I posted this photo a few days ago, and asked if anyone knew what it was.  Well, with the help of my sister-in-law, and an app on her cell phone, it's been identified as Wineberry.

In the early spring, I thought it was my red raspberry bush spreading into my asparagus patch.  I never got the chance to dig the sprouts out due to fracturing my foot.

I did some research on this plant, and of course the birds planted it (they seem to be good at this).  However, it's an invasive plant, because it grows quickly and can over take the area.  Lovely.  It's actually illegal in some states to sell etc.

I'm not sure I'll be able to dig them out until spring, as my asparagus has gone to seed and is very tall.  I'm going to do my best to remove it this year though.

Apparantly, those spiky looking pods open up, and produce an edible raspberry.  Other than that pod, the plant itself, literally appears the same as our red raspberry plants. Oh, and the stems are more of a brighter red too.  Unless I am in correct, but it looks exactly like wineberry.

The first zucchini is on, but I'm not sure it will form correctly.  I have not seen that many bees yet.

Another delicous way to use your garden green beans and sweet potatoes.  I baked this all as a sheet pan dinner, using store bought sweet pototoes, but used frozen garden green beans.  I forgot to add red onion, but the seasoning is paprika, cumin, herb garden oregano, homemade garlic powder, and salt/pepper.  I used olive oil and added chicken sausages.

It was the first time to put the green beans on the pan frozen, and it did take longer to cook than I thought. Next time, I will pre-cook the green beans, before adding them to the sheet pan dinner.  It was very good!

Identified! It's Wineberry ~ Garden Tidbits  © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weekend went too fast, but we had a fantastic time with family.  I took an orzo pasta salad, and a cold mostly sugar free carmel apple dessert.  It was very nice to visit with everyone, and with help we figured out what the strange plant is growing in my asparagus patch (more on that later).

Two lap afghans were delivered to my husband's cousin and her husband, who live in an assisted living home.  

I have been successful at purging books I have read. Over the last two weekends I placed books, reader glasses I can't use, and two sets of nautical crocheted cup coaster sets in a little library on the island we visit.  A bag of books went home with my sister.  I also found homes for three more sets of crochet cup coasters leftover from craft shows.

Trust me, I have more craft supplies to purge, but I am very behind on reading books.  If I am not using something, or haven't used it in years, it is making it's way to another home.

We had to cancel our plans to go to a festival over the weekend, because it rained.  We are thankful for the rain, as the gardens needed it.

Today I am joining once again with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  The link up is back, so it's easy for me to link up today.

Update:  I could not link up.  Again.  Sorry folks.

The weather . . .

86°F/67°F today.  We are finally getting a break in weather, but that could change. 

Right now I am . . .

Writing out my to-do's for the day, and waking up with coffee.

Thinking and pondering . . .

To purge all of my writing books or not.  I used to freelance write when the kids were younger, and all lived at home, but I have not had the time, nor the desire lately.  Getting the house in order (trust me the fractured foot set me back 2 months) has been on top of the list.

It's been on my brain, but I'm considering putting and end to this blog.  Various reasons.

How I am feeling . . .

Depends on the weather, ha ha!  If it's hot out, and I've been working out there, I'm too tired to do much when I come back inside.

I am however, back to a pretty good exercise plan, other than the treadmil.  I'm still waiting on the final x-ray of my foot.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Have no idea yet.

On the lunch plate . . .

Chicken salad on cucumber slices, leftover orzo salad.

On the dinner plate . . .

If my husband doesn't call or text with a change in my plan, it's a sheet pan chicken sausage/sweet potato and green been dinner.

On the menu . . .

Anyone else have a husband that has a knack for meddling in the menu plan for the week?  I'll have it all planned out, and he'll come home with burgers to grill or some other option.  

I'm going to try my best to use up some food this week, that was intended for another day, including the green beans in our freezer from last year's garden.

On my reading pile . . .

Still reading this.  I haven't had the energy or time to read over the last month.  I really need to read at least a few pages a day.

A quick once a day read, and sometimes very appropriate for the day's work/events.

