Blind Date with a Puzzle ~ Meal from the Freezer

 We have been having some beautiful weather here lately.  I however, have not put laundry out on the line, as we call this "bird" season.  Flocks of them are in the area, so as soon as they move on out, I will be able to enjoy the clothesline once again.

We purchased a "blind date" with a puzzle back on January 31st, from an area local store, while out on a getaway.  However, we paid $18.00 for this puzzle, and when we got it home, it was a used puzzle (box was falling apart).  I never saw any signage that stated the puzzles were used, so my husband insisted we purchase a 1,000 piece one.  

Well, we finished the puzzle finally. 

(puzzle is a portrait by a famous artist)

There were two puzzle pieces in the box that did not even go to the puzzle.

As we predicted, there were pieces missing from the puzzle.  We plan to donate the puzzle pieces to a place that recycles them with art/crafts.  Very disappointed.  We won't make this mistake again.

We have however, purchased two new puzzles.  I'll be back to share photos of them soon.  I, honestly, was not going to get more puzzles, as our weather is warming up here, but we did.

It's been so nice to pull the our homemade stuffed, garden bell peppers from the freezer.  I just top with more tomato sauce to bake them, and top with some mozzarella cheese.  It's a meal in itself, and we get to enjoy our "fruits from our labor" garden.

In the past years, I blanched the bell peppers.  I do not blanch them anymore.  The stay crispy, and bake up so delicious.  If you blanch them, they bake up too soft and more of a soggy bell pepper.  I prepare the stuffing mix myself, then stuff the fresh grown bell peppers (I cut in half lengthwise vs. cut the tops off), wrap each with saran wrap, and store them all in freezer containers.  The end result is a quick, healthy and delicious meal.

There are many ways to utilize growing bell peppers, if you are considering it this garden season.  We made breakfast egg filled bell peppers, we have cut them in rings and made "eggs in a nest" for breakfast, we have made oven baked bell pepper rings (like onion rings), stuffed bell pepper soup, and of course we freeze them in diced size and sliced for future meals.  Fresh bell peppers are healthy snack tools for hummus and other healthy toppings or dips.

Blind Date with a Puzzle ~ Meal from the Freezer  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

On the Hook

 

The latest granny square for my "book" blanket.  I try to match the colors the best I can, and with what yarn I already have.  I just have at join it to the blanket.  The book is being passed on to one of the kids, so another book out the door and off the shelf.

On the Hook  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

What's Cooking?

 I think the title of this post should have been "Kitchen Capers" or what's going on in the kitchen these days.

Not much.

I pickled red onions.  These are healthy and can be added to many dishes, rice, salads, tuna/chicken salad or topped on hummus.  The ideas are endless really, but it's nice to have it on hand. 

I made us protein bites for snacks.  I really like these during summer when it's super hot outside.  I do think the amount of mini dark chips can be reduced, but they are very good.  I'll be honest, I can't recall where I got this recipe, but I am on the hunt, so I can share.  I used to make these a different way, but these have coconut in them.
 

What's Cooking?  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Mud Season

 March is what we call our "mud" season.  Everything is thawing, or there is rain and flooding, and sometimes a snow shower in the mix.  Mud.  We get lots and lots of of a muddy mess, which prevents any or all outdoor work or play (unless we find paved hiking/walking trails).

Mud season can feel unending and arduous, but also inspiring as the warmer/sunny weather arrives.

Monday - 13°F windchill in the morning

(I attempted to sit in the sunshine for a hot minute, and the clouds moved in of course)

Tuesday - 36°F windwill in the am.  High for the day was 60°F (insert smiling face), but we had am rain.

Wednesday - 53°F (windchill of 48°F), rain

Today?  - 37°F Snow!  

Nothing new going on.  We are patiently waiting for spring to stay put.  If you remember, we were trying to get an online appointment for new tires last weekend?

Well, my husband actually got an appointment made over the phone, and drove there after work to the said appointment.  When he got there, the employee told him he could not and would not put new tires on the vehicle, that we had an appointment for.

After much discussion, my frustrated husband got him to do the job.  The employee literally told my husband that whoever was on the phone that day, should have never agreed to the work to be done.  Needless to say, my husband drove home with new tires.

On the home front . . .

I got two more wire shelves purged, lined, and re-organized.  I cut more pool noodle pieces to place inside my tall boots (it's a cheap way to keep them upright and looking nice).  I have yet to find tall enough storage bags for a few pairs of tall dress/casual boots (that do not have boxes).

I got the one corner kitchen cupboard cleaned, lined and re-organized.

The donation box is filling up much, much slower now, which means I'm much closer to being 100% organized (in the house anyway, the garage is another story).

What's Cooking?

I finally got around to making kimchi for us.  I have no experience with this, and no advice, so I used a recipe from a book I own.  I'll let you know if we like it or not.

Outdoor fun . . .

Despite rain here again, I managed to find a window of time to roll out the coop cleaning tools and muck the stinky winter chicken coop.  The ladies are in pure heaven again, and I got outside.

R & R time . . .

Current book.  I bought this book almost 2 years ago, at an antique store, and while on a weekend getaway.  It is starting out rather mundane and slow.  I sure hope it gets better.  I had shoved it into a living room end table drawer, and completely forgot about it.  I guess I had high ambitions to sit in the living room and read maybe?  Either way, it's on top of the stack right now.

Current progress on the "blind" date with a puzzle.  It's been a doozy of a puzzle.  Pieces are not uniform, It's hard to find the edge pieces, and there are too many of the same color in much of the puzzle.  It's been a challenge, and may be the last puzzle of the "winter" season for us.  My husband, who insisted we buy the "blind" 1000 piece puzzle date, has been of very little help with it too.

Mud Season  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Happy Homemaker Monday {March 3, 2025}

 

I inquired about rental space in a store that sells locally make crafts (about a 35 minute drive or more).  There is a wait list, the rental space charge is a whopping $6 per square foot, and a 20% payment to the owners on any of your sales.  Sigh.  I have given up on that route.  Unless I be-friend an owner and strike a deal, it is impossible to continue to make and sell in rented store spaces anymore.  At least in our area anyway.

Does anyone else get tired of businesses having only online bookings?  We have been trying to get new tires on one of our vehicles, and one place won't take appointments, another is online only (very frustrating system according to my husband).

Not to mention, that once you book anything online, they message you a ton of reminder messages (very annoying).

We had a very busy weekend, so it's back to home updates, and regular work around here.  Oh, and we visited the other nearest JoAnn Fabrics store.  They had much more yarn, so I am restocked for baby blankets.  I  did hear one clerk tell someone that the fabric was a minimum of 1 yard per bolt.  

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

(will link up when she posts later)

The weather in our neck of the woods . . .

23°F/windchill of 14°F this morning, but we may warm up to 57°F by midweek (then down to the 40's).

As I look outside my window . . .

The sun is about to come up soon.

Right now I am . . .

Brewing coffee.

Something fun to share . . .

Nothing today that I can think of. 

Thinking and pondering . . .

-More hiking/walking opportunities in the area, as well day or overnight trips.

-garden plans

-still looking for inexpensive tulip bulbs (have not found any in stores just yet).

-I may try to squeeze in crocheting one more lap afghan before the weather turns to sunny spring warmth (after the baby blanket is done)

-looking for tall boot storage/travel bags that are 24 inches tall.  I bought 21 inch ones, and they are not tall enough (to organize the closet and make travel easier too).

On my bedside table . . .

Same as last week.

On the menu . . .

-Crock pot meatballs with home canned sauce/squash, over quinoa and a side of asparagus

-something with chicken, brussel sprouts

-leftovers

-making us some no-bake protein bites (something nice to have on hand for a healthy snack)

Book I am reading . . .

I finished this book last night, so I'm on to the next book (did not have a photo this morning), and will be crocheting a granny square to match this book cover soon.  Another book off the book shelf here at the homestead.

On the TV . . .

Nurse Jackie, DVD's borrowed from the library

1923, Netflix

On my to-do list . . .

-laundry
-make a breakfast (not sure yet)
-pay a few bills
-dinner prep
-library returns

Happening this week . . .

Buying new tires for one of our vehicles, and we can cross off hair cuts (squeezed them in this past weekend).

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .

I added a few more rounds on the blue and white baby blanket.  Made a few more pacifier holders, have some on-the-go crochet things in a few bags like jar openers, pot holder set and a few more baby washcloths (I have projects for home and for when we have a drive to anywhere).  The baby blanket is getting larger, so it's my at-home project.

My simple pleasure . . .

Homemade hot cocoa with organic peppermint syrup on a cold day.

Lesson I learned this past week. . .

(reading while waiting at the car wash last month)

Not a lesson from last week, but I learned that if I'm going on a drive or vacation of any sort, take more books than I think I'll read, and also download free books to my tablet before leaving the house (or whenever I have wifi).  You never know when your husband wants to randomly drive thru the car wash, when the lines are a mile long (that time of year, ha ha!).

From the camera . . .

Prayers, Devotional, Bible Verse . . .

Prayers for all my blog followers with upcoming medical appointments, for those not well and for quick recovery, and for overall good health.

Happy Homemaker Monday {March 3, 2025}  ©  March 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That ~ Welcome March

The new sprouts for the chickens.  These are organic peas.  I am sprouting a small amount to introduce them to the ladies (chickens) and see if they like them or not.  They love sprouted lentils.  They should be ready to treat the ladies in a few days now.  

 Welcoming March!  We already had our first adventure day trip on March 1st.  We drove a few hours to visit one of the kids and their new house.  The weather was back to freezing cold here, so what a better way to spend a Saturday in winter.

I surely gave me a break from lining closet shelves and purging clothing.

My goodness, it was so nice to see the kids and their pets again.  We haven't seen their pets in many years, and Jasper (cat), bless his heart at 16 years old, sniffed my face, put his nose to my nose and rubbed his head on my forehead.  He remembered me.  He did the same with my husband.  Such a sweet moment.

Of course we stopped at a pet store and picked up toys and treats for all three of them.  We had a meal with the kids, got a tour of the house, and it snowed the entire time.  Loved every minute of it, and this particular daughter is crocheting!  Ha!  She is crocheting a blanket. She has a stack of books she read, and I shared with her my crochet "book" blanket.  She is just a beginner, but I will still offer ideas to her.

On the drive home, I convinced my husband to make a pit stop at a JoAnn Fabrics (on the route home), and check out the yarn.  Sadly, the yarn was already picked over and very limited.  What I did find, was 25% off.  They had a ton of #10 cotton thread, but hardly anything left of Caron, Redheart and Lion brand yarns.  We only have one JoAnn Fabrics within a 30 minute drive from our home.  I did find another one this morning, about a 33 minute drive.  

Do you have anything exciting planned this month?  I do not, but every day brings us an "open book" so to speak.  I have already sent a few emails, to inquire about some walking trails/parking etc.  We also visited a book store and purchased a guide book with trails in our state.  There is no local bookstore close to our homestead.  Everything here is a bit of a drive.

I do plan to get outside this month more than we did last month, now that we are approaching better weather. Ha, or we hope to anyway.  

My first goal this month, is to locate some inexpensive tulip bulbs.  I want to experiment in planting them again.  The first year we lived here moles ate every single one.  I read one idea in a recent book, so hence "inexpensive" bulbs to try it with.  I absolutely love Breck's bulbs, but want to be sure the moles will leave the bulbs alone (otherwise I'll pot them in pots and insert the pots into the gardens).  I love tulips, and really, really, miss having them in our spring flower beds.  We do have two mole chasing windmills up too (and I still see mole hills some days).

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

. . .from the handiwork journal {Feb 28, 2025}

 The month of February typically is the month we tend to get the most snowfall.  Now we are thawing out, and having some flooding.  Heck, Wednesday we started out with everything frozen again, then snow showers, followed by a day of rain.

Yesterday we woke up to fog.  The weather is all over the map right now.  Just after dinner time last night, we had a rain shower.  

 Ribbit, Ribbit. 🐸  Sounds like Rip it, Rip it.  It's where the term "frogging" a crochet project comes from.  Ripping out stitches due to mistakes in previous rows.

I did more frogging this past week than I wish I had, ha ha!  I worked on the blue and white baby blanket, but kept making mistakes.  I am not sure if it was my husband talking to me, or if I was just having an "off" day. Ha.  If fact, I had to rip out a few rounds last night (again) due to an extra stitch I had made in a previous row.  I hope to get it finished soon.  

Update on the "book" blanket granny squares.  

.  .  .  finished more books, so more matching granny squares for my "book" blanket. These books were both on my shelf for several years (other than the very last book). The first book granny square is a repeat photo from last Monday's post, but these are all the newest ones made for the "book" blanket.  All of them have been crocheted to the blanket (other than the last three).

The "BAT" book was tucked into a drawer and forgotten about last year.  My Mom gave me book #1 and I read it about a year ago, and bought book 2 and 3.  She just handed me the book with a giggle, and told me I just had to read it.  Hence the kids book included in my reading this year.

. . .  some embellished paperclips, to use up the last bit of some crochet thread.  

Lastly. . . 

I found a new pacifier holder pattern, and I love it.  Funny story about finding it.  I went on a search, so I could make one to gift with the pink baby blanket soon. 

I can't exactly remember how I saw the one I liked. Maybe doing an image search?  Once I found the one I wanted, I checked Ravelry.  All of the finished ones were noted with a pamphlet or copy of Crochet World Magazine.  After extensive searching, I somehow found a book that it was published in, and wa-la, our library had a copy.

                         

My first crocheted pacifier holders - Pattern is from Crochet Crowd.  As you can see at the clip, it is rounded, and slides back and forth on the clip.  It's cute, but I was not really that happy with the final results.  I also had a hard time getting it to lay flat, even after blocking it.  

These crochet up very quickly, and they fit the clip much better than the last pattern I used from Crochet Crowd (using #3 crochet thread).  The pattern I used, uses #10 cotton crochet thread.  I already had the clips, because I had made a few using the last pattern.

Last month, I was him-hawing about getting rid of a bag of misc. beads.  I'm glad I did not.  I used some jewelry supplies, jewelry tools, spare beads, and created a way to attach a row counter to my project bag (or project) for traveling.  Talk about a happy gal.  No purchases needed.  The row counter actually came in a bag of odd assortments from a thrift store haul years ago.

Results?  I love this for road trips or just any long drive with time to do handiwork.  I still feel I will be using paper and pen any other time.

. . . from the handiwork journal  {Feb 28 2025} © February 2025 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart