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~

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Freezing more garden vegetables


Wow! All of this was in the garden today! I couldn't believe it. I thought there wouldn't be anymore zucchini, but wow! I even had an eggplant! I just froze 2 quart bags of zucchini and 2 bags of tomatoes. I am even getting more tomatoes peeled for Lentil Soup for dinner. I'm adding fresh zucchini to it too. Then, I going to bake 2 large spaghetti squash and make hash browns and a Greek dish. What a blessing this is today! Oh, and the squash are from the garden too.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Chickens and more eggs!

I'm thrilled with raising chickens for eggs! We are now getting 4 eggs a day. Two more chickens have started laying eggs.

I was tickled to see our hummingbird again yesterday. He's brown bellied and has visited us often. Each time we've moved, we've been blessed with at least one hummingbird. And I don't feed it special food. I've attracted them with my flowers and that's it. He/she loves the flowers. It's better for the birds too.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Another beautiful sunrise today

We were blessed with another beautiful sunrise this Sunday. I'm so glad I took the time to watch it.

It's about time to check on the chickens and see if more are laying eggs. Yesterday I bought a metal basket for the kids to bring the eggs inside with. They laughed when I showed them the basket, and said we should call our house "The House on the Prairie". We may not be on the prairie, but it feels wonderful to be in the country.

Yesterday we had a stray dog visit us. Actually there were two, but one ran off. The one that stayed was limping and very friendly. He appeared to be neglected. His tag was a year old, which didn't even match the dog it was on. His nails were way too long, he was missing hair in spots, his eyes were glossy, and his teeth didn't look right. I'm sure whoever was out hunting just let them roam free. He took a nap in one of the bars, but left later. We tried putting him in a tie-out, but he just kept getting loose from it. He smelled horrible also. Poor dog. Why do people get pets and then just tie them outside and ignore them?

We still have the five kittens. We haven't found a home for any of them yet. We did however get the other barn cat spayed before she had even more kittens. They would be great mousers for someone too.

I was woken up this morning by Tiger pouncing on me. He brought his play mouse up to the bed and was darting around with it. Soon, Jasper was there too.

A few days ago, I had chenille stems sitting on the kitchen counter for a craft project. The next thing I knew, both kittens has stolen them and have been playing with them ever since. We also discovered they love drinking straws. We can't store them on a low shelf anymore. One look and we could see tiny teeth marks in the tops of them - ha ha ha!

Crocheted Slippers ~ Christmas Handmade 2009


Another crocheted pair of slippers for Christmas. This pair is for one of the girls that has a dog for a pet. I love the buttons!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Our first dozen chicken eggs

Here is the first full dozen of eggs two chickens are now laying. It feels pretty good to raise our own chickens, and save money on the eggs. Not only that, but we are eating healthier and together it blesses the family.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Kittens and Toilet Paper

CRASH!

I went to investigate the noise I just heard. It came from the bathroom, and sounded like the shower curtain rod hit the floor. Kittens!

There on the floor was the shower curtain and rod. Yep. It was both kittens. And sitting on the cabinet next to the wall mounted toilet paper rod, was Jasper with the end of the toilet paper in his mouth!

I don't know why he has an obsession with the toilet paper, but it's not a cheap one. He stole a roll last week and took it to the hallway to devour. Yuck.

Later I checked on the chickens and we now have two laying eggs. I'm pretty excited about that. It will surely save us money on the groceries.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Lunch Surprises

Today I am sneaking a snack size bag of Good & Plenty into a few of my kid's lunches. Unfortunately, I didn't get them into two of them, so tomorrow I will try again. With a short note (because they always hate Monday's), I included a small pack of candy. I hope it makes their day better.