Dug out a box of letters to get finished reading. I need to pass this on to another family member (part of my purge).  I've had it since my Dad passed away.

On my TV this week . . .

Fried Green Tomatoes

Looking around the house . . .

I have a habit of starting the to-do list for the next day, and not finishing the current day list.  In the end, I am still looking at piles of yarn, and other things like tablecloths I no longer use, that need to either be put in storage or passed on.  I use them for tables when we have people over, so I may be saving them.  Anyway, I am working on more areas of the house, so come fall, we can get back to bigger indoor repairs/painting, and what not.

To-do list . . .

(for the next two weeks, and in no particular order)

-harvest yarrow
-harvest thyme
-dust
-wash master bath rugs, sweep and mop

-make homemade insect repellant

-work on all the craft supplies I wish to purge

-work on list for getting the house back in order

-water pots and greens

-work on sorting yarn, and re-organizing them to reduce storage totes

-weed flower beds

-continue cleaning porch

-get back to working on master bath, removing items we no longer use and remove everything from the walls to start washing down walls.

From the camera . . .

I have nothing today.  I had a pretty busy weekend, and the same last weekend, filled in with other projects and work around here.

Devotional, prayers, Bible Verses . . .

No current prayer requests.

Happy Homemaker Monday © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Microgreens and Lettuce / Greens Update

The microgreens I planted in soil are ready to eat today.  I planted broccoli and radish microgreens, but we plan to expand on our options.

I filled a tray I had in storage, but I feel this only provided enough for one meal, so I will be using my sprout jars next, to have more than one meal available.

Other than adding to your sandwiches, you can toss them into salads, smoothies, top your hummus, add to omelets or eggs, or even add to anything that you add lettuce too.  Do you have a favorite way to eat microgreens?

The two types of lettuce are up now.  I will have to thin them out later, as the seeds are small, and as you can see, there is more than one in that container.  I'm not even using the grow lamps right now, as they are getting a good amount of daylight/sunshine.  

We finally got rain last night.  I hope it was enough to keep things alive and well outside.  It's been so hot and crazy dry.  Not to mention the well needs water too.

I planted greens (Collards, Swiss chard, Russian Red Kale) in a waist high raised bed this year, and there are pros and cons so far.  

Cons:

Not all the seeds sprouted due to the soil not staying wet in this heat.

I have to water every single day, and sometimes two times a day (heat wave).

They may not grow as big as if they were planted directly in the ground.

Pros:

No rodents can eat them.  

It's easy to water, and no bending down to weed etc.

Microgreens and Lettuce / Greens Update© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

What was I thinking?

It was 100°F yesterday, and yes I did garden work.  Watering everything has come first due to the lack of rain (we didn't get enough).  

It's going to be up in the 100's again today.  Yesterday, I put my chargeable fan on the chickens.  They love the frozen water in tins to cool off better than anything right now.

 I thought I would get so much more done by June, and I have not.  What was I thinking??

I thought I would get the baby blanket done.  Ha!   It was only something to use up yarn and store for gifting.  It's still not done.

I thought I would get a few lapghans done for extended family, and have them delivered by now.  They have yet to be delivered to the assisted living home they are in. Sigh.

I can't even get to the library to return a book, and pick up a book.  Eye roller.

I forget to check my email on a daily basis.

I contemplated starting a crochet group once a week in our home town.  Big eye roller.  I had big ideas, but have so little free time.  I honestly thought it would bring people together, and get to know each other, and help small businesses in the process.  

Heck, I had plans to purge more craft supplies this week, and that never happened at all, ha ha!

From the book "A Year of Positive Thinking" by Cyndie Spiegel.

What was I thinking?© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

It's Already Friday???

 My husband and I were comiserating about the heat, and he could not believe I did garden work (the weeds are out of control). 

He said something about Friday, and I said, "huh?"

I could not believe Friday as snuck up on me this quick this week.  It cracks me up, when there are folks who assume, since I do not work a regular "job" that I have all the free time in the world.  Ha!  

Yesterday I froze water in tins, so the chickens could walk in them and cool off.  They loved it!  The heat and humidity has been grueling for all.

Regardless, laundry went out on my solar powered dryer (clothesline).  

It's too hot to cook, and too hot to do dishes - chicken salad on cucumber slices.  I used blended cottage cheese in place of the mayo this time, as I had heard it was just as good, less fat, and more protein.  I have to say, it's pretty good.  We can't tell a difference.  So, when organic/non-gmo mayo gets too expensive, and you can make homemade cottage cheese (or buy it on sale), it does work in this recipe.  

We simply add home canned sweet pickle relish/hot pickle relish.  I mean, each are made with vegetables, and it's delicous.  Once we get garden produce, we can use fresh too.

The heat and humidity continue, and it won't end next week for us.  The fog is due to more thunderstorms and rain, but we got more thunder than rain.  It barely got the ground wet, but caused so much more humidity.  Every little bit of rain helps the garden.  By the way, when I took this photo, there was no wind, and all the flowers we planted made the air smell like perfume.  

I got some garden work done, but the cultivotor needs gas (tiller needs a new belt), so I hand hoed some areas for now.  The heat and humidity suck the energy out of you by the end of the day, so errands are not happening.  I did manage to tie up more tomatoes.  

On a rodent note, we know a family that stocks their freezer with wild hunted rabbits for food.  They have volunteered to come help reduce our plethora amount of them.  However, I have not seen one of them the last two days. 

Each year we make more progress, but fencing the other garden will cost us more than we can spend this summer, so any rodent help is help, and if it puts food on someone's table, then it's a double win. So many people are struggling right now.

Speaking of struggling, more stores are closing, more people are baking at home and trying to sell stuff like that, just to make ends meet.  All Rite-Aids are closing here.  

I do plan to watch the prices on fencing, for what we want.  We are hoping they will put them on sale in the fall.

On a good note, my microgreens I planted are already sprouting.  The lettuce has not yet.

It's Already Friday???© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Hot and Humid

 

I debated just freezing the last of the peaches, but canned a smalled batch early in the morning.  We'll get more peaches later this summer.

I made a new recipe for pomegrante vinaigrette.  One recipe uses the seeds (using a blender) and the other uses juice form concentrate (the one I tried).  I used a bit more dijon in ours to thicken it just a bit more, and we love it.  We are enjoying more salads this week with the heat index so high.

I was out checking berries and taking the chickens fresh cold water, when I discoveredd this growing between the raspberries and asparagus patch.  Does anyone know what it is?  The plant itself is growing just like a red raspberry bush, but it obviously is not a raspberry bush.

I have never see this before.  In finding this, I do see some poison sumac in another area, so we need to remove it.  Always something to take care of around here.

It was so humid and hot, I was getting seriously worried about my chickens, and I was about to go look for a box fan and extension cord, when I heard thunder.  The heat index was 103°F and extremely humid.

Soon enough we had not only a few hours of pouring down rain, but thunderstorms.  I'm not sure what took out our power, as it could have been due to everyone's AC on, or the storms.

Thank goodness I keep extra watering units for this purpose, and had them filled for the chickens.  I had to take them fresh cold water almost every 2 hours, due the heat index.

We also have several battery powered lights in each room, candles, a portable phone charger (however even 5G was not working to get weather updates), and I am very thankful I purchased our power source that runs on the same battery our power tools run on.  It has one outlet, a light, and a few charge ports, so we can charge our chargeable fans (we have two) to stay cool, and charge anything else.

In light of this, and for the fact the power has gone out more often, we plan to add some new items to our list.  A generator has always been on the list, but they are expensive.  We do have a plan to keep the lights on (more than the one the power source can run).

 By the way, we took the power source off of the lamp, used some candles for light, and plugged a laptap into the power source to watch a DVD.  Save your DVD's and don't get rid of them.  Our interent was out until this morning, so no netflix or amazon.  We were thankful we kept the DVD's and the old laptop for this purpose.  Otherwise, we could run one lamp and read books or play cards.

