Pioneer Woman at Heart

I finished this book, which I believe I was prompted to read by a blog here I follow (Far Side of Fifty maybe?).  It was good, but it took me forever to read, as it was canning season, and the days were long and tiresome.  The thought of lifting a book or hook was out of the question at the time. Anyway, I crocheted a granny square to match the cover.  The colors in the square could have been done about a dozen different ways.  I just went with what colors I had in scrap balls. I'll try and get an updated photo of the actual blanket soon.   Clinking my hot tea cup to yours, to books and hooks again.  I'm hopeful that it will be soon for myself too.   The weather is pretty warm for fall right now.  We've been in the lower 70's and sunny.  We may even hit the 80's this coming weekend.  It's garden clean up season for us, and those days are hit or miss, with what's on the busier-than-normal fall schedule. Rosemary plants were pul...

  A quick post.  My chickens would not leave their run the last few days, and now I know why.  I had a feeling something was a threat to them.  It was literally watching them, so I may need to come up with a way to net the entire coop to cover their current run.  I'm hoping it just moves on.  Between everything needing done or going on around here, we have not finished the new coop yet (and I wish we had). I picked these balls of yarn to decide on my next go-to project ( with very limited free time ).  All of them were in my stash.  The color on the left may end up a winter hat/scraf for my husband, and the right was chosen to crochet a new baby blanket pattern.  My husband was shocked the white and pick were in my stash (huge on pound from Caron).  Yes they were.  I was an ambitious person when I did baby items for craft shows. Current crochet project.  A big thank you to Betsy at Blogspot The Simple Life of a Queen .  Sh...

  Although the weekend was another hot weekend, and no rain, most of the garden was tilled, and all the tomato plants were tied up.   I think we are on about day 15 of no rain here. Sunday was our Monday.  Hubby worked, so I got most of my regular "Monday" stuff done already. I worked up another hat pattern, but this time using some Red  Heart yarn I had, and I asked my husband for his opinion.  He said he did not like the "feel" of the yarn.  He preferred the Bernat yarn I used.  Do you all have a preference?  I have a lot of Red Heart in my stash. By the way, the above pattern is free online from the Friendly Fox, called the Mountain Ridges Hat.  It uses more yarn, and is thicker than the last hat pattern I used. Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  I will link up when she posts. The weather . . . Whelp, a possible rain this coming weekend.  We shall see.  It's going to be cool at night and highs in...

  I've mentioned that we make Four Thieves Vinegar for the year, and especially for winter months, and now I am making a Four Thieves Spray to clean the house with. You can get the instructions with Mountain Rose Herbs online (there is a video). It's been rough lately, when it comes to daily chores.  In the process of going through every single box/tote/bag for the closet, there are daily chores to do first.  It's been a bit overwhelming, but I know it will all be worth the work. I decided to mix up some herbal tea mix for my version of "calm the fluff" down tea.  There are so many recipes for this online.  I used what I had on hand. Asparagus is up a few weeks early and we are expected to have a frost tonight. If you were asking about the recent afghan pattern, for the granny/double crochet ripple with a straight edge, I posted it yesterday:  HERE Question: Forget The Pharmacy - Grow Your Own Medicine: The Homesteader's Ultimate Self-Sufficient Guide to Gr...

The weekend went way too fast, and Monday snuck up on us fast.  Rain moved in, so I have been inside working on the to-do list.   Sunday we purposely got porch therapy.  I was thrilled to get crochet time to work in this scarf.  I love this new stitch. We have had hot weather, and foggy mornings.  We are back to the 90's again today.  Crazy, but good for the loofah plant, and the peppers I left in the garden. We are hoping our smaller AC unit lasts until this heat ends.  It's on the fritz.  It sounds like it will just fizzle out any day.  The lawn mower is also on the fritz.  We already bought a new battery for it, but now it needs two more new parts to get it running.  We are also hoping it lasts until mowing season ends, and without more expenses. Boxes for donations are piling up, so I must get them delivered soon.  It's crazy how much stuff you own, until you have to box it all up and move it for a while.  At leas...