Chit Chat

 

The pretty sunrises are dwindling as we move into the winter season.  It has been cold enough to cause frost on the vehicles and lots of scraping.  I enjoy the crisp air, as it wakes me up, and makes me feel energized.  The chickens?  Probably not, ha ha!  They (as well as us), are truly enjoying the sunshine.

There have been more and more coyote sightings, and in the country now.  We ourselves, have not seen or heard any.

I have survived the worst of the dental work, and for the first time in many, many years, I had to take Tylenol for pain.  It's the worst timing, as far as the holiday goes, but had to be done.  It also took me out of commission for about two to three days.  Imagine something in your eye and you can't get relief.  That is what is feels like with a sore jaw/mouth.  It's still sore today, but feeling better. Although, I have been advised to eat on one side of mouth for over a week.  

I finished my husband's matching winter scarf.  It has been crossed off the "unfinished" list now.  The remaining yarn, will be used for scrap lap afghans.  Secretly, I want to make myself one.  I don't have any more of the stripe yarn, but I do love the soft texture, and how it blends into a nice pattern for the scarf.  I just don't think they make a color to match my winter coat.

I am trying to catch up with housework, meal prep and baking.  The new chicken coop is on delay again, mostly due to me not feeling up to it, and more so the weather.  

Speaking of weather, they are forecasting zero snow for Christmas this year.  I'll admit, I think I would be in a more festive mood if we did have snow.

I have found a recipe for instant mocha coffee, but have not found a sugar-free peppermint syrup.  Our grocery store does not carry it.  I think, years ago, I ordered it online, but cannot remember.

Chit Chat

 

Beautiful sunrise we had here a few days ago.

Have you heard?  There is a mysterious dog illness nationwide right now.  We still plan to install a dog fence, but it's a scary time to adopt a dog. 

Have you been heard about all of the cantaloupe recalls lately?  There are many.

The weather continues to cause delays on the coop build.  The joy of homesteading.  It's raining here again today.  It rained all day yesterday.

Are you an evening tea drinker?  What is your go-to tea to wind down at the end of the day?  Is it something you grow perhaps? 

My husband asked why the Christmas tree didn't have ornaments yet.  I laughed.  I have told him over and over, that we never organized the garage, so he has his "things" blocking my access to the Christmas totes.  He has promised to clean that up soon. 

Do you give yourself rewards for good behavior?  Ha!  You know, like rewards for goals met?  Or breaking a bad habit, starting a new good habit, and rewards along the way?  Or for finishing a project you have dreaded to finish?

Do you pamper yourself to perk yourself up on days you are just dragging through it?

Just the Bits

 

We are into cold weather now, and it's been snowing off and on here lately.  Woke up to a wind chill of 8 degrees.  Yep, that cold (and more snow).

Still not in the mood to decorate for Christmas.  I have yet to turn on the porch Christmas lights.

A morning moon.  

I got frustrated with the chicken watering units sold in our stores.  They are either too big, or I can't hang them, or they don't let the water out as they should.  I ordered a new one online.  I am hoping it does the job.

We have hit another hiccup with the coop build.

All I can say, is I am thankful that Thanksgiving is over with. 

I've been experimenting with different ingredients for beef and bean breakfast burritos.  Eggs are far and few this time of year, so it's been sort of fun to take it slower in the kitchen.

Sugar alert!  There is cane sugar in your Randall's cooked and ready to eat pinto beans.  I keep these on hand for when I cook for a large group of people, and I never realized there was cane sugar in them.  

Best way to avoid that is to just cook your pinto beans from dry beans.  I do that in my crockpot (soaking the night before), and adding onion and garlic to them.  I call them the unfried refried beans.  I cook them all day in the crockpot with a bit of water and watch them so they maintain enough moisture.  I do not add any salt until the end.  The beans cook much better.  The beans end up versatile for many dishes.  I have  also frozen them after cooking them.

My pricing "station" is under way.  The more I price my crochet items, the more I am dreading the craft show.  Here I wanted to do this, and now we are talking about how we can't wait for it to be over with ha ha!

My husband has offered to pay me to stay home vs. set up at the craft and vendor show.  I'll be honest, I may take him up on that offer.

While I priced items the other day, one of our nephews came over to help us mow, but ended up repairing our dishwasher.  We ended up taking the inside of the dishwasher apart, and giving it a deep clean, so that job is done.  Did you know your dishwasher has a filter, that needs cleaned about once a month?  I guess I forgot, but it's super-ity, duper-ity clean now.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

 The weather . . .

We went from 60-70's to 50's and rain, and this week we'll barely see 50°F with lows in the 30's.  I was successful at crossing off "wash rugs" and they dried outside before the weather turned.

Right now I am . . .

Posting this blog post and sipping coffee.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Well for starters, I'm searching to see if they sell metal ridge caps that are wider than 10 x 10 inches, and possibly covering the coop with a tarp until we figure things out.

We have another set back with the chicken coop roofing.  He hand built the rafters, and the roofing he cut is too short for the ridge cap by about 2 inches.   Not what we needed with the holidays and such.  Otherwise the ridge cap would have been up last night.  

How I am feeling . . .

Tired.  However, I taught my granddaughter how to crochet.  In the amount of time she was here, she learned to chain stitch and by the end of the night, I taught her how to go back the second row using single crochet.  She left with a bag of yarn and a crochet hook, and a happy kiddo.  I  fear though, she will drive her Mom mad with questions now (ha ha!).

On the breakfast plate . . .

Egg, bacon, and cheese breakfast sandwich.

On the lunch plate . . .

Have no idea yet.

On the dinner plate . . .

Leftovers thankfully.

On the menu . . .

-have no idea yet
-

What I am wearing . . .

PJ's - still sipping coffee and getting this posted.

On my reading pile . . .

On my TV this week . . .

Christmas on Mistletoe Farm (Netflix).  I picked this randomly, when I my husband worked overtime, and found it quite fun to watch.  Very quirky, and at one point you'd think of it as a musical.  A father with 5 kids inherits a farm and the animals with it.  The town is very small, and the funny part is there is a woman in the town who crochets/knits for everyone and everything, including kid goats.  Everything in this movie is surrounded by something crocheted in the scene.  Family friendly.

Looking around the house . . .

Update on the home renovations/repairs/improvements:

When we moved in this house, the entire kitchen, and master bath had zero hardware on the cabinets.  I bought plain wood knobs, and hand painted them with acrylic paints to appear like weather paint.  They have lasted 14 years, and still look the same as the day I painted them.  

I've been installing new hardware in the master bath.  I've had it in a box since last year, and we got so far behind, painting in there did not happen (yet).  I decided to install all the new hardware, and will beautify as the weather sees fit.  Now I'm not shuffling the box around to sweep and mop.  

To-do list . . .

-laundry
-make a breakfast dish

-finish cleaning out the fridge (started it, but didn't finish)
-put trash out, including a lawn chair I keep forgetting about
-work on menu/grocery list for the week

-dust

-work on pricing craft show items

From the camera . . .

Marinated cheese.  A first time trying, and why I wanted a basil plant indoors.  You can't buy fresh basil this time of year (atleast here anyway).  Delicious.

Something to share . . .

Nothing to share today, but asking if anyone has a tried and true crock pot, good, macaroni and cheese recipe to share?  Or an oven baked recipe that re-heats nicely.  One that travels well, re-heats well or stays heated in a crock pot.

Devotional, Quote, Prayers . . .

Our friend Jill - her Dad is in a nursing home due to a fall, but now they discovered cancer, and there are health issues with her daughter's pregnancy.

Homemade Cleaning Spray ~ Money Savings Tip

 You'll need a sprayer bottle to make the homemade cleaner.  I just picked one up at our Dollar Tree to try this cleaner out.  

In the sprayer (24 oz) add 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, and fill with water. Leave room to add only 3 drops of Doctor Bronner's Pure-Castile Soap.  Shake and spray to clean surfaces.

Note:  We have well water, so I filled the sprayer with distilled water.

Money Savings Tip:  

SOS pads - where ever you buy these at a low price, lower that cost more by cutting them into smaller pieces.  It's a one time use item, and will last a lot longer for scrubbing your sink or whatever you use them for.

I last purchased a box of 10 at Ollies for $1.99.  Cut those in half or in 3rds and you get a better bang for your buck.

Bittersweet ~ Year of Changes (good ones)

 

The arrival of fall, and end of garden season (for the most part), is bittersweet.  I am thrilled to get a break from the work, but will really miss the fresh vegetables.  Next year I am planting cantaloupe and watermelons.  The price of fresh fruit this year was outrageous, and you can't really "clean" a cantaloupe from the store.  At least here, I know what is put on it or not put on it.  I may add honey dew to that list too.

The last of the last yellow squash was taken care of.  I know I said I wasn't going to freeze any diced, but I was at the point of just being "done" with it.

The last of the picked jalapenos were sliced and flash frozen for the up coming months.  I think we will have enough, although the hot peppers produced a lot less this year.

Order is resuming in parts of the house, and it feels pretty darn good.  It's funny how just having all the sinks in the house clean at the same time can make a person feel more at peace.  I absolutely love my coffee pot mat.  It soaks up the spills, and is washable.

A little at a time.  I have much to do yet, but I now carve out a "porch" time with some handiwork.

People often wonder what I will be doing all fall and winter, because I stay home.  Well, I won't run out of things to do.  We will be resuming other projects we abandoned this year.  We are still working on the chicken coop, and still plan to clean out the garage and re-organize it completely.  We still have interior doors to paint, the complete overhaul of the office (still has carpet), the upstairs in still in progress, part of the kitchen ceiling still needs a new coat of paint and so forth.

The chicken run door has finally arrived, and is solar charging for installing soon.

All Work and No Play? ~ Sittin' n Knittin'

 

I've been trying to enjoy the sunrise with my morning coffee, as these days are soon approaching colder weather.  It delays my start to my day, but worth it.

Lately, I feel like all I do is cook and clean.  Time goes too fast too. It seems like yesterday, that I was excited to bring in a bowl full of freshly picked green beans.

I tend the hens, collect the eggs.  Check the garden(s) and bring in whatever is ready.  I brought in another spaghetti squash.

Bulk spices were refilled.

Homemade taco seasoning made and refilled.

Someone in your household thinks there is a toilet paper fairy that magically restocks the toilet paper in the bathroom(s).

Bathrooms are cleaned weekly.

There are always dishes to wash, a dishwasher to load or unload, and then more dishes.  Cooking and baking from scratch, or preserving food will cause that.  I sometimes wash the larger dishes 3-4 times a day.

Maybe I just feel this way, due to the suffrage the house goes through during canning season?  There are always clean linens to fold and put away.

Sittin' n knittin' is much deserved time around here.  Handiwork is slowly coming back into action around here.

Chicken Castle is delayed temporarily.  The brakes on the truck need replaced.  

Happy Homemaker Monday

Good Morning this Monday Morning!  Yes, I still have laryngitis, but it's a bit better.  I am now told to try Oregano tea, and I do have oregano dehydrated from the garden.  I'll be trying it later today.

I missed our family get together (my side of the family), due to still not having my voice back, but not talking has helped speed up recovery.

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

The weather . . .

We are going in the direction of cold.  It will get down to the single digits this week.

As I look outside my window . . .

It is still pitch dark.

Right now I am . . .

Drinking coffee and waking up.

Thinking and pondering . . .

The other day, as I was upstairs trying to find my embellished paper clips, I was digging thru many totes of finished items prepared for a future craft show.  There is a lot up there.  A lot. 

I haven't had a good show in many years, and it got me thinking.  Am I ready to retire from doing craft shows?  Everyone is selling and no one is buying?  Times are tough, so wait it out?  I was up there going thru stuff, and felt an overwhelming feeling of being burned out for trying. I love crocheting and knitting, but I just felt like it wasn't the same anymore.  Maybe it's because I am burned out making the blanket?  Maybe it's because Mom is not here to give me ideas?  I don't know.  

The blanket could be the reason.  I am not one to sit that long.  Not even in winter, but it has given me the reason to rest to get my voice back.

Also, the museum gift shop (where I sell 3 different items), emailed and wants me to come pick up my stuff.  They are closed permanently right now.  The building suffered tremendous damage from water lines breaking during that last cold spell we had (frozen water lines damaged many businesses).  So...there goes my business resource, and it was a pretty good one too.

On my bedside table . . .

-a mess of crochet hooks, needles, throat drops and bottles of water 

On my TV today. . .

What catches our interest.

Listening to . . .

Mostly 80's.

On the lunch plate . . .

Have no idea yet.

On the dinner plate . . .

Oh golly, I have not decided.

On the menu this week . . .

-need to work on this today

On  my reading pile . . .

On my to-do list . . .

-finish up last week's to-do list first
-wash bedding
-make homemade baking mix

-

Plans for this week . . .

Set up stand, grow lights and start garden seeds.  I went out to the barn and collected my seed trays.  I wanted to buy a few new ones, but the ones in our stores are being sold without the clear tops.  I ended up ordering some online.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .

I crocheted myself some pink heart earrings.  We are fast approaching Valentine's Day.

I spent quite a bit of time crocheting this blanket, and hope to get it finished soon.

My simple pleasure . . .

A walk outside in the sunshine.

Looking around the house . . .

I wrote out a short "honey" to-do list.  On the weekends, he can do small jobs, that will in the end clean up chaos created from all these repairs/remodels (but so worth being done).

From the camera. . .

Prayer list . . .

Our friend Hope and her family as they grieve.  She last updated he was saving many lives (organ donation).  She and her husband were married 24 years.  So sad for their family.

Me.  I would love to have my voice back completely, and be back to "normal" once again.

Bible Verse, Devotional . . .

Happy Homemaker Monday

Here are the two (not one) stray cats that showed up.  I saw them go into one of our barns.  The only concern is if they are both female.  That's Aurora (our barn cat) in the box on the right eating.  She doesn't seem to mind them and they are definitely hungry and young.  If they stick around, I may have them trapped and checked.  I'm concerned about the fact I've seen them cross the highway more than once.  Not sure if someone dumped them here or they just showed up.  Most likely dumped here.  It's not the first time.

It's not been normal work for me since the leg procedure.  No carrying out a bucket of water to the chickens, no carrying chicken feed, no bringing in an arm load of firewood, no lifting a canner pot etc.  In a few weeks I hope to be back to my normal stuff. I can't carry the laundry basket out to put laundry on the clothesline either. Sigh.  I am using the dryer and folding in the utility room.

The doctor and his two nurses said, "you can do normal stuff" when you go home.  I said, "so no lifting a load of firewood?" and all three turned about and immediately said, "NO!"  You see I'm not a "normal" person, ha ha! Yeah, things are so different when you homestead and are self sufficient.

Oh, and I have to put the spikes on my boots, so I can take the dog out without a yank here and there and fall to the ground on the layer of ice still out there.

The farmers scrambled to get their crops out, and Friday, I watched one farmer spray over his field with the snow over it.  

Good news!  Someone else volunteered to host Christmas on my husband's side of the family. Woo hoo to me!

Today, I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

The weather outside is . . .
32°F this morning, with a sunny high of 47°F.


On the breakfast plate . . .

I made this Sunday.  There are leftovers for today - spicy sausage and hashbrown casserole.



As I look out my window . . .
The sun is trying to shine, but a bit hazy today.


Right now I am . . .
Getting ready to post this.


As I look around my house . . .
One of my kitchen tables is currently my "craft" table.  It'll be that way for a few weeks, but I'll have new items to sell at the craft show.



On the to do list . . .
laundry
sweep and mop kitchen
vacuum living room
clean master bath
Make homemade English muffins
Work on crafts for the upcoming show
Stamp brown paper bags for shopping bags for the show



On the menu . . . 
Chicken Pot Pie (didn't get it made last week)
Flounder, home canned corn relish, potatoes
Medicinal pesto pasta, steamed broccoli
Meatballs, quinoa, beets or green beans
Spaghetti, sauteed greens, possibly another veggie




What I'm reading . . .

I got this book free from the library.  I added it to my bookshelf for a winter read.


On the TV . . .
Here's what I've watched while in recovery over the last week and weekend.

Netflix:
-Holiday in the Wild (good)
-Wine Country (funny)
-Otherhood  (good and different)

Hallmark: (all from the library)
Christmas in Evergreen, Letters from Santa
It's Christmas Eve
Christmas in Grand Valley
Broadcasting Christmas
I'll be Home for Christmas

Misc. (from the library:
Grumpy Old Men




What I am creating . . .

Wine cork Christmas trees to sell and lots of stuff.  I'll have a "handiwork" post up to share. I am making new ornaments for the holiday craft show.  I'll have more pictures soon.

New recipe I tried or want to try . . .
Still on the list - homemade chicken pot pie


Favorite photo from the camera .  .  .

This is a framed photo that lights up.  Merry Christmas to us.  The tree lights change colors too.  We just love it.

Prayers . . . 
Update: I have one more appt to go to, to go over the last sonogram, my friend's mother is scheduled to be released from the nursing home Nov. 25th.