Pioneer Woman at Heart

I'm on a roll with posts this new 2018 year.  I'm also on a roll in getting things done and lists crossed off.  I literally have a list that I never finished from bike week, and one to do after the last craft show.   Well?  They are both getting crossed off. It was actually fun doing something different than crocheting or knitting. I have been wanting to make reusable "cotton balls" for years, and just haven't found the time into making them.  I decided to hand sew them, but I'll be getting the sewing machine out soon. I needed my hand sewing skills renewed anyway. I apply apple cider vinegar toner to my face daily, so we were going through a lot of cotton balls. If you are not aware, I also have a blog, where I post recycled, up-cycled or scrap type projects/crafts/handiwork.   The DIY "cotton balls" are eco-friendly, and help keep our homestead on the path to a deeper self-sufficiency.   How I made my reusable pads:...

Hubby took the day off work on Friday, so we could get an important appointment completed.  It worked out well.  One of my cousins flew in from CA, and brought her partner.  Somehow, we got almost everyone together in one place and had lots of laughs and had a wonderful dinner. Photos were taken, and it was sad to depart.  Hubby and I even got a motorcycle ride in as well. I decided to recycle a bathroom stand (no longer needed) by spray painting it.  It was a "dust colle ctor" for bathtub salts etc.  Those are now stored in a wooden box on the tub ledge.  Less to dust .

My name is....and I am a wine cork hoarder. It's true.  I have had this tote of corks in my crafting supplies for years.  Many years.  Since before we moved here. I have made many Christmas tree ornaments over the years, gifted many, and maybe even sold some.  I can't remember. ..... so I'm him-hawing at letting go of these corks.  Or keeping a handful.  Or not.   Today, I decided to take you down "wine cork memory lane" (and myself) to decide if I shall pass these corks on.   They were not saved for storage over the years.   I have been a bit creative.

I apologize in advance for the fuzzy photo, but these pulleys are way at the top and I was on the ground photographing them.  They are the original wood pulleys, still intact.  I took a quick picture for our album.  There is one more at the very top peek of the barn too. Once again, we have someone interested in the barn .  What's left of it, minus what we'll take from it .  Not sure if it will happ en, but we'll see .  This w ill be the umpteen th person to look it over.  It is a lot of work , but I would like to see it r eused as much as possible.  

Hubby and I had another prosperous morning in the chicken/goat barn.  We used odd pieces of barn siding (recycled from the big barn) to repair and fix up the barn doors.  You can see in the photo there are a few holes yet to cover, but the bottoms of the doors are looking much better (sharing photos soon I hope).  . . . time and patience.

Canning season started early for me this year (giddy excitement).  I canned jelly yesterday.   This was the first time canning with my new stove.  It heats up much faster.  I wanted to get a feel for it, before I start canning fruit jams, which tend to be the beginning of my yearly canning.

With all the kiddos home yesterday, and the outside temperatures chilly, I used up four apples that where getting too soft to enjoy.  

Here is what I gifted extended families this year (hint: not the baking dish):  

Our 18 year-old daughter wanted to make new winter shelters for the barn cats, so we decided on making one to see if they will use them.  We've always used totes at the door, packed with blankets, but this time we made these:

We seem to have a situation in the chicken coop.  On October 21st of 2013, this is what we got from the coop:

I'll admit, the computer sometimes interferes with my ability to be prudent with time well spent.  I'm getting better at it. The weekend went by too fast.  Laundry was put out early, recycling was gathered and delivered,

Here are some new colors in my flower beds this month.

I said I was not going to use my stove yesterday, but I did.  Hubby brought home some ginger root and club soda yesterday, so early in the morning I made a double batch. This is so refreshing on a muggy day too.  This is one of the recipes I most likely will have ready for when my older two are home.  They have been writing home about recipes they want me to make.

Here is a back porch picture from 2009.  The orange colored flower pots are getting a make over this year.  The hostas have really gotten large enough, that next year I should be splitting them up too.  I did have to replant the one on the right last year.

I'm learning a lot this summer.  Did you know that my homestead is growing oodles of noodles? "Honey?  Did you know that dandelion stems can be cooked as "noodles" in a recipe?" I asked with excitement. "Honey, I love you," replied Hubby grinning from ear to ear, and shaking his head side to side.   I know what he was really thinking - that woman is crazy! I had no idea you could eat the stems.

I was gifted a few used kitchen cabinets from my younger brother.  I painted them, and they are now installed in my utility room.  They now have a new life.

I started to sew a curtain from old jeans.  The squares I am cutting are 10 x 10 inches.  I am making 5 squares wide by 8 rows long.  This curtain will help keep winter air from coming into the house via the garage.  It's heavy so it should help keep the air in the garage when anyone opens the door connected to the house.  It's hard to explain how it's built and how I'll be using it, but the dimensions will pretty much fit a doorway or the size of a half-shower.  I'll post the link to the directions on the S.C.R.A.P. blog for another way to recycle jeans.  The photo above shows one strip sewed together and a few cut squares.  This is the first time I have used a quilting pattern or used my rotary cutter.