Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Strawberry Blonde Calendula Echinacea Borage I did a little flower picking, but very limited time in the sunshine (and screen time).  My eye is still sensitive to the light.  The calendula will be dried for salves, lotions, lip balm, tea, eye compresses, and seed saving (I love the color in my herb garden).  The Echinacea is being used for a tincture, as well as the borage (first time to make this). I purchased two books for $1.60!  Unheard of price.  Just waiting patiently for my eye to adjust again.  I also purchased echinacea/golden seal tincture to try (before I make my own).  I have never seen goldenseal grow around here. Chives are in the dehydrator.   56°F for the low, and 79°F for the high.  I am thankful for the weather, and praying for time to do garden work when my eye heals completely. Herbal Flowers   ©  October 2026 by Kristina at 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

  Quick and short post today.  Cute cup coaster pattern on YouTube.  It's called Crochet Pumpkin Pie Coaster, by Kelli's Purpose.  She doesn't explain how many stitches you'll need for the crust part, but I evenly made 6 of the "bumps" in the crust. Very easy pattern for anyone looking for a fall gift, fall home decoration, or even hostess/host gift.   I used 100% cotton yarn I had in my stash, but you could use any orange and tan colors for them. Pumpkin Pie Slice Coaster (Crochet)   ©  September 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  My Strawberry Blonde Calendula is finally blooming.  The photo is the very first bloom.  They are not as big as the seed packet shows.  It is not as pink as the seed packet shows either. However, after my regular calendula has been blooming for a while, and after taking cuttings, the blooms are starting to get fuller.  I picked some, along with some plantain the other day. What's in the dehydrator? Yarrow.  I have several ways to use this - salve, tea, oil infusions for serum etc. The full moon from a few nights ago.  Beautiful photo. I have been trying to get around to reading your blogs, but blogger has not been updating my reading list, and it is constantly telling me there have been zero posts on blogs I follow.  Hopefully they fix the bugs. My search is not working properly either.  I'm trying to find the oatmeal cake recipe someone posted about. Strawberry Blonde Calendula   ©  September 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman a...

  First year to infuse dandelion flower oil (wild dandelions from our own homestead).  First year to make our own dandelion salve.  It's in trial period.  We have both used it and so far really like it, but we'll have one more person testing it out for me.  I'm getting so much better at keeping notes this year. I used an assortment of vessels, as that is what I had on hand.  I love the smaller tins for travel, or to give as gifts.  I just ran out of tins and used whatever glass jars I still had in my herbal supplies. I already have a new "first" time salve to make next spring as well.   The rain is finally done (at least we hope so), but the wind blew right in last night.  Good grief.  Maybe it will dry up the soggy ground, but our nights are to dip to the 40's.  Fall weather can be so iffy in our area. Dandelion Salve   ©  September 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I have a few cones of black cotton yarn, and of course I am limited to ideas on using the 100% cotton yarn in that color.  Our little town started a "boo" basket giveaway (basket of random holiday themed items for Halloween), and I thought I could add a few of my own homemade items to the baskets. The baskets are randomly placed at doorways in town, and was started by a local woman. So....here is my "do something good" for someone (even though I am in the midst of a project for someone else, ha ha!).   I came up with a few ways to use the black cotton yarn to add to these baskets.   How many ways did I find a way to use the color black?   First up, I found a free pattern online for these cute spider cup coasters.  I used white for the eyes. The pattern is online with The Caffeinated Snail.  It was a perfect pattern to use the black yarn. A second pattern I found useful, was from  Pretty Darn Adorable (also online), and called Easy...

  Pushing myself to be more responsible with my time, I had read about Five Minute Friday, from another blog (My Shasta Home), and felt drawn to participate.  Not my usual post, and in the future, I may be creating a different platform for my writing (short story, novel writing etc.)   I am late in publishing the five minutes to write (with a one word prompt), but you are getting the post now.  Lucky you. First things first, I started to spend way too much time on the internet with social media scrolling.  Not posting, but scrolling.  You know how so much there can influence us right?  The latest and greatest way to organize, new books to read, herbal tea recipes and such?  Don't get me started on recipes.  I am a recipe hoarder, and have really cut that back.  However, I still woke up groggy and the scrolling was with my morning coffee.   I bought myself a devotional while out on a weekend getaway.  It's title is "D...

The rain brought us more bell peppers, and Anaheim peppers.  I picked these in my pajamas. I wanted to use some for breakfast.  More rain is in the forecast, with heavy downfalls predicted.  Possibly rain for the next three days.  Tomato plants are starting to die off, but we still have some tomatoes.  It's iffy on how many tomatoes we'll still get or how long they will last thru this rainy weekend. Goldenrod was harvested, and more calendula.  What am I making?  Goldenrod tincture, drying goldenrod for tea, drying calendula for infusing in oil, and drying some for tea or for making eye compresses.  I also started a sage tincture.   One bloom from the new Pacific Beauty Calendula I planted.  The others have not yet bloomed.  I planted several types this year, not only for medicinal reasons, but to add beauty to the flower beds as well. Believe it or not, we finally made fresh salsa.  We just got three more jalapenos from o...

Adventures from the last few months, but today's date for countdown.   The store visit was not even planned.  It was a spur of the moment, driving by, kind of stop, and I did not know they had a room for Christmas items either.  I fell in love with the little wooden sign and the necklace.  Yes, I splurged on myself.    Yep.  I added a few more ornaments to our tree ornament collection, and they were picked out by my husband this time.  Cracker Barrel for the win for these. Now, on to a new recipe tried . . . Thelma Lou's Finger Sandwiches.  First recipe to try from this gifted cookbook.  Different for sure, but we liked them.  Simple ingredients, and most people will have them on hand.  I guess it all depends on the type of bread used, but next time I will add more garlic.  The recipe called for garlic "salt" and onion "salt" so I adapted by converting it to salt separate and the seasonings separate, but it reminded u...

  Instead of roasting the most recent picking of Anaheim peppers (and it was a rather large harvest), I decided to simply dice and freeze the same way I freeze bell peppers. I am not the only one who bought bell pepper plants from a reputable green house this season, and ended up with something completely different.  I have spoken to more people who ended up with banana peppers or other peppers instead of bell peppers.  I'm starting to wonder if these green houses get their seeds from the same sources.   Either way, I am taking advantage of these surprise Anaheim peppers.  I also cooked dinner for the first time in a several weeks (yep, Hubby did the grilling etc. or we ate sandwiches) of canning.  It felt great to get a good few days of a break, get the kitchen back in order, and take a breath.  Not to mention wash the laundry, sweep and mop floors, and pay bills. I made a crockpot pumpkin chili.  Sounds complicated or not very tasty, but it...

  The first eye roller (eye serum) I made, was using a recipe that had Frankincense oil in it.  The essential oil was too much for being under my eyes, but I have found another use for that roller (helps with reducing scar tissue).  Anyway, I found the recipe who knows where, but I have yet found another one to try.  The best part is, is that there is a local woman who makes them as well. I do not know if she uses organic ingredients, or if she adds a few drops of vitamin E oil or not, but I had all the ingredients to whip up one and try it. It has to "brew" for a few days before trying.  I already had the homemade rosehip oil, so I'm giving it a try for 30 days or so to see if it will work on reducing the puffiness under my eyes.  Weather today started out in the very nice 50's, but rain is back.  I need to pick more tomatoes, so this weekend will be very interesting. Homemade Eye Roller ~ Trial #2   ©  September 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer ...

  Canning season for sauces has been successful this year.  My house has smelled amazing, and we have restocked some barbeque sauce and taco sauce.  Yes, I am tired, but don't read that as a complaint.  We are very thankful for the harvest this year.  As of now, I have not canned any new recipes. Although, I had planned to can every day, I did take a day off in between.  I needed to harvest cucumbers, green beans, and such.  I have dedicated a small storage container for "canning" kitchen towels/hot pads now.  Those tomato stains can be frustrating to wash out completely, so I'm a bit more organized with that. I am thankful this year, as I had some help this year from my husband.  I typically can during the week when he is at work, but canned on the weekend.  He helped do the chopping, and I'm glad it happened.  He was totally shocked at how many ingredients went into some of the sauces.  For example, there is a lot of celery, ...

  When you are limited to processing every single thing you are blessed with from your garden, and your husband helps trim the green/wax beans.... Ha!  My way (above), and his way (below) of trimming the beans.  Sigh. Just had to share and give you all a good chuckle. When you are busy . . .   ©  September 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

I have dug up several volunteer herb plants, that were planted into small pots we saved from previous garden planting.  These were simply plants that spread into other areas of my herb garden.  I have not yet decided if I will put them for sale, or gift them to those wanting to start their own herb garden. Moving on....a few of my new devotionals.                              Just flipping pages in this one, I am going to like it.  It will stay in the camper of course (Devotions for campers). I love the concept of a combination brain activity (word search), with a daily devotional.   I'll be back when the canner pot releases me from captivity.  Possibly before that.  Taking breaks is nice, but tomatoes are getting ripe at the same time (which is what is supposed to happen).  Use them or lose them. Meanwhile, I have another big bowl of green beans to freeze, and a big bowl o...