Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The first thing I needed to do was bake a breakfast for us. I used the teeny tomatoes from the garden, asparagus and fresh basil for this one.  Oh, and sausage on the bottom layer. Next?  I put up shelves upstairs and started the process of moving totes of yarn and getting that organized.  It may be a week long job (or more due to carpet cleaning, which we do plan to replace when the last kid is out), but so excited to get started. . . . meanwhile, in the garden. We finally got some glorious rain, so I sure hope it gives the garden what it needs to give us a bounty this summer. My husband, Daughter K and myself went to the last day of the fair to watch the demolition derby.  We had 4 family/friends in the derby this year.  The best part is we bought pit passes and drove the truck right into the arena area and sat on the tool box to watch.  We didn't have to sit in the crowded stadium.  It was great.  My husband's Godson won 1st place and $6...

We've been "off line" for a while so these are posts will catch up all up to date.  Hubby took us camping!  Oh the fun! This is the fire ring that we cooked on.  We bring along a tri-pod as well.

You all may have to check on me in the morning......the house is still rockin' at 10am today.  I did sneak out to the porch for my coffee and sunrise, but slowly they woke up.  They devoured the mini caramel apples I made.

Hubby and I typically take the kids to a hotel for a good night of swimming during winter.  We however, we had other things happen to delay that.  

Like many of you, I have been madly ripping out my garden (and a long way from being finished).  I still have potatoes, a few pie pumpkins, popcorn and a small bit of pinto beans to harvest.  It's been such a blessing this year.

Finally!  We got to take our first camping trip this year.  Although short, we made the most of the time - games, hiking, biking, campfire meals and just hanging out.

Hubby said, "Now that the front porch is all done, let's deck out the back porch." So far it's pretty with pinks, but I'll be adding more color.  This is just the beginning I think.  That little shade flower bed to the left needs weeded out and flowers planted as well.

Hubby had the entire weekend off.  Yay!  However, the rain kept us from going camping.  Our 11 year-old was very energetic, and in between bouts of rain, had fun with backyard archery. She worked her dad hard with a game of basketball too.  Sunday we took the family bowling.  We were geared up for some old fashioned family fun.

One of Hubby's co-workers gifted us a good amount of homegrown English walnuts.  I will be putting the kids to work and cracking these for some delicious recipes. I spent yesterday weeding my herb garden.  The heat index is high, and at 8:30am today, the heat index is at 86°F. The forecast is predicting the heat index will reach about 96° today about 1:00pm. That is too hot (and risky) to be outside at that time.  First the garden is flooded, and now it's getting scorched. (2012) Mattie, another one of our indoor cats, is going to the vet today.  She's developed a growth on her head, and it needs looked at.  She's about 14 years old and still has a lot of spunk. Last night, my son helped me move the metal roofing still hanging from the barn, so my 16 year-old could get the go-kart out.  She had that thing flying all over the property, and with different kids in it for a ride.  She'd stop at the door and honk, asking if anyone else wanted ...

  . . . found this cute goat planter at a local store.  We got it for a fraction of the cost Menard's was selling them for (small ding in the bottom, so they marked it down for us).

I'm back, and a day ea rly.  The tu lips are blooming and we have beaut iful colors surrounding the front porch - pink, purple, red, and white.   My break from blogging gave me more time to work o n our "extreme" house cle an ing.  I got all the windows washed and cleaned of winter mil dew, washed all the curtains, a few walls, and boots are put away.   I spent time cleaning out my clo set (holds my crafts supplies, so you can imag ine how packed in it is) , and tidying up and dusted.  I also go t work do ne in the gardens. Here's what else I got accomplished : I finished the brightly colored tablet cover.  I t was too short for my youngest da u ghter's tablet, so it went to my 1 3 year-old.  Ho we ver, I w ill still make her one.  I just won't make these for s ale.  The y will make great gifting ideas though.  The pattern is on Sugar n'Cream ( http://www.sugarncream.com/search.php?pspt=o...

"Please tell you are not buyi ng that!" I scolded hubby. " A guy at work is letting us give it a try .  That's all." "Right!" I scolded in non-agreement. "His kids are all in college and don't even use it anymore ," he tried to coa x me even more." Two days go b y. "I thought you were just trying it out ? I asked with eyes squinted . Next thin g I know , Hubby is out in that go kart and spin ning wheels, with dirt all over his backside .  He comes back inside smiling . "Uh, Honey? Can you wash this ? " he ask s. (big long sigh from me ) Another day goes by. The k ids have been drivin g it all over the farm. "Mom , if you were driving it around when the bus pulls in, you'd be the coolest Mom ever!" exclaimed my 19 year -old daughter.            

I'm sharing a photo that I took yesterday.  I was out putting clothes on t he line, and heard this litt le guy pe cking away at this dea d part of the tree.  Sure enough, when I went and go my camera, he already went insi de his new home.  I have such a diff icult time taking good photos of birds, but keep t rying. It's busy we ek, starting this weekend. In -school Christmas Cho ir Con cert on t he 21st. A holiday gathering on the 22nd. Our youngest celebrates her bir thday on the 23rd. We have another family gath ering on the 24th. Christmas at home on the 25th. My wedding anniv er sary on the 26 th .  Hubby has to work, so I have to figur e out a plan for a roman tic evening , and a 2 night getaway in t he near future.     I made a sausage/poto to soup for Dark Days Challenge.  I used corn that I bought locally, and had bla nched for freez ing.  I would have adde d garden car r ots, but we are already out of them. ...

I have one re gre t - not getting pictures.  After my 16 year- old daughter helped me shri nk wrap gi ft ba skets for a fundraiser donation, we had a few pieces of b a sket s hrink wrap left over. They girls w ere hi m-hawing at the table later , and I was in t he front room knitting.   "You know what we should do?" one asked the other in the kitchen.  "We should shrink wrap "K's" stuff  before she gets home." (My 13 year-old was o ut shopping with hubby, and would be home to go to a sleepover) " Let's do it," responded the other with a devious eyeball re sponse. (giggling) So they got the hair dry er out, and shrink wrapped their sis ter's ha ir bru sh, flat iron, eye liner, and mascara.   W hen she got home, and looked at her items to pack for the sleepover, she was very confused .   " What happened to my makeup?" she asked me.  (more giggles) "My hairb rush?! " (more g i ggles) "...

My youngest daughter (10 years old) has been bitten by the baking bug.  She's been wanting to bake easy cookie recipes all the sudden. Yesterday, I allowed her to bake some, with the assistance of her older sister. As soon as these cookies were cooled, they dissappeared.  I asked her what she did with them. "I'm hiding them so they won't eat them all." Later in the afternoon, I saw her eating one.  Then later, another.   I asked her, "Did you hide those so you could eat them all?" "No." Just about dinner time, she was walking around the house trying to sell them to her sisters for $1.00 a piece.  Her brother was at work.  I got a giggle out of this. Her sister's were not paying for cookies, tackled her, and stole them from her. (giggles) In the end, everyone did get a few cookies.

We had a Salsa Party, to taste all four of the salsa recipes I canned this year.  The Peach Salsa recipe used a small amount of honey. 

After dinner last night, I got out the watercolor paints and started painting some journal pages.  This was so much fun.  The kids got a kick out of seeing Mom sitting at the table painting.  In fact, they were in so much awe, that my 15 year-old daughter got the video camera out.  She wanted to make sure it was caught on tape for the record.  Ha ha ha ha! Some days, you just need to let the dirty dishes sit, and dig into your creativity. Here's a look at yesterday's "garden" dinner - a meal my Mom used to make.  Potatoes, green beans and bacon, all mixed together.  The potatoes were so creamy and delicious.  I finally figured out why I hated vegetables as a kid - stuff from the store is so tainted that it doesn't taste good.

There's a cure for bored kids in my house. He he he!  It's called cleaning and organizing.  (Top cupboards, no hardware) (Bottom, with hardware) It's actually working for my 15 year-old daughter.  She's taking kitchen cupboards apart one by one and priming them for a new coat of paint.  These mix and match cupboards have really darkened the kitchen, with the bottom dark brown and the top an off-white.  The top cupboards will need hardware, because we are painting everything antique or country white.   The cubbies you see in the top cupboards had tiny baskets that I could not use.  I took the baskets out and placed tea cups in them.  I have them in the lower cupboards (have no idea what they would have used them for) and may try to saw out the shelves to store my cookie sheets etc. in.  I guess we'll see.  These are the before photos. While I took the time to "rest" I decided to pick up a few things in my room, ...

Give kids the pleasure of washing

from the homesteading journal . . . We started tilling up the garden.  Martha is getting a new look this year.  She's getting a new hat, shirt, apron, and even gloves this year.   (First Day Home) I picked up our new chicks.  We now have five baby araucanas.  They are so cute!  I planted about 27 pounds of potatoes, and about 130 yellow onions.   Planted the peas and two types of heirloom lettuce also.   from the family journal . . .   After buying my 10 year-old a new pair of dish gloves, she went bonkers and cleaned just about everything, including my master bathroom.   She rolled up towels and washcloths and tied them with pretty purple yarn.  She made me a "room" key and left me a note on the bathroom sink.    I may have to keep extra pairs on hand (ha ha ha!).  Another stray cat has found our home.  After keeping him in a dog cage for a few hours, he decided we were not...