Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Showing posts with label Self Sufficienc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Self Sufficienc. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Rain ~ Work ~ Bruschetta Chicken ~ Reading Challenge

The forecast is expecting 6 weeks of rain in two days here (starting today).  It seems like this happened the year we had a bountiful garden, so I'm praying the Weather Gods are good to us and we get through this upcoming flood.


Photo from 2016.  Just came across it and found it cute!

Hubby has been taking overtime lately.  He's been leaving the house at 6:30am and not returning until after midnight.

Image result for coffee meme
(not my photo)

I don't sleep well when he works so much either.  I know we could use the extra cash (new coop, new barn roof, and on and on), but it does mess with my sleep.



Making meals from the freezer and pantry has been a success.  I whipped up a zucchini and swiss chard frittata for a breakfast.

By the way, freezing organic ricotta, cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream has been very handy for baked meals.  The texture changes when thawed, but works great for baked recipes.  I will do that again, since I have no access to raw milk of any kind in our area.  By the way, does organic Parmesan cheese freeze well?



I baked some banana bread and we had Bruschetta chicken and Italian roasted cauliflower for dinner - YUM!  I made homemade balsamic drizzle for it too.  Aside from not finding fresh basil (my indoor plant didn't have enough), it was amazing.



Here is a photo of the book I borrowed from the library.  It contains the heart cross stitch pattern I used on my kitchen towel.


I think I will do this.  It will inspire me to read more.  Does "blueberry" count as a "color" in a book title?  I'm gonna say yes.  I have a book to finish.


Do not start a new project.

Do not start a new project.

Starts new project.😆




Monday, December 30, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday

I apologize in advance.  This post is long today.  Grab a cup of java or tea.  Maybe grab your breakfast too?

I'm not the only one organizing and purging.  Daughter is making the spare bedroom upstairs into her "study" room.  It would have made a wonderful craft room, had it not been "upstairs."  

Game day we made a new recipe.  I've been wanting to try it for a while now, and it's a crockpot recipe - Spinach-Artichoke Dip.  It was good, and mostly spinach, but it lacked garlic.  I think it's because I'm buying it, and our homegrown (more flavorful) is gone.  I'm keeping the recipe, but will tweak the garlic for more flavor.  It's perfect for get togethers or parties.




We successfully cut the remaining piece of the tree.  It wasn't fun either - so many knots in the last piece.  It's ash too.  It took wood stacking to a whole new level.  The pieces split into all sorts of shapes and sizes.  It will still heat the same though.  Now there is a mess of sawdust, bits of wood that I'll save for kindling, and lots of bark to toss in the burn pile.  Oh, and holes in the yard we need to fill where the tree fell.  We'll cut one more ring off the stump, then burn it out.

Sunday we dressed up and stole away, walked through a very large antique store, then had dinner at an upscale Italian restaurant.


I had my first old fashioned.  The food was amazing! We were so tired after that meal, ha ha!


My only antique score, and I love it.  Romeo loves it too, ha ha!  The antique mall is larger than it was before, and took a while to walk through.  I only found 2 tea towels, which were boring looking and expensive - $15 /each.  I'm keep looking for them elsewhere.

This morning I am sleep deprived.  I was woken up by a dog pouncing on me at midnight, then precisely at 3:43am by the cat who was wanting out (who was shut in the bedroom by mistake), then again at 5:15am, by the cat wanting back in and fed.  There was a bangity, bangity, bangity going on by sticking his paw under our bedroom door.  I tried to go back to sleep, but the wicked wind outside kept me up (see cloud photo below).

Today I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. I missed out joining last Monday due to our daughter's birthday and Christmas prep.

The weather outside is . . .
High of 51°F/low 32°F.  Cloudy/windy.  Winds in neighboring towns have been up to 50-60mph, with blown transformers and power outages.  About an hour north, near the lake shore, they reported winds at 64mph.


On the breakfast plate . . .
Nothing at the time of posting this yet.  I needed to down a pot of coffee and get a "power shower" before breakfast.


As I look outside my window . . .
It looks nasty.  Raining as well.


Right now I am . . .
Getting ready to check the hours at the Humane Society.  I need them to trap the stray cats, and we now have a 3rd stray (which needs to leave, as it fights with our barn cat). 

I'm also updating my "Christmas" binder.  I'm writing down items to buy early for the holiday.  This year I noticed organic cream cheese sold out very early.


As I look around the house . . .
I'm writing a "home" wish list.  Sounds like I have too many "lists" going on, but I want to update some things in the house for next year.  Like a new ceiling fan for one.  Those may even be in clearance right now.  Just thinking ahead, pre-planning and shopping out of season could save us some cash.  The kitchen needs cleaned up.  Daughter did the dishes, but they need put away, and there is much to put back in their "homes."


On the to-do list . . .
-laundry
-clean master bathroom
-vacuum carpets
-sweep/mop kitchen
-clean entire kitchen, put things away
-possible trip to the "Big City"  - all depends if one of the girls comes over for a visit.



On this week's to-do list . . .
-purge 3 items from the garage (so I stay on track)
-purge/organize bedroom closet (almost done)

-take whatever I purge and donate to the thrift store (the kids have been told to come get their stuff, and if they didn't - it all goes.  I'm not a storage unit, and sadly they have not come to fetch their "stuff" in my garage). I'm also getting rid of an antique typewriter.  I bought it years ago to go in my "writing" room, but it's a dust collector.  I have no idea what I was thinking.  I'l replace it with a houseplant.

-trip to the library for pick ups and returns




On the menu . . .

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans

Chicken noodle soup

Sweet potato Chili




Currently reading . . .
Craft books from the library (to finish off UFO's)



On the TV this week . . .
Oh my, a lot.  Maybe too much.  We purchased a gizmo, sort of like a fire stick, but not.  A family friend set us up, and now we get all sorts of channels.  


What I am creating . . .
A newborn baby blanket - using up some yarn stash.  When it's finished I'm tackling this project:


I started making them for gifts in December of 2014 (gulp).  I put them in a shoe box and it was labeled (Our Tree).  I always put one of any new ornament in a box for our own tree, but this box contained not only unfinished ornaments, but a half finished crocheted bookmark too  (double gulp).  

Oh man, I'm so glad I'm getting the closet organized.  The ornament in the photo went onto our tree, but there are a few to finish and this year, I have a correctly labeled box. It'll contain only finished gift items.  By the way, the "how to" on this ornament is on my S.C.R.A.P. blogspot.  I found the embroidery pattern in a library book, hunted down the embroidery paper and used scrap fabric for the yo-yo's.

Now that I think about it.  You could use wine corks to make a similar ornament (note to self - write it down, and do NOT start another project).


Favorite photo from the camera . . .
A new coffee mug, gifted to me by my 20 year-old daughter.  It came in a gift bag with a camper on it too.   Just love it!



This was the first time to see this type of cloud.  First the news called it a "stretch cloud" but later called it a "roll" cloud.  It's a sign that the next storm would be worse, and they were right.  The photos were taken in front of our house Sunday evening.  That cloud stretched for miles.


Prayers . . .
Continued prayers for my mother.  She has her first appt. set up for early next year.   Prayers for my Dad, as he's not hearing very well, and some days refuses to put his hearing aids in. My good friend who recently lost her mother, and is now having to go through her mother's belongings to auction the house.  Us.  We always seem to have something get in the way of getting things done around here.  We need to remove one pellet stove and install a newer one (smaller) so we can turn off this expensive electric heat.  It was on the list Saturday, but football got in the way (rolling my eyes).