Book Blanket ~ Lifting Books and Hooks ~ Garden Clean Up Starts

I finished this book, which I believe I was prompted to read by a blog here I follow (Far Side of Fifty maybe?).  It was good, but it took me forever to read, as it was canning season, and the days were long and tiresome.  The thought of lifting a book or hook was out of the question at the time.

Anyway, I crocheted a granny square to match the cover.  The colors in the square could have been done about a dozen different ways.  I just went with what colors I had in scrap balls. I'll try and get an updated photo of the actual blanket soon.  

Clinking my hot tea cup to yours, to books and hooks again.  I'm hopeful that it will be soon for myself too.  

The weather is pretty warm for fall right now.  We've been in the lower 70's and sunny.  We may even hit the 80's this coming weekend.  It's garden clean up season for us, and those days are hit or miss, with what's on the busier-than-normal fall schedule.

Rosemary plants were pulled out of the actual vegetable garden and placed in the dehydrator.  I have however, left two plants in the herb garden, considering the weather has been so warm, and rain is on the way.  

Book Blanket ~ Lifting Books and Hooks ~ Garden Clean Up Starts  ©  October 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Wow! October is here already

 

Wow, the time has really flown by, and it would take a very long post to update every single thing.  Goodness. Thank you all for your advice on recent post question.  

Under the Weather ~ What's Growing?

 I have not been around in blogland much, due to being under the weather after I pushed myself way to far one day.  I have to remember we cannot do it all in one day.  Thank goodness for teas and tinctures, and healing foods (and rest).  We are feeling better.

As for our blogs being used for advertising on many websites, and so forth (I can't see any other reason for the source of views: howstuffworks, dominospizza, mayoclinic {not the blog readers interested in my actual blog}) the numbers continue to climb.  I have not found a way to "opt" out either.  If any of you find a new way to avoid this, blog elsewhere, find a new platform etc, please be sure to share.  

If your blog has ads, you are are not going to complain, ha ha!  You are probably making a bucko-bucks with all these visitors to your blog.

Okay, back to the update post . . .

Colder Weather (again) ~ 43 degrees! What?!

 I have yet to remedy the websites using my blog for whatever they are using it for.  The views cut down by about 200, but considering I posted a very, very short post yesterday, it's still getting 300 views from advertiser businesses and other businesses.  All to read about how they are using my blog too.

It is very annoying to be honest.  I have not had a lot of time to work on putting a stop to it, but I did look into a few of the sites to "opt" out and there were no options to remove my blog.  Not sure what to do next.  If I do remedy the situation, I will remove the page breaks on my posts.

The majority of viewers are from Hong Kong and Singapore (huh?).  Like it's been suggested, AI may be the reason, and one we cannot avoid, as Blogger has very little privacy options.

Weather

The blogger view issues continue.  I see that many of you are also dealing with the same thing.

I've added page breaks again, and I know they are annoying.  I may have to add some google ads to make some money off of this, if it continues.

Experimental Healthier Zucchini Bread ~ Garden

 Along with an experimental baking, this is my experimental post to see how things go too.  Thank you for all of your advice on the blog issues.  

No Shortage of Boredom

 We finally got rain, after 20 plus days of 90 degree plus weather.  Despite watering the garden, it was looking fried by the heat, humidity and sun.  The zucchini plants are starting to die off with little harvest already.

Embracing the Late Harvest ~ First Canning of the Season ~ Crocheted Cord Keepers

 

(picked one for canning)

All in one day's picking.  The bell peppers are on, but not all  ready yet (very late harvest year).  Those pickling cucumbers can hide so easily, even after making a thorough attempt to check for any.  The chickens were happy with their treat, and the kitchen was busy again.

Both went into meals.  The kale went into a breakfast, and the beans went into a dinner.

The English type (will have to look up the actual name) cucumbers we planted are about between 11 and 12 inches long.

Two large cucumbers went into making a cold salad with some cherry tomatoes from the garden, along with some fresh parsley, dill and peppermint.

We have been pretty creative in consuming the cucumbers.  Needless to say, I am finding some nice salad recipes that we are really enjoying.  

Canning season officially started this late month of August - sweet pickle relish.  We did not get enough of our cucumbers last year to can this, but we did have enough already canned to last 2 years.  We were down to the last 3 jars, so this is a blessing.  We use it to, no only as a condiment, but to make chicken salad, tuna salad, homemade tartar sauce, and more.

                             

 A bit of our lemon balm was dehydrated for tea making.  I'm in the process of starting more plants (for our soon to be designated garden area for perennial weeds/herbs). 

I also ground some dehydrated lemon balm for a lemon balm powder. A "first" time for us to make the powder.  I'll use it for baking, smoothies, and possibly other uses.  Possible uses:  salad dressings, pesto (fresh is best I think though), desserts, infused honey, infused sugar (just a thought), iced tea, and more.

I used some garlic scapes to make compound butter for cooking and grilling.  It is a "first" for us to make and try.

I followed the instructions and blanched the scapes first, and rolled it all into waxed paper to freeze first, then later slice and store for easy access.

Everything else garden related seems to be coming at us all at once.  I'm just taking a deep long breath and taking it one day at a time.  Every day there is garden goodies that need tending to - hot banana peppers, sweet corn, green beans, cucumbers.....you get the idea.  It is a blessing.

Although, the heat is returning for a bit, we have really enjoyed the much cooler weather.  It has been a delight to work outdoors, go for walks, read on the porch, grill outside dinner, and so forth.  Early morning sunrises are the best, and enjoyed, as you cannot get that moment back.

Unfortunately, we are going on a 10-day plus stretch with no rain.  The garden is suffering, so days are spent watering, which takes day off canning, freezing or other needed work done.

(this one was for our travel/camping tea-pot)

A larger amount of do-dads today require so many charging cords (trying to eliminate those with solar charge when we can), and one morning I decided we needed some "cord keepers" to keep things organized.  I crocheted us two to try out, and see who well these snaps will last.  I used no-sew snaps for the first time.  I had cotton yarn in my stash, so that is what I used.  I need about three more, but I am hoping the snaps hold out.  If not, I will be switching to the sew-on snaps.

Book reading has really slowed down, so no new granny squares for our book blanket.  I have added a few titles to my reading list, and (gulp) purchased two more books.

On the news front, a local food pantry distribution closed it's doors earlier this week, do to lack of food to provide those in need.   I offered our extra produce one year, many years ago, and they refused it.

It's been one hum-dinger of an August already, and no camping trips planned to offer some R & R yet.  A busy garden season is a grand happening, but it does tend to rob me of my self-care time.  I'll be working on that this month.

Embracing the Late Harvest ~ First Canning of the Season ~ Crocheted Cord Keepers  ©  August 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Last Day of July

 

Remember the empty jars piling up?

I checked butterfly pea flower facial toner off the to-do list.  One flower per every 1/2 cup of witch hazel (let sit overnight).

Once infused, strained, and only a small bit of glycerin added, it's bottled up to use.  The most easiest thing you can make for yourself.  I have been using it for more than a year, and I have a travel bottle to take it on any sort of overnight trip as well.  

I still need to make more handmade items to re-stock, however, I was also able to get my homemade hair detangler made.  My hair is loving it.

The cucumbers are rolling in now, and I dug out my vegetable chopper, but it's now in the trash sadly.

The top part that is pushed down to send the vegetable into the metal slicer, and then into the catch tray, broke off some plastic pieces (and I can no longer use it).  In hindsight, I should have thought of that before buying it, but it last a few years.  The top parts are not removeable, other than a piece that you slide off to remove any debris.  I sort of liked this chopper, so I'm on the hunt for one that is not "plastic" on the top under part.  If you know of one, or have one that has been good for you, please comment below.  The only downside for me, was extra dishes.

Thankfully, I noticed it, and fished out the black plastic nubs that broke off (ugh).  By the way, I used this thing a lot of times, so it could be just from so many days of using it, but I have not seen any of these box choppers made with metal top undersides.  The next best thing I guess is the hand chopper from Pampered Chef (metal cutting blades), but the plastic outer clear attachment often breaks over time as well.

A cucumber salad made with the above chopper.  

A cucumber hand cut with a knife.  Looks the same, uses less tools, may take a slight bit more time, but for now that's how I am cutting up my salads.  By the way this particular one was diced up to top hummus with (and delicious).  We are getting very creative with using up the cucumbers, because someone planted a wee bit too many for two people (ha ha ha!).

The jalapenos are starting on finally.  Hard to believe it's July 30th, and we are just now picking a few of them.  Again, the craziest, latest harvest year ever I think.

My lemon balm is doing fantastic in this heat (heat advisory), but not so much for the peppermint and spearmint plants.  I don't think my mint plants like the heat, other than my catnip potted plant (it's doing fantastic as well).

I planted borage and rosemary in the squash this year, to deter squash bugs.  I do have squash bugs, but in the plants where nothing was planted in between them (I rotated the borage and rosemary between plants).  I missed one section, so the plants had nothing in the middle, but along the sides.  Everything else is bug free.  So now that we have borage, what should I use it for? Has anyone cooked with it?

(most recent granny square made for the book blanket)

Update on the book blanket I am crocheting - all of the finished granny squares have been crocheted onto the blanket!  I just have to sew in the ends to catch up, unless I finish the next book, ha ha!

Canning?  Nope.  Not yet, but it may happen soon, so July is going by with zero garden canning.  I'll be digging out a few recipes to double check ingredient lists.

As July ends, and I look back at all our successes and joys, I am looking forward to more next month.   Yes, there are regrets for things not "done" and adventures not taken (out of our control), but we are moving forward with good vibes, thoughts and prayers for future happenings, and future decisions.

Praying for a fantastic August ahead.  Happy blogging!

Last Day of July   ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

 

Two weeks ago we had another heat wave, bringing temperatures up to 104 degrees.  It was very, very humid too.  Following that, we got 5 days of rain.  Good for the garden.  Bad for the weed problems.  We just go with "the flow" of things and do the best we can.

Humidity has been about 100% lately.  The thickness in the air almost takes your breath away.  Too hot and humid for anything outdoors.

Harvested our very first zucchini July 23rd, and our very first yellow squash July 24th (a late harvest year).  They both went into breakfast, and my husband was delighted with his go-to breakfast - Eggs from the ladies, roasted squash with onion and herbs from the herb garden, and smoked bacon from an area butcher store (a breakfast win from the freezer).  So good!

I am making a meat re-stock list of course, but the meals created by randomly picking freezer items has been fun and successful.  I did, however (gulp), find a few bags of frozen green beans from 2023 stuffed into the back of one shelf.  We had a bumper crop that year.

Harvested our first handful of cherry tomatoes July 25th.  I think we may have a chipmunk eating the very low tomatoes.  It could easily get into the fence, so we (gulp) purchased some rodent netting and wrapped the lower fencing for now.  Protecting the garden is becoming expensive.

First basketful harvest of the season and we are almost at the very end of July.  What a strange garden year.  It's almost August.

New to the garden this year - Cocozelle Zucchini.  

No new book blanket granny squares, and no books finished for that matter.  I, however, started another baby blanket.  The last if this particular yarn.  I am behind on the book blanket, and have not started any lap afghans to donate just yet.  The goal is to just get this baby blanket done first.

Everything seems to be running out at the same time as the end of July approaches.  I'll be making several re-stock items that I have found to be my/our favorites.  I am out of witch hazel, and now I am on the hunt to find some sold in stores. 

In the meantime, I have a growing list of to-do's pertaining to the garden, re-stocking freezer foods (thankfully blueberries are done for this season), and the like.  Dehydrating herbs continues as well. 

Have you ever heard of boiling corn on the cob with milk and butter in a large pot?  I'm just learning this, but with just us two, I have not tried it.  Apparently, it creates a very sweet corn, and as you lift the cob from the pot, it butters itself with the butter added to the pot.  

This and That   ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Homemade Diced Chili Peppers (Anaheim Peppers)

 Yes, you can buy cans of chili peppers for about $.70 and up, but there is nothing better than homemade diced chili peppers.  A small 4 oz. can of organic diced chili peppers are costing about $2.19 a can in our area now.

I have had this on my "try it" list since last garden season, and had intentions of canning them.  I am "on the fence" with canning them for now.  I'll explain.

How I made our chili peppers - picked larger fresh Anaheim peppers from the garden.  Washed them, dried them, cut off stems, sliced them in half lengthwise, and cleaned out the ribs and seeds.

I placed them all cut side down on a parchment paper lined baking dish, and roasted them in a pre-heated oven at 450°F.  I, however, decided to reduce the heat to 400 before placing the baking sheet in the oven.  I roasted my peppers for about 20 minutes, until the skins were bubbly (watch them so they do not burn).  These smelled fantastic right out of the oven!

I removed them from the parchment paper, and put them into a bowl, covering them with a towel. I let them cool for about 20-30 minutes.  I then removed the skins from the roasted peppers.

I simply diced those peppers and added salt to taste.  This particular batch made enough chili peppers for homemade chicken quesadillas, but you could put them in the fridge and use later.  I have yet to experiment with freezing them, but this batch was about equivalent to a 7 oz. can you buy in the store.  It takes a lot of peppers, so if I want to can them, it would take way more Anaheim peppers than we planted this year.  

Overall, it was a new garden-to-table accomplishment, that was a new one for this year.  I will be planting more Anaheim peppers next year.  They are high in vitamin C (from my research), and many other nutrients.

What's new in your garden this year?

Homemade Diced Chili Peppers (Anaheim Peppers)  ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Good Vibes ~ Al Fresco

I have had one run-in with a baby deer this garden season.  I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or him/her.  Off it ran and no damage to the garden.  I do think we may have another ground hog, but have not seen it for a while.  A bug of some sort is having a feast on my garden kale, so once we catch up on the weeds and such, I'll sprinkle some flour with pepper mixed into it (husband's trick).

It's a bit disconcerting to not have much to harvest yet, and hear the sound of locusts announcing fall is around the corner.  The rain is coming down almost every other day or every day, so the weeds are winning I think.  The bonus win is not having to drag 200+feet of garden hose out to water stuff.

Our first Anaheim peppers from the garden.  They are huge as they should be.  However, it's not enough to process, so they are in the crisper drawer to use for current meals.  Or I have plan B too.

The cherry type (heirloom) tomatoes are finally on and turning.  Other tomatoes are on, but nothing not even close to harvesting yet.  We now have some hot peppers on the plants.  There are a few hot banana peppers about ready to pick too (the need is to have them all ready at the same time).

I harvested some Swiss Chard for one dinner too.  The garden is providing.

Garlic was finally dug up, but we had to wait for a dry day to get into the garden.  The garden was actually still pretty wet the day I dug it all up.

I had some chives that spread into my thyme plants, in the herb garden.  I dug those out, but later spotted one more smaller start.  I will get that dug out and into a small pot for now.  Most likely I'll give them to friends or donate to a local person who gives plants away (we have a few people who have bring one, take one plant tables).

It's not really a good week (ha, there never is) to pick up 10# of blueberries (from a nearby state), but I did.  I am pretty sure we'll use them all too.  I love to use frozen blueberries for summer lunch time smoothies, and especially after a long hot day of garden work.

I've been challenging myself to continue to meal prep from the freezer first, then add pantry and garden goodies.

It's sort of been fun, by picking random items and looking up recipes.  Rotation underway . . . preparing any room for garden additions to the freezer.

Good vibes from the herb garden.  Green onion, parsley and basil to add to a cold salad.

Edamame salad - corn and edamame from the freezer (new recipe tried as a result of random freezer rotation).  It utilized the freezer and garden, but it did not give us the "wow" response.  Good, but not great either.  Healthy?  Yes.  I thought the flavor overall was much better after it sat in the fridge overnight too.

A sweet potato breakfast casserole - sausage and bell peppers from the freezer.  Delicious.  I would prep more breakfast meats for this, for easier and quicker baking. I will also be trying this with garden kale.

Stuffed garden bell peppers from the freezer for dinner. 

What's was next?  I randomly pulled some sweet Italian sausage links.  I am sure I had a plan for them, but cannot remember what for.  I did a very simple crock pot meal with potatoes on the bottom, layered the sausage links, topped it with frozen garden green beans from last year, and whipped up my own homemade Italian dressing and poured it over. The sausages fell apart, and it was fantastic.  Two more freezer items used.  Dinner al fresco - weather was fantastic.

It should be fun putting something together for the next dinner.  

Other news . . .

We (by "we" I mean my husband) are starting to clean the gutters out.  I have been after him for weeks, and almost got the ladder out to do some myself (but got scolded).  

We have come up with a plan for the rose bed, but it's on the back burner until we get caught up with the vegetable garden weeds.  It's back on the "list" but so is the chicken coop (story of my life).

The weather was an absolute gorgeous 70's (wish I was camping, but sometimes we have to shuffle life's responsibilities) and cool day early in the week, but the heat is said to return.  Early mornings have been slightly under 60°F, and foggy.  It has helped me get more done in the garden.

Lastly, some good advice from a book I recently finished.

Good Vibes ~ Al Fresco  ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Rainy Day

 We had another rainy day, so I was able to have a much slower indoor day (sort of).  It was also so humid outside after the rain stopped, so it was not even enjoyable.  There was also a smoke haze in the air, compromising the air quality.  I did not get any Swiss chard cut as it heavily downpoured most of the day yesterday. 

Our garden is about 2-3 weeks behind, compared to last year.  I think it was due to a very cold May, and we planted much later.  I am getting kale, Swiss chard, and radishes.  The zucchini is on, but only about 1 inch long right now.

I do need to dig the fall planted garlic up soon.  I dug one up already, and we are very happy with the size of it this year.

I'm trying out my "vegetable" keeper container to see how long it keeps our freshly cut kale fresh.  I bought the containers on clearance a few years ago, specifically to keep pickling cucumbers in, to collect and keep fresh, until I had enough to can with.  I may be looking for more similar containers, if these keep the greens fresh too (first good harvest in many years).

I used some of the Red Russian Kale in our dinner the other night.  I was worried we would have needed another side vegetable, but this was perfectly enough.  I cooked the turkey cutlets in the crockpot with barbeque sauce, and later in the evening made the "One Pot Beans, Greens, and Grains" recipe that I found in the New York Times newspaper.  By the way, I found the recipe online, and I linked it.  It is the first recipe I have found where it does not require you to have a membership of some sort.

It is very similar to how I make my quinoa, but I used leftover broth instead of water.  I used great northern beans, but you can use any beans of your choice.  I will double the amount of kale in it the next time.  

Not the best photo, but I'm on the last round of the pink and white baby blanket.  I'll get a better photo once it's finally finished, and ends sewn in.  Once this is finished, I really need to get caught up with my crochet book blanket.  I now have several finished granny squares, but need to attach them.  I finished another book last night, so I will be crocheting yet another square soon.

Rainy Day ©  July 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart