Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Although it is super foggy this morning, the sun is trying to shine.  Yesterday was a very dreary, dark and misty day. I managed to accomplish a breakfast.  I'm still painting trim, so I get to multi-tasking and list writing.  I scrambled a dozen eggs, made sausage patties, and Einkorn waffles.  I used a random recipe online, but want to try the recipe Jovial has next time. I just didn't have yogurt on hand. I boiled a half dozen eggs for egg salad.  I guess that will be tonight's dinner (egg salad), while I work on the menu plan.  I also put another dozen eggs in the fridge for future boiled eggs. Daughter K's waffle iron, which I didn't like, and the recipe wasn't that great.  The recipe also said 1/3 cup of batter, and it was not enough.  I have to double the recipe.  I am reading reviews to look for a waffle maker for myself now.  Our state has a law, that says you must purchase a minimum of 6 chicks.  It was created to a...

I'm posting a very short post today, since I bombarded you with a over lengthy one yesterday. I had pulled paper out of a box, and I found him pouncing in the paper.  He then darted in and out of the kitchen, flying into the mound of paper.  So funny!  Glad he had some fun before I cleaned it up, ha ha!

Tiger is sick again, so that was on the list of to-do's.  We got him to the vet in the morning Saturday.  Thankfully, the family get together was cancelled.  That freed up our morning to cut more, much needed wood. I'll admit we laughed our way through it.  Layered in 5 layers of clothes, wind blowing and almost getting the truck stuck....we laughed and laughed.  What idiots we were for not cutting more wood over summer (again, he does this year after year).  Then again, he was a pretty depressed man after losing two nephews.  I gave him a pass.  Next summer we'll hit it hard.  By the way, I much rather prefer dry sawdust than sogging sawdust that sticks to everything.  It was everywhere. After we cut wood we pretty much hunkered in.  We parked the car at the front of the drive, and thankfully we did.  Hubby has to work this morning and the drifts behind the car are 3-5 feet high.  The snow plow has buried the end of th...

  View of the larger garden, and raised beds looking south.  Pretty scary, and downright a frustrating mess.  These photos were taken a few months back. I "bit the bullet" and went out day after day ripping it all out.  Yeah, rain prevented us from winterizing the garden this fall.  I'm pretty frustrated, but what can you do?  Nothing.  That's what we can do.  Spring will be a very, very busy spring for us though.  Snow is in the forecast for the weekend, and Hubby is working overtime all week, including the weekend. I'm so happy the political ads are done.  I got so much junk mail this year.   We are past the funeral now, and continue to pray for "A's" family.  We are so emotionally drained, I can't even imagine what his family is going through right now. We had high winds yesterday, so I can thank the weather Gods for clearing all of the leaves off one of my porches.  The wind has died down today...

(these are older pictures, but you can see who is who) The cats have both been to the vet this week. Somehow, with the "car shuffle" we managed it.  Jasper had to be seen because of his teeth.  He has gum disease.  He's going back for a teeth cleaning to prevent it from getting any worse.  There is no cure for gum disease in a cat sadly.  He's on antibiotics until then, and he's not liking getting it.   Tiger is sick.  He started to vomit all over the house, so we switched his food, and he'll only eat one wet type (and it has to be cold).  He was keeping it down, but now his back bones are sticking out too much, even though he was eating.  Now his hair is falling out in large clumps.  The vet looked him over, and blood work is getting processed.  We'll get results soon.

It's been pretty humid here.  As you can see I can't get great photos due to the lens fogging up.  My zinnias did not do well this year, and I planted almost all my seeds.  These should be double the height.  Only three more areas came up, and all have stunted growth due to lack of rain.  I'll have to see if I still have the person's name who gifted me her Michigan seeds.  I had been saving them year after year, but this year I won't have much to save.  I have zero zinnia color in the very front of the house.  Kind of depressing, but it's been too hot to sit out there anyway.   I do love the color in my garden. Maybe next year it'll be nice and bright. I went to check on the laundry status yesterday, and found Tiger sleeping peacefully in the hamper.  Ha ha!  I didn't have the heart to wake him up, so I did the laundry later.

Organic gum?  We gave this brand a taste test.  It's good at first, but doesn't last long. It gets hard to chew too quickly.  It's gmo free, made in the USA, all natura l f lavors etc.  It is a bit over $2.00 and I counted 29 pieces inside.  It's t asty, but expensive for how long it lasts. I've been working in my herb garden , w eeding and getting it ready for planting.  I uncovered my cilantro, and parsley, so no replanting needed for those.  It will take me a few more days (or more ) to get it spiffed up again.

I'm using leftover scrap yarn from crocheting seat cushions, to make these cup coasters in my very few spare minutes of time (which is about a few nights a week now, ha ha).

The cat blanket is finally finished.  I got the ends sewn in, and it's on the couch....out of the closet and into good use.

Sunday we finally sat around and simply enjoyed ourselves.  We tossed around the idea of going bowling, but the more we relaxed and took time for ourselves, the more we wanted to simply hang out (in pajamas no less). It's hard for me to sit around and do nothing, which was what we told Mom to do (she had another ER visit) for the next few days.  I was reading through a library book, on handmade gifts and decided to not let the year end without a "bang."  I went to the kitchen and made Whiskey Butterscotch Sauce.

I was up, and sipping through my first cup of coffee Tuesday morning, when my phone rang about 7:00am.  

Woke up to fog.  And cold.  I left windows open all night due to the warm weather.  We woke up to a pretty cold house.  Brr.  The kids have a 2 hour delay today, so I actually slept in for once.  

(the beautiful snowflake kitchen towel was part of a Christmas gift from my Mom) Here we go again.  Cough, cold, and flu season.  However, I used my youngest daughter's technique with Google ("no time to shop" but it's really no way to get out of the driveway,  and the fact I need to make it with what I have on hand and stay warm inside), and came up with a cough syrup recipe.  We got dumped with snow, and today by afternoon the temps will be that glorious -20° to -40F.  Even banks closed today.  So....  (don't forget to click on "read more")

Alias, who was said to be "aggressive" is far from that.   He's a teddy bear.  He's a loving, funny, and hug-able pup.  He's a wonderful watch dog too.  He may be about 13 years old, but he sure doesn't act like it.  He loves my blankets.  In fact, the higher the pile it is, the more comfy he thinks it is.  He had his first Christmas with us and really liked those pig's ears he got.  I think he's enjoying his new home quite a bit. Jesse and Tiger curled up together, and Winston was not far away.  Aren't they cute? Happy New Year!

( mugs that were a gift from my 19 year-old) I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  I knew I was in trouble, when I heard the coffee cup hit my nightstand at 6:00am, and the curtains where carelessly tossed open (despite it was pitch dark outside, ha ha!).

This morning's sunrise was beautiful. The pink stretched for several miles. The recent 9 inches of snow is about to leave us.  In fact today.  Crazy as it sounds, the rains are due to arrive today. Winter does not give us a break in physical work here.  My son, the feed and pellet lifter, is working a much unwanted third shift job right now. 

"Yikes! She caught me!" Jasper has been more skittish than before, ever since the propane "boom" we had.  He walks around looking startled by any little movement or noise.  I have such a hard time getting a photo of him. The other day, before the school bus arrived, I was able to snap this photograph.  He was actually playing until he saw me get down to his level and snap a few shots. Ha ha! As for today's weather here. . . . .

"Stop tweeting Mom!" According to the kids, I have a twitter account, but I just don't know it.  I guess, and this is from my son's version, that I "tweet" out loud. Ha. He just confirmed that twitter is annoying (even though he may not have realized it).

Rue, short for Rudy, does not like the early heat we are getting.  I took some scraps out to my daughter , to feed her goats, and saw her giving Rue a h air cut with her trimmers.  He was panting miserabl y. The lamancha goats han dle the heat better, unless they are babies, but generally the ir bre ed c an handle heat better.  Poor guy. Here is an update d photo of Primrose.  I had trouble getting a good pho to, as sh e thought my camera was food.  When I went in to her st all to get th e water bucket, that little stinker got out twice.  Good thin g she has a collar on her. Well, the joke is still on us .  No rain as of this morning.  Hmpf.  The w eather continues to for ecast th understo rms, yet we get nothing.  I did read that torna do type weather was coming our way around Tuesd ay.  They are forecasting storms around 2 pm today.  Shou ld I bel ieve them?  Hubby was so happy that he was not working ove...

Dog beds in our h ouse are not just for dogs. Ha ha ha!  Tige r took over Jesse's bed.