This and That

 It's a "this and that" sort of post today.  It seems to be that in-between season of slowly emerging from winter resting to spring activities.  The weather continues go all over the map.

We purchased this popcorn seasoning last year sometime, and the bottle is about empty.  I just now realized it has fennel in it.  Anyway, we cannot locate it in any stores, and apparently it's made in Indiana.  I'm sure it's for sale on Amazon, but I'd like to find a recipe to make this myself.  We love popcorn as a snack, and often times after a hot day in the garden, alongside a cold iced tea.

We love this seasoning, as it is not super salty, and offers the herbs for healthy flavorings (added health benefits).  I've sent an email off to inquire within a store.  I may be experimenting with my own homegrown herbs, if we cannot locate it again.  

Current puzzle.  Nothing news-worthy going on, other than we are getting outside more often as the weather gets nicer.  The puzzle came in a collectable tin.  Sorry the light in the photo is not that great.

As for any purging/organizing, I finally got around to moving my printed recipes from the broken binder into two new binders.  I'm so glad I did this too.  It took a while to do too.  I needed the recipe for pumpkin oat breakfast bake, so I decided it was a good time to get this project finished.  By the way, we are still enjoying frozen pumpkin puree from last year's garden.

 When I emptied the old binder, I found a stack of printed and unfiled recipes in the back pocket (sigh).  I tossed a few, saved a few to try, and filed the ones we already tried and wanted to keep.  I have had this project sitting in a living room chair for over two weeks.  

Project is done, and no I do not intend to add any more recipes, other than we are looking for a homemade, healthy French salad dressing recipe.  As the weather gets warmer, we are wanting salads more often.

 I found one recipe in my mess of unfiled recipes, but it calls for "chili sauce." Not sure what that means.  Regular chili sauce?  Sweet?  And would I find a non-gmo brand?  Hm.  The recipes for French dressing seem to all call for sugar, but this particular one calls for honey.

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

Tidbits

 

We enjoyed our 78°F days, but then the weekend brought us rain. The wind was terrible, but we still had breaks in the day to do some outdoor adventuring.  We have a tree down, and a few large tree limbs down due to the high winds.  Monday morning it was 21°F!  A big swing in temperature for us.

If you saw my post about the "blind date" with a puzzle, I have some news about that.  My husband said to toss it in the garbage and chalk it up as we were duped in the purchase.

I however, took photos, and contacted the store we purchased  it at.  Mind you, we bought it January 31st, and we just finished it.  I was nice and polite, but to the point about our disappointment on the expense and product. 

The store responded back to me.  I'm told they purchase them from a vendor from California, and were as disappointed as we were.  She said they were supposed to all be "new" puzzles.  I explained to her that that the box was even falling apart.

They are looking into new vendors now, and we got a refund.  It pays to inquire. Thankfully, I had taken a photo of the purchase while at the store too.

So we were not being duped by the store, and they were being duped by their vendor/supplier.  If that is true.  I do find it odd a business would buy pre-wrapped puzzles to sell.  Why not wrap them yourself?  Anyway, we got a refund, including tax.

I tried a suggested mix of essential oils on cotton balls, and placed them in a few windows, to deter those nasty orange ladybug pests from entering.  The next morning there were 4 in the same window.  

The ladies are laying once again.  Very thankful for that.  I see a breakfast frittata and maybe some boiled eggs soon.

(Mom taught me to always remember to clean my clothesline)

The clothesline is back in action (or was, ha ha!).  First order of business was to clean it.  It has much wear and tear this spring, so I have a new one to install (that was supposed to be put up last year, ha ha!). 

The weather on this particular day was absolutely fantastic.  It was like a breath of fresh air (yes, and with windows open once again).  I spared you from seeing all of my laundry, ha ha!

Kitchen tip:  I never thought to do this, and I use more than one, and they often stick inside each other.  Brilliant!  Kudos to Cooks Illustrated. 

Here you see me reading a book on the porch (our 78°F day), and the weather was amazing!!!  I was enjoying a glass of iced nettle tea too.  I normally do not have my phone with me, but I was waiting on a call.  I snapped a photo.  The garden is brown still, but the green grass is returning. 

The weather is going up and down so often, it makes gardening and outdoor work very limited right now. We have had a hankering for roasted swiss chard, and we cannot find one bit of it in stores right now.  It's on the list to plant again this Spring.

I can say, that I need to stay out of book stores and yarn stores for a while now, ha ha!  I'm re-stocked in both, and have plenty to keep myself entertained.  I sort of abandoned my shelf lining project, but have not forgotten about it.  What can I say?  When the weather is nice, we enjoy it. 

Tidbits ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart