Post Snow Storm

 The snow storm has passed, and most places here got about 9-10 inches of snow.  The worst part for us, is that the frigid temperatures now return with a deep freeze.  They are still talking about temps dipping to -25°F after all this snow dumped.  The cold temperatures are said to be with us for the next week.

First issue was to find someone to plow us out.  Second was to shovel a path to the coop, and finally order more pre-paid propane (bad timing) for delivery.  

More snow is on the way.  

Plowing was accomplished, and very thankful for that.  The trash bin will need shoveled out before trash day, but all is well in our neck of the woods.

Deep cleaning is being done, but I ran out of one cleaner I make (does well on any grease on the stove vents etc).  I will need to restock my distilled water (we have well water). Exciting winter news right? Ha!

You know those small vents on the oven door that are inconveniently behind the stove handle?  Thank goodness for saving old toothbrushes to assist in the job.  The vents are all cleaned and looking spiffy.  I often wonder why the handles, and on all appliances, are made with those annoying tiny groves that constantly need scrubbed clean.

Those who own an electric (coil burner) stove, and can over summer will understand.  I let my burned on ring around the burners go until winter (thank you big canning pot), when I can tackle the scrubbing action needed.  All is clean again, and looking spiffy as well.

On to more interesting news...maybe.

The snow storm gave me more crochet time, and I finished the large blanket to be gifted.  It looks small-ish in the photo, but I have big feet, ha ha!  It's maybe 60 x 70 plus inches.  Whew!  It's ready to gift when the weather is more suitable.

I'm still waiting on the back-ordered yarn.  Not sure it will be delivered any day soon, but the roads are clear as of this post.  Plow trucks have been super busy.

I'm still trying new recipes, and tackling some restocking, but thankful the sun pops out every now and again.  We get very little sunshine during the winter months.

Post Snow Storm  ©  January 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

 

Homemade eye make up remover.  Two ingredients.  I have already tried it a few times, but will use when needed, and return with results.  The recipe is free online with a source I have used for years for my facial toner, homemade hair detangler, and a few other recipes  - DIY Makeup Remover 

I don't always wear makeup, but on an occasion I do, and so far I am really liking the two ingredient recipe.

Our weather has gone from cold to frigid.  It's only been weather suitable for penguins and polar bears.  This morning? We are experiencing a -17°F windchill.

I'm on the hunt for a heater that sits underneath the water unit in the chicken coop.  We have a few we are looking at, but we have not needed such heating system options for years now.  We don't need it often, and in fact, have not needed one in years now.

Unfortunately, the frigid temperatures are said to continue for about another week and a half (or so).  

We have been getting our walking in, by browsing larger antique stores.  We not only get out of the house, but we are looking for more ways to get walking in.

Winter activities can mean finding things to do like large camper/RV shows.  It gave me exercise time, and we actually enjoying checking out all the options out there right now. 

It got us out of the house and the doctor said walking can be increased now.

I bought a newer "on-the-go" crochet project bag, due to the weather and needing one that was waterproof.  I didn't realize that above the zipper there was velcro.  My yarn was sticking every time, so I bought some sew-on type velcro (no adhesive), and attached a piece to cover the sticky portion.  I did not want to cut it off the bag, so this quick fix works for toting yarn projects around.

Update on the blanket to be gifted.  I ran out of Heather Grey (Red Heart) yarn.  A very common color sold by most Wal-mart stores.  However, I could not find it at any of the stores near us, nor two other stores.  I ended up paying extra and ordered online.  Sigh.  It's getting harder and harder to locate the most common brands of yarn in stores anymore (at least in our area).  A friend mentioned that Ollie stores in nearby areas, carry some yarn, so I will be looking there soon as well.

I got another set of baby booties crocheted for a gift.  Funny story about this set.  My husband suggested, while I had the blue yarn in hand, to make a set for his doctor who was expecting a baby boy soon.  The funny part, is the day of his appointment, the office was giving the doctor a baby shower that very same day.  Perfect timing.  Oh, and I made these with an "G" crochet hook and it looks to be the correct hook, size.

I received the pattern from my Mom's co-worker many, many years ago, but the hook size was never mentioned, and I since then have forgotten what I had used in the past.  I will be making much better notes in that regard.

A few years ago, someone posted about a "beet salad" but never posted a recipe.  We had the opportunity to try a version of a beet salad recently, and boy was it good.  I'll be working on making one for ourselves in the future.

Winter is a rest time in a sense, but we still like to tackle indoor jobs/repairs/updates as we are able to.  I've been doing a lot of list making and note taking lately.  I am running low on mullein and had no idea we were so low on mullein tincture as well.

I'm on the fence with doing the Christmas countdown posts this year.  I won't be preparing the advent gifts this year, and with the lack of holiday gathering invitations, there are zero plans to prepare gifts or new trial recipes.  Two kiddos received homemade seasoned salt, the recipe handwritten on a recipe card, and a bottle of the "Christmas Spice" extract I made a few months back.  We have yet to even try it, so I may be looking to bake or create something to give it a taste.  

I can say that there are several boxes of Christmas items on my kitchen floor, that will eventually be sent to a thrift store, or the trash can.

I don't want to write a super long post today, although I have lacked getting one written, but may possibly be back to share my current book.

This and That ©  January 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

The Year of New Beginnings ~ Welcome 2026

 The new year brings new beginnings.  It's a year of ending a few things as well.  

Many of the gatherings this year were small.  Either sickness hit most, some didn't want to be around people, and some did not get together over the holidays.  Either way, I did not cook/bake for the gatherings, and that was actually nice for once.

January brings winter weather.  The weather is doing what it does - wintering.  Wintering in a weird way too.  If I was traveling, it would be a very good month for travel.  The temperatures are warming between 50-60 degrees, and rain.

(shallots and butter)

(homemade condensed mushroom soup, prepared as equal to one can of soup, to freeze)

We are seeing more stores closing as the new year rolls in, and we have also found out that our nearest grocery store will no longer sell shallots.  I use shallots and butter as my starting base when making homemade condensed mushroom soup (which I freeze, one container equals a "can" of mushroom soup).  I am very sad about this, and have to travel to buy any over winter.  I will be looking into growing shallots this garden season. We use them in other recipes as well.

My rosemary plant I brought in last year, is hanging on by a thread.  I have plans to put it outside this week, as we will hit the 60's and get rain.  It may revive it or it may not.  I will take that chance.  No loss trying it either, as the plant has about two green leaves on it.

The chives I brought in are doing pretty good, but not enough to actually harvest yet.  I think the next plant to bring in next year will be green onions.  I really miss the fresh homegrown green onions.  The current ones at the grocery store are bland and look terrible.

The lemon balm seeds are very slow growing.  It's all a trial for learning better ways to bring some herbs indoors over winter.

I inquired on a class to learn a new craft, but it's on delay for now.  

We located a puzzle swap not far from us, but limited to when you can go pick up.  Pretty excited about this.  It's not like we have a ton of them each year, but it keeps the home stash to a manageable amount.

Although our local library does not hold a puzzle swap, I will be attempting to utilize their inter-loan book borrow program more than purchasing new books this year.  I have noticed that the higher rated books (non-fiction) on Amazon are not available to borrow at all through the library program so it may affect my goal of putting borrowing first.

The current crochet project that is going to another family.  It's taking forever, but the colder winter days (when we do have them) are perfect for such a larger project.  I still have a blanket on-going for ourselves, but it's on hold until this is finished.  It will be the last winter project, as I will need a much needed break.

Updated photo of the "on-the-go" crochet project (lap afghan).

It's getting larger, so I may switch to another smaller to-go project or take books to read for now.  The photo looks black and white, but it was a very dreary day.  Color is actually Aran from Red Heart yarn. 

The cotton yarn I ordered way back in November has been delayed once again.  They are telling me to expect it late January or early February now.

Home repairs/renovations are on hold for now. 

I totally forgot about the request for a recipe, and other requests.  I'll try and do my best to get a post for those.

I have not gotten the video yet of the opening of all of the 24 advent gifts, but one kiddo said her favorite item was the green and white knitted dishcloth I made, and her husband's favorite was a multi-use hand held light (it had a hook for hanging, a magnet and many light options).

Thank you for all your prayers, good mojo, good thoughts over the course of surgery and afterwards.  I have yet to get my "green light" from the doctor this month.  My brain cells are returning ha ha! I had thought I bought a new herbal book, and after looking into it, I had not.  I thought I had ordered new herb seeds for the herb garden this spring, and had not as well.  Good gravy.  

...until next time, I hope you enjoyed my first post of the new year.

The Year of New Beginnings ~ Welcome 2026  ©  January 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Happy Homemaker Monday

 We have been blessed with sunshine the last few days, and I am so thankful for that (after several days of zero sunshine).

I emailed our local library, and proposed a puzzle exchange program.  They may not have the space for such a thing, but I have suggested it.

We got a call that an extended family member on my husband's side of the family, had passed away.

Joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

The weather . . .

25 degrees at night, but we had some pretty nice, almost 60 degree weather over the weekend.

Right now I am . . .

Making a list of of things that need moved to the top of my to-do's for the day.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Thinking about adding another crockpot to our home.  I've been doing research on the best one on the market these days.  Boy have they changed too (digital buttons etc. on some). When the last kiddo moved out, she took one of our crockpots with her, so we do need another replacement.

I'm thinking about getting us a puzzle board and puzzle box lid stand for the winter puzzle time.

We are now thinking about which home repairs to tackle next.

How I am feeling . . .

Tired.  Ha!

On the breakfast plate . . .

Breakfast sandwich - sausage, egg, and cheese.

On the menu . . .

-a new crock pot mac n' cheese recipe to try

-a new roasted stuffed chicken recipe to try

-Thanksgiving meal will be whatever we feel like.  We have no kids coming home for the holiday.

-leftovers

On my reading pile . . .

Used book.  Have no idea how I obtained it either, ha ha!

On my TV this week . . .

Landman when a new episode is available.  Some Christmas movies. Not much else.

Looking around the house . . .

The Christmas decorations are mostly out.

On the to do list this week . . .

-cobwebs (been on the list all last week)
-make a few calls (doctor, park district {more on that later})
-return library books
-mail a rebate

-write a snail mail letter to an extended family member

-make a yarn order (gulp! for a specific cotton yarn not in stores)

-sweep/mop 

-dust

-wash some rugs

-laundry

What I am creating . . . 

Current crochet blanket for a Christmas gift.

Current "on-the-go" crochet blanket. Sorry if you saw these on my last blog post.

From the camera . . .

The best part of the early morning, is getting outside and taking in a deep breath of fresh outdoor air.  Unless someone is cleaning their barn, and then it's not so pleasant,  ha ha ha!

Devotional, prayers, bible verses . . .

"In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties.  But take heart!  I've conquered the world."  John 16:33 MSG

Happy Homemaker Monday  ©  November 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

I harvested one last bit of Russian Red Kale.  I saw new sprouts of our Swiss Chard.  It makes me happy to see it growing this late in the season.  I am already missing the garden.  Crazy as that sounds, but I am. 

A funny to share.  I was working on the dinner in the kitchen when my phone rang.  Ha ha ha!  It was my husband.  He was home, so this was strange to me.  He said, "Well, I have discovered one problem with the coop.  Can you come let me out?"  Ha ha ha ha ha ha!  The door shut, and latched on him.  We are still laughing about it.  We will be doing something to rectify that from happening again.  Oh, they are still not laying eggs, but they deserve a break too.  They still get treats and such, so hopefully they will be laying again shortly.  Then again, they have new roosts, so they may be acclimating to them.

Our little library is celebrating 100 years, and they are having a "home" Bingo game, but the numbers are called on social media, so I have to check there every day to play.  A little bit of fall fun.

I may have shared this for crochet folks, but did you know that Boye is not making the "I" hook in 5.5mm size?  They only make them in 5.25mm now.  It sort of messes up my patterns I use.  I am still trying to find more of these to keep on hand. 

I ordered one from Herrschners online, which stated 5.5mm, and when it arrived it was 5.25mm.  Just a heads up on that information.  You can buy other brands in the 5.5mm size.

Here is an update on the larger lap afghan I am crocheting for a gift.  I am not yet halfway done, and the month is going by way too fast right now.

I have already been going through the yarn stash to make the next gift (it may end up after Christmas, but the recipient knows).  I have not narrowed down the colors just yet. Can you tell the recipients of both blankets like green? Ha ha!  Blankets take a good amount of time to crochet.

This and That  ©  November 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Happy Homemaker Monday

 It's been a long time since I participated in Happy Homemaker Monday.  I apologize for the length of it.  I tend to get a bit chatty and blabber on a bit with these posts.

Today I am joining Sandra with Happy  Homemaker Monday. 

The weather . . .

Cold!  Sunday we got down to 27 degrees, our first hard freeze, and rain.  

It's 18 degrees and snow arrived.

Right now I am . . . 

Brewing coffee, and writing this post.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Spring home projects/repairs, chicken brooders, volunteering...fun winter activities.

How I am feeling . . . 

Overall, good, but frustrated with those who cannot "listen" and I have to repeat myself over and over and over (not my husband ha ha! He's a great listener).  I have really learned from this, to be a much better listener.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Have no idea yet.

On the menu . . .

-(new recipes to try), crock pot mac n' cheese

-crockpot flank steak tacos (new recipe to try)

-Salmon, stuffed acorn squash (new recipe)

On my reading pile . . .

1.  A lot of crockpot and sheet pan dinner cookbooks from the library (working on new, easy dinners for the next few months).  I have never had the "need" for a crockpot breakfast, but I'm looking into those as well.

2.  Non-fiction (trying to get a few pages in a day).  Interesting, but the authors continuous references to war or military are monotonous (hence 2 pages a day, ha ha!).

3. Fiction

(forgot to take a photo).

On my TV this week . . .

Anything that brings laughter.

Looking around the house . . .

Looking good, and I managed to clean up a pile of paperwork, but found about two dozen printed new recipes to try.  How does that happen?  Sheesh.  I thought I found them all.  I now use my phone to try the recipe first anymore.  If it's a keeper I then either write it down or print it (no more recipe piles for me).  I do have a pile of free magazines from the library to read.

To-do list for the week . . .

-make a new breakfast

-sweep and mop floors

-dust

-one doctor appointment this week

-return books to the library

What I am creating . . . 

Finished this lap afghan for a future donation.

I was given some yarn recently, and there are at least 21 skeins of Red Heart aran yarn in the mix.  Yes, 21 of them.

I started a new lap afghan pattern with the aran colored yarn, and should use up 4 skeins to make it.  It is my "travel" or "on the go" project for now.  It's one color of yarn, and the pattern is very easy to memorize, so "on the go" is perfect for this blanket.

From the camera . . .

Updated photo of my crocheted "Book Blanket" I am making.  If you haven't seen my first posts on this, you can see it HERE and another post HERE.  I crochet a granny square, with scrap yarn, with my best ability to match the colors of the book cover.  The granny squares are crocheted onto the blanket (a join as I go project).  The photo is 40 completed books with 40 matching granny squares.  We'll see what I get attached by the end of 2025.

Devotional, Prayers, Bible Verses . . .

A few prayer requests:  

Abby, a daughter to folks we know, who was in a car accident and in the hospital unconscious.  They cut some of her skull to relieve pressure, and have plans to slowly remove her from sedation and eventually move her to acute long term facility.

Larry, adult friend of a family member who recently suffered serious seizures.  We are told he takes medication for seizures, and the cause is not known. He had a seizure recently, while driving to work, which put him in the hospital.

Myself.  God knows the details.

Happy Homemaker Monday  ©  November 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Garden ~ Canning Halted ~ Butterfly Pea Flower Tea ~ Power Outage Preparedness ~ Lap Afghans Donated

 Garden clean up is very late this year, due to circumstances beyond our control.  Now we are delayed with rain, but we may have a few warmer days this week.  We may only have two days left to finish the removal. In hindsight, we should have hired help, but.....

The sunshine kabocha produced a few, although most do not look completely ripe (by color), and the butternut is pretty small.  The cocozelle zucchini we left on the vines is the perfect size for seed saving.

Although most of the mashed potato squash was cross pollinated, we got a few that produced to enjoy.  We literally got zero spaghetti squash (which is very very rare, but we did have a bad drought year).  The Mashed potato squash is the white one in the above photo.

Russian red kale and a mix of Swiss chard were washed, sliced, blanched and frozen for winter use.  The bugs got to most of the Swiss chard.

Green onions were dehydrated for the first time ever.  I froze some as well, but we now have two options.  To dehydrate the green onions, you want to leave them whole (like I do with chives).  I store them as whole as I can in a canning jar, which is vacuum sealed.  I will snip or grind them as needed.  Each preservation method produces a different flavor and different texture.  

Snow is in the forecast, along with the rain.  Who knows what we'll get.  There are coyote and raccoon droppings all around the property as fall weather turns.

We've been trying to focus meals on meat and vegetables lately.  Easy, healthy and lower cost.  Fruit is always in the mix of course, but we are thrilled to find a new butcher for most of our meat (lowering our cost).  In the photo is a roast I put in a crock pot by itself (veggies in another one), and simply topped it with salt, pepper and a container of homemade mushroom soup (which I pre-make and freeze).  Absolutely delicious.

(Applesauce cake baked with home canned applesauce and a bit of molasses, topped with crock pot baked {similar to fried apples} apples)

Sadly, my canning is halted for the season (again, out of my control).  I have more apples, but we'll be adding them to salads, cooked meals (with vegetables), added to yogurts, crock pot "fried" apples, and such.  I want to try an Einkorn applesauce cake next.

I have already listed plans for apple canning next year.  I'm not sure if we'll get apples every year yet.  We'll find out next season.

Tea time . . .

New medicinal/herbal tea tried.  I have had the flowers, but brewed the tea for my facial toner.  I finally had to the time to brew some, and try it as iced tea.  I have discovered that adding lemon infused honey makes this the best.  It's butterfly pea flower tea (organic).  I will be trying it hot in the future.  I'm on the fence with buying another herbal tea recipe book.

I have since located two stores that specialize with teas, and one particularly with medicinal herbal teas.  Both are a bit of a drive, but on the radar for when there is time to check them both out.  

A recent power outage (actual two days of outages within one week)  gave us the chance to try out some portable, battery operated light bulbs.  I do have chargeable light bulbs in some lamps as well (some charge as they are used daily).  I do see how more canned fruit would come in handy for power outages, so that is on my radar for next year.  We also have two solar chargeable light bulbs, and are interested in expanding more preparedness for such times.  Our portable (small generator) can run the portable electric water pot, coffee pot, or other appliances.

On the handicraft front . . .

Seven crocheted lap afghans were donated to an organization that helps veterans and first responders this year.  I package each one in a zipper bag.  It keeps them clean for transport, and eventually to the new owner.

Started a new lap afghan.  I'm currently searching for new blanket patterns using stripes of different colors of yarn.

I had purchased a snap project bag for another crochet project, and needed one for traveling back and forth for appointments, and they did not have the same one in stock.  I ordered this one, and was not disappointed, although more expensive.  The larger part has a side zipper area, shoulder strap, and comes with a scissor holder and smaller zipper storage bag.  It works perfectly for the size I needed. 

It's been one doozy of a year, and we are so ready for it to be over with, so we can start a new year with renewed inspiration. 

It's time to finish up notes in our garden journal for the year.  We did not plant fall garlic (beyond our control), but we do plan to plant it fall of 2026.  I have dug up two chive starts, and already have someone to gift them to.  Thanks for reading today's, much longer than usual, blog post.

Garden ~ Canning Halted ~ Butterfly Pea Flower Tea ~ Power Outage Preparedness ~ Lap Afghans Donated  ©  November 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Cranapple Butter and tidbits

 One more "first" for me this year (something new to try/experience). . . 

Cranapple Butter ( A Ball Canning Recipe).  I read this is good to top your turkey at the holidays, but we plan to try it on toast too.  Why did I try it?  Well, we had more apples from our trees.  Yes, I could can apple pie filling, but it may still happen too.

No Shortage of Boredom

 We finally got rain, after 20 plus days of 90 degree plus weather.  Despite watering the garden, it was looking fried by the heat, humidity and sun.  The zucchini plants are starting to die off with little harvest already.

. . . from the handiwork journal

Finished this baby blanket.

 

These bookmarks are not a new project, but a "found" project I found tucked inside a container.  I have no idea how I made the flower part (I assume printed on cardstock and sealed using the library resources).  I simply crocheted the "string" part of them.  I honestly do not know why I made them, but they are stored in a bag to donate to the little library service program.  

I finished these 3 crocheted flower bookmarks (had them in parts for a while now).  I have added them to the service donations for the little libraries as well.

For those who crochet -  Something fun to share!  

Go to the National Park Service (on your computer or phone), and put in "crochet" in the search bar.  They have free crochet patterns for a Beaver, Lighthouse, Walleye, Saguaro Cactus, and a few more. Who knew? 

. . . from the handiwork journal  ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart