Pioneer Woman at Heart

  We are finally out of the deep freeze, and on the way to a warm up.  The last time I brought in 5 eggs, they were all completely frozen (and cracked, sigh....). Home repairs are resuming, and supplies purchased. I've already broke out the spackle and putty knife. We had to purchase a tub wrench to remove the tub drain, but it was not too expensive.  Thank goodness for so many YouTube tutorials on repairs and whatnot. Purging continues with clothing, and other items.  I'm purging the pantry too.  Little by little we are getting organized again, and using up what needs used up.  I found a bag of lemongrass ginger herbal bulk tea, so it's being brewed and enjoyed.   Errands are much more enjoyable with the warmer weather now.   Warm Up   ©  February 2026 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  Happy New Year!   I'm excited about a new crochet project, and it is a sort of a motivation tool for something else.  I'll be posting later about it.  Overall, it will reduce my time wasting internet scrolling, pointless social media scrolling (looking for recipes, patterns, exercises are all good scrolling minutes, he he!), procrastination station, and endless him-hawing.  Not to change the subject, but I mean some scrolling is needed to avoid endless days of shopping in stores looking for something my husband suggested we buy. I found one close to what he feels we need at Harbor Freight, but it's wall mounted, and runs on batteries. Does it even exist?  I'll be searching for it, but we may have to buy battery charged or a rechargeable light.  He wants a solar chargeable, motion sensor, small table light (sort of the brightness of a nightlight) for the bathrooms.  We lack outlets by the toilet, and do not want to put in a floor strip light...

  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July.  We had zero plans.  The humidity was so bad, it could choke a person, and then it rained.  However, by dinner time the rain had cooled down the heat and thinned the air, so we grilled out with a few kids and played cards. Today the air quality is said to be bad.  More rain is on the way. Whats been happening?  Well, it's been hot.  Very hot.   Delivery days happened.  There were personal deliveries to those who had "stuff" in our garage, a trip to the thrift store for donations I purged, and more.  We have more planned deliveries for other items. I'm now contemplating a book purge on another bookshelf.  The photo only shows a portion of one shelf on the bookshelf (gulp). On the repair front, weather stripping needs replaced in a few doors.  The weed whacker needed a new part (now fixed), and a few windows needed new locks installed. On the garden front, we have harvested a few...

  Despite our efforts with solar alarms and solar rodent alarms, the rabbits got the green beans (again).  I know we have to fence the other area, but it's just not in the $$ pocket book right now.  I should have planted a squash plant at the end of every row.  I guess we were really lucky all the years we've lived here and not fenced it. The birds got all our blueberries.  I just didn't make it to town for netting yet.  It's been on my list, but I have to figure a way to cover the bushes without it touching the plants, and easy to remove. I need to replace my mandolin this year.  If you have one that you really like, let me know in the comments.  The one I have is 15 years old, and has limited thickness for slicing.  It's not sharp anymore, and the case broke years ago.  It's just time to upgrade. June went by way too fast.  It really depresses me to see the summer go by so fast, as we have not gone camping one single time yet....

  Photo is June of 2023.  The zucchini plants grew to almost 6 feet tall last year, thanks to our compost pile.  I have yet to check on the garden after a torrential downpour. We had flood warnings, flooded areas, and it was worse north of us.  Strange weather this year, and mostly frustrating for gardeners. Another strange event. . . I walked out the door a few days ago, and right in the driveway, not very far from me stood a baby deer.  No Mom around.  Of course I think I scared it, because it ran off, but a very rare sight around here.  At least that close to the house anyway. Rainy days can be productive here. I took advantage of the rainy day and purged/organized "stuff." I emptied 4 plastic storage drawers of craft supplies, of much will be donated.  A few items went to other people (or will go soon).  A few items went to the garage, like my eye screws I used for crafting. I also emptied two entire totes from the garage.  I had a t...

The weekend went too fast, but we had a fantastic time with family.   I took an orzo pasta salad, and a cold mostly sugar free carmel apple dessert.  It was very nice to visit with everyone, and with help we figured out what the strange plant is growing in my asparagus patch (more on that later). Two lap afghans were delivered to my husband's cousin and her husband, who live in an assisted living home.   I have been successful at purging books I have read. Over the last two weekends I placed books, reader glasses I can't use, and two sets of nautical crocheted cup coaster sets in a little library on the island we visit.  A bag of books went home with my sister.  I also found homes for three more sets of crochet cup coasters leftover from craft shows. Trust me, I have more craft supplies to purge, but I am very behind on reading books.  If I am not using something, or haven't used it in years, it is making it's way to another home. We had to cancel...