My husband is in agreement on keeping the lights on, so I'll update you if/when we locate what we are looking for.  We have considered a well hand pump in the future as well.  When the power goes out, we cannot get water from the well otherwise.

Once our power was back on, we could only watch a DVD using a DVD player.  Our interent was out the entire night and we had trouble getting connection this morning, but it's back on.  It makes you wonder about everything digital these days, and what to do with the power/internet out.

(source:  Amazon)

Our smaller one is similar to this one.

As for the fans, I had a small chargeable fan with a clip, that we use on the treadmill.  It worked like a charm to cool us. 

(Source: Amazon)  Our foldable chargeable fan is similar to this one.

The other fan we have is adjustable in height, and folds up, and we take it camping, so we had that one too.  Both have been used a lot, and my husband was impressed how well the smaller fan worked.

Of course we purchased them many years ago, so I can't say for sure if it's still on the market, but there are some very similar to them.  I'm just glad we had them, along with everything else.

We are thankful for the rain, as the gardens got a good dose of goodness, and the temperature dropped just a bit.  It is still very humid here however.

It's been too hot to do any garden weeding or tilling/cultivating at all.  The weeds are growing, so I hope we get a break soon.  I was literally dripping with sweat just being out there for the watering of everything.

At the end of the day, it's too exhausting to crochet, read or do anything really.  We are thankful for the AC (when the power is on) or the fans.

Hot and Humid© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

In a World of Expensive Free is Good!

 

The laundry has dried so much faster with the heat wave.  I love our solar dryer.  Free!  Smells great!  I get exercise.

Wild black raspberries are on now.  I'm picking daily, and will use them for simply eating or making fruit smoothies for a cold lunch.  The best part?  It's free!  I forage for them, and some plants have been planted closer to the house by birds.  If there is an abundance, I will freeze some, but the lack of rain and heat wave may say otherwise.

I received some free merlot heirloom lettuce seeds, so we are trying something new with this heat index skyrocketing - planting lettuce indoors.  I'll let you know how it turns out, or if it does well.   I decided to plant two kinds of lettuce, and a tray of microgreens.  If it all does well for our meals, I'll start more later this week.

The mulberries are also on the trees, but they are not all ripe yet.  I did get a mix of berries a few days ago though.  I see there are white mulberries almost ready to pick too.

In a World of Expensive Free is Good!© June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

It's Hot!

We've entered a heat wave, and yesterday we had a heat index of 102°F.  No one is enjoying the outdoors right now.  The chickens are being treated with frozen treats, ice water, and I have even frozen water in a tin.  I am also freezing water in bottles that I put inside their watering unit to keep their water nice and cold.   I have more treats in the freezer for today, but the forecast is saying the heat wave will last the entire week.  It is unusual for us to have such hot weather this early in the summer.

Our red raspberries are slim pickings.  I have to water the plants this week, as the rain we were to get, never arrived.  Watering the entire garden and flower beds is a full time job this week.

That's a bell pepper dipped in a new hummus recipe I made.  It's a red lentil hummus, and my gosh is it creamy and good.  I used 1/2 cup tahini (recipe said 1/4th), and used 3 cloves of garlic (recipe said 2).  It is higher in protein and less fat, and does not contain olive oil.

I have made red lentil hummus before, but used a different recipe.  There are many online, but if you want to try this one, it's called "Easy Lentil Hummus" by "It doesn't taste like chicken" online.

It''s Hot! © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

. . .from the handiwork journal

 Instead of moving an entire basket (again), I decided to just tackle what was in the basket, and store the basket away. One project will be taken apart (beads will be donated to a kiddo), one needed edged together, and the other two needed ends sewn in.  One was from 2017!  

A doily I made, and most likely was a porch project, as it is with #10 crochet thread.  Done!!  The doily was no slow project, as it is 11 x 16 inches.  I had a place for it years ago, but now I have no idea just yet.  I can't believe it let this project go so long unfinished.

The other unfinished projects?  A single hot pad.  The story behind it?  Why there is only one?

The story?  Well, I used to sell what I made.  I had a blog where I used to share and sell items, a social media page (since been deleted), and sold items at the Farmer's Market and Holiday craft shows.

My Mom was my biggest fan, supporter, and purchaser.  She found so many people who would buy what I made, and I supplied.  However, one woman wanted an entire lavender kitchen set for her daughter.  I had some lavender, so I started on the hot pad set, but had to order more of the same color to crochet the second one, and then one XL (9 x 13 size) hot pad.  

If you crochet or knit, you know that if you want the same color lot, you need to order enough, or buy enough for the project all at the same time.  I ordered the same color, and same brand, and the color did not match the one I made above.  I had to start over.

Oh, here is the kicker to the story....

The woman didn't want them after I had finished them all.  She told my Mom, that it was not lavender and looked like "gray."  Sigh.  My Mom giggled, and gave me the "don't worry" wave, and she either sold it or gifted it after that fiasco.

So, I finished the single hot pad, edging it with random leftover yarn, and gave it a home.  

One baby pacifier holder, which only needed ends sewn in and blocked. I think I had plans to make numerous amounts to sell, but never had the time to get more made.  Done and done!  The hot pad went in the camper.

I have much more to get back in order, so I will not run out of rainy day organizing/purging and whatnot.  In the process for searching for extra crochet supplies for a daughter, I found a more craft supplies that can be purged and donated (on the rainy day list).

I have come up with one more way to use my cotton yarn stash.  Well, a small bit of it anyway.  More on that later.

. . .from the handiwork journal  © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Chit Chat

Nothing really exciting on the news front.

 I dehydrated more oregano to make sure the new dehydrator worked.  There are things about it I like, and other things I do not like.  It is much quieter than my last one.   

I can say that I am glad I saved my trays from my older one.  The new ones are thinner, and the way the metal is twisted on the trays, the oregano stuck to the trays.  I had to layer the counter top with sheets of waxed paper, so I didn't make a mess, and didn't lose any of the dried oregano in the process of removing it.   I dried some oregano for the kids, and I was thankful to find a drawer full of saved lids to top the canning jars with.

How I found the lids?  Well, funny story.  I have one daughter who just started to learn to crochet, and asked for some yarn and supplies.  I went rooting around in my craft drawers, and low and behold, I had used one drawer for empty baby food jars and lids that fit canning jars (peanut butter, tahini, and other jar lids).  

I used to use the baby food jars for gifting extra dried herbs, and making homemade salves and hand creams.  I no longer use the jars, so those will find a new home soon.  Oh, one year I filled baby food jars with homemade taco seasoning, and gifted that one year.

Essentially, I found an entire drawer of items to get rid of, other than the lids I can use for when I open canned items, such as pickle relish, jam, taco sauce, ketchup, etc.

I not only found the lids, I found a pattern template that, for some reason was in a plastic bag, and tucked in a drawer with other half finished craft projects (yes, more unfinished, ha ha!)

The pattern is for a handmade Chicken Christmas ornament.  More than 4 years ago, I made one for our tree, and never did make the intended amount of them.  As you can see I found the painted clothespins with eye screws already in them.  I have no idea what I'll do with it all yet.  Most likely see if one thrift store will take it.  I have no plans to finish them, as my family has a ton of homemade ornaments from me already.

I have yet to locate my extra set of crochet hooks for the one daughter, but I now have more rainy day purging to do.  I found more craft supplies that need a new home, ha ha!  I thought I purged all of my supplies, but nope.

On another subject, I finally got the potatoes planted in the garden, but we have some more hot peppers to plant. I plan to get that done by the weekend.  My foot hurt yesterday, and actually swelled a bit, so I'm taking it easy for a day.  I will be getting another x-ray later this month.  At least the garden will be completely in by the weekend.  We didn't even know if we'd have one this year.  I did not plant popcorn or sweet corn this year.  We'll be buying it this year.

My husband bought some dragons breath flowers, so I got those planted, and more mulch dropped.  We had to buy a new broom for the porch, so porch cleaning can now resume.

Chit Chat  © June 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart