Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The weekend went by fast, and was not what I had intended.  My husband, oddly after a first weekend off work, had us running around all weekend.  I was exhausted by Sunday night, and felt like we didn't get anything done at the house.   It rained all weekend, and it's still raining. Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I will link up when she posts.  I'm starting my day early to get my kitchen back in order.  There are paint cans everywhere, and it's in disarray. The weather. . . Rain!  Lots of rain!  Now they say possible snow today.  Yes, I said snow.  Sigh.  I had to bring my rosemary plants back inside.  They will not be planted until after Mother's Day anyway, but snow???  It could be something like a snow/rain sleet mix. As I look outside my window . . . Dark, dreary, and raining. Right now I am . . . Drinking hot coffee, trying to wake up to our regular schedule around here. Thinking and ...

. . . still working on the scrap crochet blanket.  I had plans to donate it, but Hubby and one daughter are fighting over who will get it.  We'll see.  This is my project to unwind on cooler evenings here. Right now it's 55 inches wide by 42 inches long.

Grab a cup of hot steaming coffee, tea or your favorite beverage.  It's one of those posts. A while back, I bought a bag of curtain hooks for $.75.  I actually figured out where I had stored them.  I'm recycling them into another barn wood herb drying rack.  They look awesome in the house too.  You could call it re-purposed or recycled I guess.

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.

I am really enjoying the new way I have organized my sunglasses (and a pair of safety glasses, which was not on this when I photographed it):

Happy Valentine's Day! I wanted to make something useful for the kids this month - a little something to say "I love you."  I don't like to simply wait for February to tell them, so my challenge to myself is to tell them more often. I used scrap fabric to make these homemade cards (right), and old book pages (left) to create the envelope.  I used a fine-line black marker to make dashes around the scrap fabric heart (adhered with fusible web).  What's inside?

. . . crocheted a few washcloths, with yarn I had in my stash.  These are made with a 2-ply, 100% cotton yarn.  At the time I purchased the yarn, yellow and white where the only two colors in 2-ply.  It makes a thinner cloth and dries faster. I simply used single crochet for these. (I really like the 2-ply for a hand towel, versus the 4 ply cotton.  I will be making more until my  yarn is used up)

In the midst of cleaning my desk, I found a bookmark my 18 year-old made me when she was seven years old.  Ha!  I'll have to laminate it now.

The younger kids have been pestering me to buy Valentine's candy from the store.  I just shake my head, because of what's in that stuff.  Not to mention all those dyes they use to make them so appetizing.  So....you know me.

I'll admit, the chilly outside air has kept me indoors more often.  I do have to enjoy it and slow down.  So far, we have avoided the flu, although our 15 year-old recently came home from a sleepover sick.   The more I am home, the less contact I have of airborne and other nasty germs.  I am, however, considering banning sleepovers during the remainder of the winter (flu hospitalizations are up in our area).   I just want to keep sickness out of our home.  This is the second time this season that she has come home sick from a friend's house. Although it is snowing right now, we did have a warm up, and the weather was perfect for drying laundry outdoors.  And it was warm enough to let the ladies out and clean the coop.  We tried last week (to clean the coop), but everything was simply frozen to the ground.   I've taken some time to think on things, and ....

Almost a year ago, I shared my antique coffee pot collection. This year, I decided it was time to use them or lose them.

My extreme closet cleaning was 90% successful.  Okay, maybe 80%, but I am still pleased.  I listed all my current projects (which were way fewer this time) in my crafting journal, just to make sure this mind of mine didn't forget them again.  One empty plastic storage drawer is now labeled "current project" so I stay on task with one until it's done.  Then I can move on to the next. Several things made it to the donation pile, one garbage bag was filled, and a few pieces of clothing were passed down. I still need to go in and vacuum (yes there is carpet in there), and work on the rest, but it feels so good to get it done.  The sun was out all day too.  I even put on some music.

Although these can wait to be finished, I did get one done for photo sharing purposes. Here's this year's next (I say next, because I'm always making more than one) newest Christmas ornament:

It was pretty cold yesterday.  However, we are not heating just yet here.  I like how the leaves on the ground make a dark day bright.  I could not rake them up just yet.  These will eventually go on the garden (unless a big wind whips them away before then). See that pot of geraniums?  I have two actually. Mid summer when my original plants died, I bought them at the grocery store, half dead and for pennies.  They are still blooming, while the hostas are turning for the fall season. I was successful in drying an entire.....

Man, I just can't win for losing.  My doctor now has me on another prescription.  This frustrates me.  Although I am enjoying the time resting, I am getting that itch to get things done, and tired of getting tired in a short time when I am up.  Hopefully this one will do the magic I need.  I did clean out 3 complete binders yesterday.  I know, what was I thinking?  I am a pattern hoarder no more.  Phew. Here is one magazine page that did not make the "cut" when cleaning.  It's cute, but I could see this being a dust collector and difficult to clean if I made them.  It came from a 2000 issue of Woman's Day magazine.

The temperature here dropped to the 20's last night, so I made soup to warm us all up.  I admit, I had my doubts that the kids would eat this soup, and I was pretty sure a few would refuse to even taste it. I've been experimenting this week with sweet potatoes.  They were on sale, so I stocked up on some.  This recipe comes from Allrecipes , and contains sweet potatoes, carrots, an onion and an apple.  It also contains freshly grated ginger and red lentils too.

I've been playing around with recycling more bottle caps here.   This was the first one I made.  The center is hand  crafted with embroidery work.  When I first talked to the girls about this idea, and they saw me painting at the kitchen table (I don't have a "craft room"), they cringed at what it would look like.  I guess wearing bottle caps did not appeal to them at the time. However, when I finished it, my 11 year-old was begging to wear it to school.   How did I make it? 

From the Homesteading Journal . . . . . . made my own bird deterrent for the strawberry beds - recycled pie pan, string, and a piece of recycled tent pole.  I used what I had, considering the budget is tight right now (from the tile project).  Later in the day I saw robins snacking away as soon as the wind stopped (and the pie pans stopped banging away).  I guess I better start saving up for bird netting and supplies.  However, I did spray paint some small stones red, and placed them under the plants for now too.  We'll see if they return after pecking at a stone.  . . . planted new curly parsley, and more tomatoes.   . . .in preparation for hot days, I started to save and fill empty plastic bottles with water.  They are being frozen to place in goat water buckets. . . . the bathroom tile project continues - humidity is a huge factor in it's completion. I cannot wait to use my shower again. . . .found a way to recycle t...

Both of my grandmothers had their own talents and speci al ways, in which they e njoyed living life.   I am lucky to have one contain er of crafting supplies that belonged to one of them.  She made jewelry from be ads, crafted with empty st yrofoam egg cartons, and made so many us able things from other people's tra sh. During the Great D epression, my grand father, repa ired vehicles for extra cash.  My grandmoth er (both on my Dad's side of the family), made everything and anything.  She grew every thing, canned everyt hing, sewed everything she wore , and was very res our ceful. My Dad us ed to tell me stories on how Grandma would get lamp poles f rom pe ople's garbage and re-bu ild them into useable l amps.  She would then sell th ese.  She was good with carpentry also. I n memory of her frugality , perseverance and love for creativeness, I posted a re-creation of her Egg Carton Jewelry on my S.C.R.A.P. Blogspot.   Enjoy!   ...

I've been taking a bit of morning time to watch the birds on our property.  Every now and then I am able to get somewhat of a good photo.  I have seen a red-winged blackbird only once, and did not have my camera.