Mrs. Bird has been doing a lot of singing. I almost (almost) got a picture of her. Thankfully, she's singing and not squawking. As long as she's already in the nest, she doesn't bother me at all. Once I water the flower pot however, bam! She really gives me a good talking to.
The next morning, I went to watering all of the hanging flower plants around the front porch. Guess who has a nest (again) in one of our hanging pots? Ha! It's built interestingly safe from my watering too. The top is covered and the entrance is low and on the side. I used my phone to capture a photo of what's inside.
Hopefully, Mrs. Bird will be copasetic and share the porch with me, without squawking on and on in the evenings. The strangest part, it's the flower basket that is closest to the sidewalk and the front door, where traffic is in and out daily. It's possible that Mrs. Bird and I will have a lot of conversations.
Funny story. Mom and I used to talk all the time about wrens, and how beautiful their song was. I would always get them to nest nearby, and Mom was jealous trying to attract them at her house in the city. I stopped hanging houses up, but we do have a new one to install this year. I'll have to keep an eye out and capture a photo and see for sure if it is a wren or a house finch.
The color of the egg (best I can see in the photo) suggests it's a Mrs. Bird wren.
Mrs. Bird © June 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart
Success this past week. I installed shelf liners on 3 shelves in one of the bathroom cabinets. I also completely cleaned out two large corner kitchen cupboards, purged any expired seasonings, vinegars, oils etc. Cleaned them, washed every lazy susan/turntable, lined the shelves, and re-organized.
I made a trip to town to buy liner to finish the remaining shelves. I also invested in two more turntables to make life more organized.
However, between putting the roll of shelf liner on the check out, and then paying for it, apparently it never made it home. The drive back is not short. The remaining shelves will be waiting until we retrieve the roll. We are stumped at how we never got that long roll back into the cart.
Anyway, I have also done inventory to see what I need for this year's canning season. I, apparently, have enough celery seed to can items for the next two years (ha ha! Whoops!). The kids moved in and out, but left behind their huge supply of spices and seasonings (which of most were the ones expired).
We also replaced our paper shredder, so thanks for all your suggestions.
A question for anyone who pickles eggs - do you have a fantastic recipe, or do you just re-use juice from your canned beets? Which vinegar is better if you make your own pickling liquid? I have only pickled eggs with one recipe, using a jalapeno, and other spices.
The weather in our neck of the woods . . .
We are finally warming up, and we may even reach 50°F! It's going to melt all of this snow and ice, so it will also be a muddy mess, but a happy temperature.
As I look outside my window . . .
It's still dark out, but last night during dinner we watched two woodpeckers enjoying our bird feeder on a tree.
Right now I am . . .
Making our daily snack plans. Sipping hot coffee.
Something fun to share (blog, video or tip). . .
Tip: Use a mandolin to shred cabbage on the thinnest setting vs. using a food processor for either slaw or other meals. It creates a much thinner cabbage, which makes a better slaw or cook faster for a meal.
Thinking and pondering . . .
On my bedside table . . .
-a few crochet hooks, notepad and pen
Listening to . . .
Nothing now, but maybe the radio during the day. The type depends on what I wish to listen to at the moment. Music anyway.
On the menu . . .
Focusing on the freezer and garden stash/pantry ingredients.
-pork chops with home canned BBQ sauce, quinoa and roasted beets
-cabbage wraps with Italian sausage (my own recipe, but uses meat from the freezer)
-stuffed bell peppers (made last summer with garden bell peppers), will side these with other smaller meals too
-summer vegetable spaghetti (uses frozen diced zucchini, yellow squash, and green beans from the garden, and a jar of home canned tomato sauce), with frozen homemade meatballs (made with oats and no bread crumbs)
-chickpea crust pizzas using home canned pizza sauce, and frozen bell peppers from the garden
Book I am reading. . .
On my TV . . .
Nurse Jackie Series 3, 4 and 5, DVD's borrowed from the library. However, if it doesn't get much better, we are abandoning the series and finding something new to watch.
On my to-do list . . .
Happening this week . . .
Ha! It all depends on the weather. I am hoping to get into town to retrieve the roll of shelf liner we paid for and somehow didn't get.
What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .
My simple pleasure . . .
Reading.
Lessons learned the past week . . .
1. buy honey in glass jars, not plastic
2. keep tinctures in canning jars and not bottle droppers (two of my bottle droppers broke from the residue or whatever)
From the camera . . .
Prayers, Bible Verse, Devotional . . .
Check out these photos. I had to take them thru the window, because of the snow outside, but loved what I photographed (cannot wait to upgrade my camera soon). There was a woodpecker enjoying the bird feeder later in the day, but the bugger was playing with me, and kept flying off before I could snap one photo, ha ha!
A blog follower asked for the hamstring stretches that I was given by one of my daughters. Here they are, but check out anything on Youtube too. There are exercises on there that were also helpful.
We warmed up from 0°F to 2°F today. It's all a sheet of ice outside. No sign of thawing just yet. We also got more snow last night.
We are getting news from family and friends of sickness. One is one of the kids too. She has confirmed having the flu.
The water softener is still on the "off" mode. My husband has acquired the supplies to repair the leak in the line, but has lacked the time to do the actual repair. I'm tapping my foot in anticipation, so I can turn the water softener back on (laundry awaits). He works outside in this cold some days, so when he comes home, he is physically spent so to speak.
With that said, I have only moved a few puzzle pieces on our current puzzle.
I have found another high protein pancake recipe to try soon as well (recipe with no protein powder). I have several healthy new breakfast recipes to try, as well as dinner, so I won't run out of winter activities, ha ha!
I finished a few books, so I'm working on some new granny squares for our "book" blanket. I'll post them soon after I get them done, ends sewn in and added to the blanket. What a huge improvement on reading books this year too. I would say 98% of the books read this year are books I bought at least a year to three years ago. Other ones are given to me or borrowed from the library. The one on top was okay. I didn't really learn a lot to be honest. She mentions Lincoln shell peas as the best yielding peas, but I grew them here and they did not do well. It was written and published so many years ago too.
~Home Updates~
I'm getting some shelf liners installed. Woohoo to that. One area is already done. Three more areas more to go. I added another area.
In order to line the closet wire shelves, I have some updates like this to do. I may be doing some purging in there too. I know the clothes have got to be sorted. Good luck with me getting my husband on board with his clothes.
Progress is better than no progress.
I made a few peanut butter/bird seed treats for the birds. I'm sure they will be enjoyed during this winter. I just saved some empty toilet paper rolls, spread peanut butter on them, then rolled it in the bird seed. I then put the rolls on high branches in the trees.
Chilly Time Chit - Chat © February 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart
The last time we had temperatures at -20F° was back in the first week of January of 2014. Eleven years ago. According to my blog anyway. The weatherman on the news channel is saying we had these cold temperatures six years ago.
Tuesday it was -12°F with a windchill (feels like). Monday we at least had sunshine the entire day. Tuesday it was dark and cloudy with a bit of sun here and there.
Today we didn't quite hit the -20 mark, but we did hit -5°F with a windchill of -19°F. Thankfully, water is running, as we let the faucets drip overnight.
We restocked on bird seed, and this one has a lever that will shut the feed area if a squirrel tries to hop on for a meal.
Garden prep:
I had some time to go through my garden planting plan for this year, and I realized we did not plant any type of pea last year. We never got the pea fence back up.
What are you gardeners planting for sugar snap peas? I am considering trying something new. A snap pea that is perfect for a summer cold snack and/or cooked as well.
I hope the joys in your winter days are pouring in. I got a teeny tiny sample from Eden Garden Essential oils, and it's in the diffuser today. It's called "It Smells Amazing." Photo to show you how tiny and cute the sample bottle is.
Another day we started out with snow fog. Crazy, but it was beautiful with the sunshine. Love that sunshine.
Just the Bits © January 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart
I'm still staying on track with my fitness, and otherwise healthy meals despite the holidays and cookies. I have a few new salad recipes to try soon, and we are focusing on the freezer and pantry for the next month. Other than buying fresh vegetables and fruits, it should be a fun monthly meal plan.
In other news . . .
I have not been watching he morning or evening news, so I really don't know what's going on in the "real" world lately. I have spent more time sipping herbal tea and reading, and a few minutes of easy crochet work. Once the weather turns cold again, I will check my yarn stash and start a new lap afghan. I may have enough to donate by next winter (not enough time this year with home repairs/purging/cleaning, and re-organizing (but so worth it).
I have finally opened my new planner and started filling it in already. Which reminded me about how people spend their entire day looking forward to the end of the day, or end of the week, instead of embracing the moments as they are in real time. Don't forget to find joy in the present moments, as you can't get that time back.
Do you do anything "fun" to embrace a moment or moments in your day? Sit outside and watch the birds? Watch the sunrise or sunset? Plant a new plant indoors? I would love to hear your winter activities or plans.
I was gifted a new planter container last May (gulp), and have yet to fill it. I had planned to try and bring in Thai basil, but that failed. Rosemary is very difficult for me to winterize indoors, so I'm looking into maybe another herbal plant.
I have not yet found any local line dancing, but we are continuously seeking out activities for us this winter. If anything, we'll get some evening walks in.
There is no method to figure out this winter weather madness.
I took advantage of the better weather, and put the laundry on the clothesline. It gets me outside, I get some extra physical movement, and a lower electricity bill. A win all around.
I saw my first Robin. I actually saw several. The mornings now start much darker, but as the sun rises, the birds are busy singing good morning to the world. I took that photo through my window, and I do need to wash some more windows ha ha!
