Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The closet "extreme clean" is still going on.  I'm impressed if I pull at least a few items a day around here.   My green onion is in full harvest due to the recent weather.  I could not let it be ignored with the twist of weather today.  I made a batch of fresh green onion/parsley pesto.  I plan to use some in our breakfast this morning. Compost has now been added to the gardens.  I have yet to pull the bean fence, but we have a few days before tilling is done.   I think this year has been the earliest to get these jobs done, and I am thankful for that.  In May, it's typically hit or miss weather for getting planting done.   Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I will link up when she posts. The weather . . . 43/34°F and possible snow. As I look outside my window . . . Very cloudy and dark, and it's snowing. Right now I am . . . Brewing coffee. Thinking and pondering . . . Thinking about taking some...

  I'll admit, I have been terrible at cleaning the ceiling fans in the bedroom.  After dusting with the swiffer duster, I had to wash them with soap/water.  You can see the dust left on them after dusting them.  I'm also going thru to many duster refills, so I invested in this... The blue cover slides off, and is washable.  The unit can be attached to your extender handle you use for painting ceilings with (if you have one).  Works great for weekly dusting on these types of ceiling fans. My hands are cracked, dry and sore.  My back is sore by most evenings.  My fingernails are worn, torn and look terrible.   I'm climbing ladders unsupervised most days, but progress on the bedroom is starting to happen.   In order to paint, I had to climb into our walk-in closet like a monkey holding a flashlight.  I had to get our "paint" clothes.  Mission accomplished.  Oh, the reason for the flashlight?  Well, the switch i...

  Tiger when he was a baby.  He is under emergency vet care until possibly Saturday, depending on his prognosis.   He had an emergency ultra sound, which found crystals in his bladder, causing a blockage.  He was in miserable pain.  He is not being treated, but there is the possibility for kidney damage.  We are in touch with daughter E for updates. The painting progress on the bedroom is slow going for now.  It takes two people to just do the ceiling edging.  Our ceiling is 8 foot, 9 inches tall, so a tall ladder is required, as well as someone to hold the paint tray, and yes we will be needing to cover the entire bedroom floor with plastic.  There are two ceiling fans in the bedroom that need spring cleaned before we cover them with plastic to paint the ceiling as well.  I feel like this room is the one that will make me lose my marbles. I just want my bed back, so I'm hoping for at least the paint work done this weekend, in ...

  Renovations gone wrong.....so many variables to deal with this time around. My husband thought it would be grand to just take a short vacation while the bedroom carpet was removed and new flooring installed.  We went, we returned, and we are so frustrated right now. First, we hired the same person who did our living room and kitchen bathroom.  Second, we hire him for chicken duty, and watering seedlings, so we do know him. Came home to find the flooring installed in the wrong direction, and he knocked a large hole in one wall (we are still waiting for him to explain, but he will be fixing it on his dollar not ours, which also delays painting, which should have been done before new flooring....see what I mean about stress?). He also did not water my seedlings.  It appears that he watered one time while we were done.  He literally was here every single day and asked me and I explained how to water them (he's watered them before).  98% of my seedlings most l...

  The museum gift shop has closed their doors.  Water damage from back in December.   I sold my jar openers, dish scrubbies and soap saver bags at the museum gift shop, and with success.  I picked my inventory up over the weekend.  They will be seeking fund raisers to repair the historical building. The weekend, which was to be one full trip for errands, ended up two days.  We had to stop at the feed store, pick up groceries, make a drop, donate stuff, get my hair cut, and so on. I also saw a doctor at our Urgent care.  I wanted to make sure there was no infection.  There was not.  She said to "not talk" and that would clear the laryngitis.  So frustrating.  The only possibility is it was stress induced in Jan (makes sense).   We have put a larger humidifier next to my bed, but now we may put one in near the living room as well.  It should help.  Anyway, no infection.  I asked the pharmacy for suggestio...

  To our surprise, guess who showed up?  Yep. Our handyman showed up, took all of the flooring out and started to put it back in.  It is looking so much better though. Two kiddos came out for a visit.  I made a batch of hummus, and it did not last long.  I'm glad they showed up, as one was needed for some work on the computer.  I had to link up late, as it was doing many updates (see yesterday's post for an update on the living room). Bad weather is heading our way, and we are down to one vehicle due to broken down parts.  Lovely.  I think I can hitch a ride with one of the kids for groceries this week (so I don't have to do it after dinner). Just to be sure we are stocked up good for a few days. They are predicting snow, 50 mph winds, possible power outages and more.  I stocked up on extra oil for the oil lamps and wicking as well, so that is off the list.  I do need to fill water jugs for the chickens (just in case).  If the ...

Busy weekend....we met up with Daughter E (hair stylist) and she gave us hair cuts on her day off at the salon.  It was nice to be there without other people, and we re-stocked her groceries.  She was very happy about that. Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. Will link up later when she posts. The weather . . . 31/23°F today, and we dip down to 5°F by the weekend.  Snow moves in just before Christmas. As I look outside my window . . . It's cloudy and dreary. Right now I am . . . Getting ready to make a breakfast, brewing more coffee, as Daughter E is coming over to do laundry. Thinking and pondering . . . An antique store we often visit has those shade for oil lamps.  They suggested I bring my glass piece in to be properly fitted for one.  I guess I thought they were all standard size.  I'm thinking of doing that for the one on the kitchen table. How I am feeling . . . Frustrated - see "from the camera" Listening to. . . Rock station o...

  I ended up cooking eggs for breakfast, using my English muffin rings.  I cooked bacon as well for sandwiches. Although upside down, the order has been started, and the one color I needed I found online with Michaels store.  I found a great deal, considering prices - buy 2 get one free, made the skeins $2.99/each (7 oz).  Free shipping.  I had to order yarn for me, so it got me the free shipping, but what a deal.  It's been shipped, so as soon as it arrives, I will continue making it. Flooring started to go in, but our handyman has a few doctor appts. this week, so it has been slow going.  My house is still a hot mess.  I can't put anything where it needs to go, so I keep telling myself to be patient. We are being told there is a winter storm coming our way.  It is to arrive before Christmas.  Lovely.  I'm checking freezer supply/pantry supply, paper product supply etc. and making lists.  Just in case. Our truck gets a new win...

  Daughter K came for a visit.  I completely forgot to have her go thru the Christmas stuff in the garage.  I guess that will be next visit. The living room floor is ready for it to go back in, but not until starting Monday.  He "doesn't work weekends."  Also, he said his back is hurting.  Not what we wanted to hear. In the meantime, I have a family member coming out to give us a quote on cleaning the gutters.  The leaves are all down, and it needs to be done. Daughter E's cat Tiger finally got the vet and got his shot. He's is feeling much better and eating again.  I found his special food online and he's a happy cat (can't find it in any store anymore). Not sure what the weekend will entail, but I do know we need to get all the porch furniture put into storage for the winter.  Right now the porch is literally the only place to sit, other than in our bedroom.  Yes, it's part of my stir-craziness.  I'm trying to be patient, but....

  Yesterday started with a very foggy morning.  Schools closed because of it.  Go figure, I needed to run errands as well.  I chose to stay in until the fog lifted.   It's foggy and warmer again today.  It's definitely odd weather for November in our parts. I had an errand day, so my day went fast, and we met up and visited with Daughter E and her boyfriend.  I didn't get a photo, but we visited with our "grandson" Tiger (the cat).  Oh, he loved on us.  He's not doing well stomach-wise.  She's taking him to the vet for a shot to help with that.  He eats special food, and she can't find it anywhere right now.  Pet food has been hard to get in our area. My 22-some year old kitchenaid mixer is on the fritz.  I added it to the list, but boy are they expensive right now.  Sheesh.  Everything is expensive.  Anyway, I use it all the time, and my husband even tried to work on it.

The refinery my husband works at had an explosion last night and two (last I was updated) were badly burned.  Please send prayers, although I do not have names. Update:  The two people died from their injuries. I have been distraught since we heard about this.  My husband has been working a supervisor position with lots of over time lately.  If you haven't watched the movie Deepwater Horizon, you really should.  Then you would understand why I stay busy when he is at work, to keep the worry bugs away.   Speaking of busy, I had a special request for a hair clip, so I'm working on that between everything else.   Daughter K showed up late, but showed up.  Her stuff is out of the living room, and she also helped me out by taking a small table. She always has stories to share and gives us the giggles and shares interesting stories. Her latest one was saving baby birds.  She literally had to hide them at her work place.  I guess...

  We had a heat advisory yesterday, and they were not kidding.  It was over 100 degrees and humid as heck.   I finally got bread and butter pickles canned.  Daughter E stayed until about noon and left to go enjoy the county fair with her boyfriend.  She saw I was crocheting a new item for the holiday craft shows, and took two.  I'll get photos soon.   We had a late evening storm that brought us a good downpour for a few minutes.  It was enough to give the garden a drink. There is a chance of rain today and tonight.  My kitchen floor is filled with items to donate again.  I'll be loading that all up soon.

Although we got zero rain, we had a beautiful sunset for a short time.  We can't really see all of it, due to the woods behind our home, but the sky was a pretty pink. I spent about 2 hours cleaning stuff from the upstairs.  Mostly, I spent time bringing down any larger items to donate.  I may have found a home for a pole lamp she left up there, and I have a kitchen floor full of boxed up stuff to donate somewhere.  I filled the trash, and put a few things in the burn pile.  Today, I need to spray Lysol up there, as I realized she had 4 animals up there, and I am not sure how well she cleaned, as in sanitized.  There is still much to clean out. I cannot tell you all how happy I am to have an entire summer of wicked, miserable work hours end for my husband.  He was home, and out mowing after work!  The handyman finished the bathroom, but left without putting the bathroom door back on.  My husband and I put that back up, installed a new toilet ...

Daughter K came over to do more cleaning upstairs.  She had intentions of bringing me 3 dozen hears of corn from a community garden near her.  Twenty minutes into her drive, she realized she forgot them.  Sigh. We have horse flies bad this year.  I have no idea why either.  No goats, no horses, nothing but chickens here.  Best we figure, is that there is a dead animal in the woods.  Urgh.  Every time I kill one, another shows up and drives me off the porch. I was very glad to have Daughter K over, even for a few hours.  I got to thinking, and I think I have felt depressed because Mom's birthday is coming up.  Either way, I am was glad to have company.  My husband had to work Sunday as well. Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. The weather . . . 85/65°F, thunderstorms. As I look outside my window  . . . Dark clouds are moving in. Right now I am . . . Getting ready to wash dishes and purge some cigar boxes t...