I had another long weekend, but productive. My husband worked again (2 long 12 hour shifts), so I decided to tackle another big job while I could. In reality, it was because we got more rain, and it's been raining every single day lately, so garden work was not happening anyway.
I emptied the entire standing cupboard that holds my canning pot, freezer containers (as they empty), extra canning jars, and all things homesteading that don't have place anywhere else.
A shelf had collapsed (it's the cheap wood type put-together-yourself type cabinet, but it works for now).
I purged the entire thing, cleaned it, then moved it from the wall and cleaned behind it and under it, moved it back, re-organized it and prayed it will hold together a few more years.
I filled a box with items to take to the thrift store.
We have had some cooler weather lately. Woke up to 42°F this morning. Brrr! Some evenings are below 50 degrees. There is rain in the forecast for the next 4 days. It can all change, but we could use a slight break with the rain.
Many of my herb plants are starting to flower. Sage is about to bloom.
A few of our flower bed perennials are starting to bloom as well.
I picked yet some more asparagus. One good thing about all of this rain.
I have not made time to open more than one library book. The recipe above made me laugh. Do you see it? It was from a recipe book for foraging.
Speaking of library books, I do need to get those looked at and returned. They are all resource type books for foraging, fermenting, and wild cooking. Not sure what I was thinking ordering so many books at once.
Speaking of books, I have carved out a few minutes to do some fiction reading. I had to switch up books this time, as I needed a "palate cleanser" (reading refresher) to change things up a bit. It's a short book, and so far I'm enjoying it.
I have used it to season potatoes being prepared for a breakfast scramble. I will try it on sweet potatoes next. Yum.
I also have been using it to season ground beef for tacos, and I recently used it to season the ground beef for a new recipe we tried - crock pot taco pasta. So good! By the way, we liked the recipe for the pasta, but it made more than I expected.
There are several versions of the recipe online, but I had some leftover beef broth, so I used that up instead of chicken, and I added a rinsed and drained can of black beans. Oh, I used frozen bell peppers and jalapenos from last years garden, and homemade taco seasoning.
I've been spring cleaning so to speak. Really, the entire house needs swept and mopped, so I'm tackling one room a day when I can. I am moving furniture and washing any rugs. I have also been washing bed covers/comforters. The weather is up and down for using the clothesline.
I pampered myself with a home hair treatment. It saved me $$ from going to the salon. Well water is not my hair's best friend. We all deserve to pamper ourselves.
Another "finish" for April - set of cotton hot pads to donate.
The deer have started to roam the homestead, and we are not happy. We have not gotten the fencing up (deer jump fence if it's too short). There has not been time to do it. Heck, we haven't even had time to buy the rest of the supplies to get the job done.
In the meantime, my garden solar alarms are up. They will annoy the heck out of them until we can install a garden fence (on the 2nd garden area).
I may just get my donkey yet. I already have a name picked out too. They are great protectors, in case you are wondering. They have legs that can kill a coyote.
Last Sunday we went back to colder weather, with a frost warning. The morning started with a brisk 35°F. Not unusual for us. Monday was 39°F in the early morning, but we warmed up to the lower 70's.
Thankfully, I have the asparagus patch buried with straw for added protection, and it continues to provide for our meals. I am almost out of all of the pesto I made last summer and froze.
(chicken with basil pesto, potatoes and garden asparagus)
The freezer has swallowed the Thai basil pesto however. I shall find it yet, ha ha! I had it in the door to located quickly, but someone here moved it on me. Anyway, we are down to that and some red pepper pesto.
By the way, I used my homemade jalapeno salt (first year to make and try this) in this easy egg/sausage/spinach breakfast casserole. Delicious too.
April did not pass by without adventures, despite my husband's very long work hours. We found joy in each day, added some new "first time" events to our lives, did a lot of outdoor walking, more small-ish homestead updates, did some foraging, read more books than April of last year, and was so thankful for everything (April of 2024 was a bit of a bummer).
Could Spring finally be here to stay? The heat has been shut off. The first mowing has happened, and the grass is a beautiful and bright green again. The flower beds look really nice again, and I have dug up and moved some flower bulbs. New fruit trees were planted, and porch furniture covers removed.
I've not been online much at all (hence the long post today, so grab a cup of java), and even hand wrote a letter this past week. I've done a lot of cooking, but mostly the prep work for fresh salads to go with meals. Soak, chop, slice and dice, mix....lots of good food, but a lot of dirty dishes too.
Third Year Asparagus.
First planted asparagus
Our first asparagus is sprouting, the asparagus beds have been cleaned up and ready for a Spring harvest. We planted more more new asparagus roots, and we are preparing a new area to expand the asparagus patch again (we never have enough to freeze).
I planted rosemary seeds prior to a good rain. I have more seeds to plant for other herbs.
I have transplanted a few house plants, and one does not look too healthy. I am hoping it just needed a larger pot. I have not had house plants in many years due to cats and dogs, but I inherited my Mom's plants when she passed away. I've been doing pretty well with their upkeep, but the cactus isn't looking too good (insert sad face).
I hope you had a nice Easter Sunday. As for us, we did not do anything in the way of a special meal/gathering (no invitations). My husband had to work, and the kids all spent the day with their other families or had other plans.
I spent the Easter holiday cleaning and lining the last kitchen cupboard, and other jobs around the house. Apparently, the double decker, lazy susan I bought from K-mart almost 17 years ago has broken. I'll need to find a replacement. Otherwise, that job is done. Tossed some rennet from 2016 (gulp!) I didn't even know we still had (from dairy goat cheese making days) it. I think I eventually went to a liquid rennet that needed to be refrigerated, so I was shocked to find old rennet in the cupboard.
Put those pesky toothpicks in a canning jar. The boxes are always breaking and I'm tired of shoving them in plastic bags. The lid is a repurposed lid that fits half pint Ball jars.
Food scale recommendations? Online or in store. I am in the need to replace ours (have had it since we raised dairy goats).
Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.
I will link up when she posts today. I am up early.
The weather in our neck of the woods . . .
Rain early today, high of 71° and sunny later (hopefully).
As I look outside my window . . .
It's raining.
Right now I am . . .
Getting this blog post posted.
Something fun to share . . .
Cute! If you crochet anyway. My Mom had been after me for a few years to crochet cactus plants in crocheted pots, to sell at my craft shows. I never did get any made, but a few years ago one of my daughters encouraged me to crochet leaves and a pot, in which the leaves were cup/mug coasters. I donated a set to a plant bingo that was taking place last year.
In fact, I crocheted flower dishcloths and filled a cactus looking plant pot, to appear as a plant, and donated that too (you can see both of my plant projects in the blog post link).
Thinking and pondering . . .
To sell or not sell our wine making supplies. We made pear wine once, with our homegrown pears, and we learned a lot from the experience. I doubt we will ever make homemade wine again. Although, the way things are going in this world, the finished product would make a nice item to barter with. Just thoughts rambling.
To work on making something this year, to donate to the plant bingo next year. Maybe. Maybe not. I have time to consider it.
Make something for the advent gifts. I have a crochet project in mind. It's a useful item.
When God created me, did he make a "blooper?" Do you ever wonder what your God given "gift" is? I'm still wondering.
Possibly going back to work. Full time? Part time? Not sure.
I miss fun "snail" mail. My Aunt and I used to write hand written letters, and she was the last person who stayed in touch with me that way. I loved writing her a letter. I do miss that.
Not to make this post any longer, but have you ever actually written down your own happy list? A list of what truly makes you happy? What brings you joy? From simple to complex?
Being that this weekly, Monday "Happy" Homemaker post has "Happy" in the title, and the funny thing that this was the daily reading for Easter morning -
The book the daily readings are from. Some are pretty good, some are just meh.
Do you have a "happy" list? I did not. It got me thinking.
On my bedside table . . .
3 crochet hooks, yarn needles, notepad and pen
On my TV . . .
Ransom Canyon
Listening to . . .
Radio, 90's
On my reading pile . . .
Besides my three morning readings (two are devotionals, one is a daily positive reading, all of which I bought a year ago), I am currently reading this book:
ebook (my first ever ebook)
(photo source: Google)
On the menu this week . . .
-chicken fajitas -grilled burgers, veggie side -crock pot lasagna (new recipe to try), veggie side
-leftovers
On the to-do list . . .
-make a few calls -check asparagus -check wild violets
-handle some paperwork
-muck coop
-meal prep
-mail in a rebate
What I am crocheting, knitting, sewing or creating . . .
Picked up a free bookmark craft from the library. I plan to make this sometime this week. I just need to buy Elmer's glue (to secure the ends, according to the instructions).
My simple pleasure . . .
Nail polish. I only get the chance to polish my nails in between garden seasons.
Looking around the house . . .
I have extra bed pillows that need stored. I'm thinking the best way will be to buy those suction type bags, but they are very expensive (and in the past they don't hold items compressed very long). Hm.
From the camera . . .
These two were sitting out back a few weeks ago.
Bible Verse, Devotional, Prayers. . .
"God thank You that even hard days can be good days when we hold on to You. Guide me throught them with strength, peace, and the comfort of Your love. In Jesus' name. Amen." (180 Devotions for Your Best Day" Barbour Publishing.
It's a "this and that" sort of post today. It seems to be that in-between season of slowly emerging from winter resting to spring activities. The weather continues go all over the map.
We purchased this popcorn seasoning last year sometime, and the bottle is about empty. I just now realized it has fennel in it. Anyway, we cannot locate it in any stores, and apparently it's made in Indiana. I'm sure it's for sale on Amazon, but I'd like to find a recipe to make this myself. We love popcorn as a snack, and often times after a hot day in the garden, alongside a cold iced tea.
We love this seasoning, as it is not super salty, and offers the herbs for healthy flavorings (added health benefits). I've sent an email off to inquire within a store. I may be experimenting with my own homegrown herbs, if we cannot locate it again.
Current puzzle. Nothing news-worthy going on, other than we are getting outside more often as the weather gets nicer. The puzzle came in a collectable tin. Sorry the light in the photo is not that great.
As for any purging/organizing, I finally got around to moving my printed recipes from the broken binder into two new binders. I'm so glad I did this too. It took a while to do too. I needed the recipe for pumpkin oat breakfast bake, so I decided it was a good time to get this project finished. By the way, we are still enjoying frozen pumpkin puree from last year's garden.
When I emptied the old binder, I found a stack of printed and unfiled recipes in the back pocket (sigh). I tossed a few, saved a few to try, and filed the ones we already tried and wanted to keep. I have had this project sitting in a living room chair for over two weeks.
Project is done, and no I do not intend to add any more recipes, other than we are looking for a homemade, healthy French salad dressing recipe. As the weather gets warmer, we are wanting salads more often.
I found one recipe in my mess of unfiled recipes, but it calls for "chili sauce." Not sure what that means. Regular chili sauce? Sweet? And would I find a non-gmo brand? Hm. The recipes for French dressing seem to all call for sugar, but this particular one calls for honey.
March is what we call our "mud" season. Everything is thawing, or there is rain and flooding, and sometimes a snow shower in the mix. Mud. We get lots and lots of of a muddy mess, which prevents any or all outdoor work or play (unless we find paved hiking/walking trails).
Mud season can feel unending and arduous, but also inspiring as the warmer/sunny weather arrives.
Monday - 13°F windchill in the morning
(I attempted to sit in the sunshine for a hot minute, and the clouds moved in of course)
Tuesday - 36°F windwill in the am. High for the day was 60°F (insert smiling face), but we had am rain.
Wednesday - 53°F (windchill of 48°F), rain
Today? - 37°F Snow!
Nothing new going on. We are patiently waiting for spring to stay put. If you remember, we were trying to get an online appointment for new tires last weekend?
Well, my husband actually got an appointment made over the phone, and drove there after work to the said appointment. When he got there, the employee told him he could not and would not put new tires on the vehicle, that we had an appointment for.
After much discussion, my frustrated husband got him to do the job. The employee literally told my husband that whoever was on the phone that day, should have never agreed to the work to be done. Needless to say, my husband drove home with new tires.
On the home front . . .
I got two more wire shelves purged, lined, and re-organized. I cut more pool noodle pieces to place inside my tall boots (it's a cheap way to keep them upright and looking nice). I have yet to find tall enough storage bags for a few pairs of tall dress/casual boots (that do not have boxes).
I got the one corner kitchen cupboard cleaned, lined and re-organized.
The donation box is filling up much, much slower now, which means I'm much closer to being 100% organized (in the house anyway, the garage is another story).
What's Cooking?
I finally got around to making kimchi for us. I have no experience with this, and no advice, so I used a recipe from a book I own. I'll let you know if we like it or not.
Outdoor fun . . .
Despite rain here again, I managed to find a window of time to roll out the coop cleaning tools and muck the stinky winter chicken coop. The ladies are in pure heaven again, and I got outside.
R & R time . . .
Current book. I bought this book almost 2 years ago, at an antique store, and while on a weekend getaway. It is starting out rather mundane and slow. I sure hope it gets better. I had shoved it into a living room end table drawer, and completely forgot about it. I guess I had high ambitions to sit in the living room and read maybe? Either way, it's on top of the stack right now.
Current progress on the "blind" date with a puzzle. It's been a doozy of a puzzle. Pieces are not uniform, It's hard to find the edge pieces, and there are too many of the same color in much of the puzzle. It's been a challenge, and may be the last puzzle of the "winter" season for us. My husband, who insisted we buy the "blind" 1000 piece puzzle date, has been of very little help with it too.
We have been blessed with free calendars from our very small local library every year. The top one is last year's with January of this year included, and the second one is this year's new calendar.
I do have some goals for this month, but I do not make resolutions per say.
Goals for this year so far:
Re-create a few photos.
Get a photo shot day for just us with hired photographer. This may not happen until fall for better outdoor scenery.
Read more.
Reduce hours on social media (I only have facebook)
Travel more.
Have the entire downstairs repaired, renovated, updated, purged and completely organized (will need help from the husband to complete this goal).
Stay on task with regular exercise (this was interrupted so many times last year). Including staying on task while traveling of any sort as well.
Hike more.
Take evening walks with my husband more.
Go camping more.
Talk with friends more often.
I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom today.
The weather in my neck of the woods . . .
This past Saturday we woke up to a chilly 9°F windchill and more snow. It was the kind of beautiful, slow falling snow.
It's 12°F this morning and the snow is coming down. There is enough coming down, there are school delays and closings. My husband may get to use his gizmo he bought a few years ago to "plow" the driveway this year. Traffic is moving very slowly, and I have yet to see a plow pass by our homestead.
Things that make me happy . . .
-my first cup of coffee in the morning
-looking forward to making travel plans
Book I am reading . . .
I started reading this last year, but forgot all about it. I am keeping up with the daily quotes, but I have to say that not all of them are really that good or positive.
I bought both of these two last year as well, and started back with reading them each day. One is 180 days, the other is 365 days. I am enjoying both and have plans to pass them on to one of the kids when I am done reading them. The last two are perfect travel size too.
I finished this one last week, and loved it. I thought it was going to be just stories about the donkey, but it was more than that. It was more like a book of devotions that came to the author with her experience with the stray donkey. The story basically is her life lessons, relationship with God, but taught to her by the taking in of a the stray donkey that showed up out of no where. I also learned about donkeys. I had no idea they lived 40 years, and that if you want a protector donkey, the females do a better job. Overall a very good book.
I started reading this book next. It was a gift from my husband for Christmas. He said it was on the best selling list. Looks like a murder mystery.
What's on my TV today . . .
Sea Patrol
Landman (Sunday night)
On my breakfast plate . . .
See to-do list.
On my lunch plate . . .
Probably tuna salad and cucumber slices with hummus. Fresh fruit.
On my dinner plate . . .
See menu plan below.
On the menu . . .
-Crockpot turkey stroganoff, mashed potatoes, and roasted garlic green beans
-Crockpot black eyed peas, ham and collards
-Crockpot Sausage and Ditalini soup
-leftovers
On the to-do list . . .
-bake a breakfast casserole of some sort, or pancakes for the next few days (have not decided yet)
-clean bathtub and master bath shower, put cleaning supplies away
-dust master bedroom, master bathroom
-pay a few bills
-do laundry
-make homemade hair detangler
-put the Christmas stuff away (yes most of it's still out, as we had errands this past weekend, and just didn't have the ambition at the end of each day)
-make and freeze homemade condensed mushroom soup (goal is to get this done by the end of the week), I make it this way, because we do not use it very often (1), it is healthier than organic from the store (2), and it tastes so much better (3)
-start a new shopping list, as I need more quart canning jars to organize more of our dried herbs, herbal tea ingredients etc. Some new ones I just got, do not come with re-sealable bags.
Month of January Deep Clean/Purge/Re-organize List:
-start removing tape and adhesive from stairway walls. It is a bigger job than I anticipated. I took a closer look when I went upstairs the other day. The kids really did a number on the walls all over the upstairs (grr!).
-fix shelf in freezer than fell into the next shelf. I will have to remove everything and fix shelf and re-organize while meal planning based on what's on that shelf.
-continue purging utility room (a lot is stored in that room, and I have all winter to work on it).
-install under sink shelf liners in the master bath
-check dates on all of our dried herbals for tea infusions, tea making and other medicinal makings, and re-organize.
-clean one corner upper cupboard in the kitchen, install new shelf liner, check dates on all spices/herbs/homemade mixes, and re-organize
New recipe I tried or want to try . . .
All three recipes on the menu plan are "try-it" recipes. Homemade "Velveeta" was successful, other than the cheese flavor using the mild. I do have plans to make it again, but with medium cheddar for a trial #2.
What I am creating . . .
New project for 2025 (possibly longer ha ha ha!) I detest (well I detest the final stage of sewing them all together) granny square projects, so I have no idea what is going on with my brain right now! I'll be back soon to share a post about this new 2025 project. The goal is a combination of two ideas, with two successful goals by the end of the year. I guess you could also say it's a self-motivational goal.
No words needed (favorite photo or picture) . . .
We have loved the recent slow falling, big snowflakes lately. However, this is much more out there as of this morning.
Devotional, Prayers, or Bible Verses . . .
Prayers request from one of our kids - house shopping, and for them to acquire a house they can afford.
Prayers for my own health, and for an earlier opening for my doctor appointment. I am thankful for Arnica cream for sore muscles. We want this off the calendar (best answers would be simply physical therapy, or better yet the current exercises at home) before we start making any travel plans this year.
"A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired." Proverbs 17:22 MSG
If you are still reading (sorry this is a long post for a Monday, ha ha!), if you drink purple passion flower tea, what is a good organic brand to buy and resource? I see Frontier Co-Op has it with our sister online grocery store, and see that Amazon has a few brands. We would like to try it for our evening tea or add it to the current tea we drink (for better sleep, stress reducer, un-wind in the evening tea).
I'm excited about a new crochet project, and it is a sort of a motivation tool for something else. I'll be posting later about it. Overall, it will reduce my time wasting internet scrolling, pointless social media scrolling (looking for recipes, patterns, exercises are all good scrolling minutes, he he!), procrastination station, and endless him-hawing. Not to change the subject, but I mean some scrolling is needed to avoid endless days of shopping in stores looking for something my husband suggested we buy.
I found one close to what he feels we need at Harbor Freight, but it's wall mounted, and runs on batteries.
Does it even exist? I'll be searching for it, but we may have to buy battery charged or a rechargeable light. He wants a solar chargeable, motion sensor, small table light (sort of the brightness of a nightlight) for the bathrooms. We lack outlets by the toilet, and do not want to put in a floor strip light, or wall mount solar lights. Most motion sensor lights for indoors run on batteries or or rechargeable. We want the motion sensor, so the light only comes on at night if needed. I'll update later on this, after we have located and made a decision.
Okay, back to the post....
(sunrise 12-26-2024)
Sunday it rained all day long. Last year we had warm enough weather the same time in December, that I was washing bedding and putting it on the clothesline. We are pretty much flooded this year.
We decided together, that it was a good weekend to take down our Christmas tree. Normally, we would leave it up for New Year's Eve. The holidays this year hit mid-week, and I would much rather have help with it, than wait for an entire week to take it down and put it all back in storage.
Well, the tree is still up, ha ha! We had a few returns to take care of, some grocery shopping for fresh vegetables and fruit, and other errands. I forgot to look for a plant for my planter, but we are also very limited with selections in the winter time. I may be planting an herb for indoor winter cooking.
Before decorations get packed back up, I decided it was time to toss out some very very old Christmas decorations, and donate others. I added one book to the newest donation box, as my husband gifted me a new book too.
My husband gifted me a new bathrobe, so the old one was literally tossed out (not even worth donating ha ha!). Sort of feels good to go into a new year with so many completed home projects, and a more organized homestead.
It's been a year since we have baked cookie cut-outs, so when I dug out the container, I purged those before returning them to storage. Good gravy! I had cutters from when the kids had birthday parties in elementary school. Whew! Someone will be enjoying those, as they are being donated.
January is my month to focus on my health even more than ever. It will be a long wait to see the doctor, but I thought about that too. It gives me a month to do specific exercises. I really did a number on myself when I tripped twice later, after my stairway fall back in April of this year. Anyway, every day I work on myself, is one day closer to back to normal or even better than normal. Per a conversation on the phone with the doc's nurse, I am to avoid "heavy lifting" and have been the last two weeks. It's a tough one, as a bag of chicken feed is not light weight. I have learned how to lift more properly, so there is that.
I am already feeling signs of muscle improvement, less pain, and more flexibility, so doing these stretches may be a permanent addition to my daily/weekly fitness routine.
I need this body in good working condition, as I have ordered a tool to help start the next home repair project. The kids left tape, those 3M sticky tapes, and other adhesives on the walls upstairs, and some in the higher to reach walls in the stairway.
It'll be a project for sure, but needs to happen before it's painted. After seeking advice, we need to buy some drywall mud, as the kids (and past hired help) put large gouges in the plaster walls. It would be great to get this job knocked off the list by the end of January, so we can start working on the stair project (stair project is an entirely new project of it's own).
Speaking of health . . .
Hummus people, I have a quick question. Do you ever add turmeric to your hummus for added health benefits? I'm wondering if it tastes good in it, and how much to add? We love the garlic in ours, so I'm not sure about adding it to our hummus just yet.
I'm already planning some new ideas for next Christmas, as we were so delayed by home repairs/renovations that had to happen. I follow Betsy on Simple Lift of a Queen blogspot and, she mentioned exchanging advent gifts with her grand daughter. Betsy, if you are reading this, I would love to know how to prepare the advent gifts. Do you just wrap each one and place them all in a bag or box with numbers for the day of the month? Or do you prepare them another way. My brain is already chugging away at creating new traditions next year.
Also, Betsy where can I find the "Every which way filet" baby blanket pattern? Thanks!
Sorry for the long boring post to start out this new week. My kitchen is once again a hot mess from lack of being home, but it'll be spic and span clean this week.
I hope your weekend was good. I may not be back to post, until the New Year, so Happy New Year!
