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

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.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Homemade Gift Ideas ~ Food Gifts

 








I borrowed this book from the library recently, and it does contain another version of a Chicken soup starter in a jar recipe.  I requires dried celery, but I have not seen that in our stores (other than celery salt).  I could dehydrate celery, but just a heads up on that ingredient.


(photo from google)


I've been borrowing books from the library regarding homemade gift ideas (just a hobby of mine this time of year), and I came across this online the other day (photo from google).  Just another idea to share.

If anyone has a homemade coffee mix with peppermint and mocha, please do share.

My husband is getting a laugh about my search for organic/non-gmo candy canes.  I had a box of them on Amazon in my cart, then got busy with breakfast, and when I went back to place my order - bam!  Out of stock.  Ha ha!  Jokes on me I guess.

I'm finding it very hard to find organic/non-gmo corn syrup this season.  Our big grocery store carried it last year, but this year nothing.  I may change what I bake and make this holiday season, per what I can find.  I guess we'll see first, if I get my kitchen and living room back in time.  Our hired help was a no-show.  I may need to paint myself, and I do not want to.

It's been raining here the past few days.  No sunshine whatsoever.  Dark and dreary.  I just put on some up-beat music and get to work. 


Monday, December 9, 2024

This and That

I keep a binder for printed recipes, that we make often, and I just don't have the room to hand write them on recipe cards.  I have had it open and sitting out for months now.

I have been working on removing any recipes we don't make any longer, and adding ones we currently do, and it's (yay!) back in it's proper place.

If feels good to get more done around here.  Here is more updates on home projects.


Window project:  The new window is installed, siding back up, window trimmed on the inside, drywall replaced, mudded/sanded and painted.  We still have one outlet to replace, but very happy with the progress.

In the process of this project, 3 flooring transition pieces were finally installed (after a year of the last guy not coming back to finish them).  Yay!

Office project:  The old desk was completely emptied, items sorted, some thrown out, some donated, and some given away.  An old lamp removed, and some wall hangings taken down.

An old broken bookshelf was purged, and both the old desk and bookshelf removed to dispose of thankfully.

Need a good laugh?  



I used to freelance write when the kids were very small, and I was sorting blank notebooks (left over from kids in school), and notebooks with writing articles in them.  I had to laugh, and laugh, when I glanced at the top page of one notebook.  It was a note from our youngest, from years ago.  I really, really needed a good laugh this season too.  

When I post "journal junkie" I was not kidding.  I had a journal to keep track of books I borrowed from the library (why? I have no idea), a journal for things I tried "new" (apparantly we ate sour cream and onion crickets at a library event back in 2009 maybe) and a journal for health remedies.  I literally had a huge stack of journals for almost everything.  A journal for favorite quotes from books I read.  The list goes on and on.  All in all, I found some very interesting writing.  There was much I could part with, but some I will read on snowy, cold days before recycling or keeping.

I uncovered my journaling Bible, which has been passed on to one of the kids now.  I have probably 5-6 different Bibles already.  She was thrilled to get it, and the pens with it.

Overall, it all needed to be purged, sorted and dealt with, and now it's off the to-do list. Now I have a ton of empty notebooks for grocery list writing, supply shopping list, or to-do list.

Oh, and the "office" job is not done quite yet.  I am purging more books (non-fiction), while the carpet is ripped out, and ceiling and walls painted.  The drywall in the storage area will be repaired and the room's floor trim painted as well. 

Knock on wood, it's all completed before Christmas.  In the meantime, we have other projects to complete.

This and That © December 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart