Pioneer Woman at Heart

Woke up to 18°F (felt like 9°F) yesterday morning.  We both forgot to stoke the fire before bedtime, so I was up at 5am getting it rolling to heat up the house.  We also had a thin layer of snow.  The chicken's water was frozen (I do not want a heat-able unit out in the barn), so I rotating watering units daily. Woke up to this on the computer this morning.  Just love this kiddo. I got my zip and zap back.  Maybe because of the cold weather, ha ha!  I was zipping around putting up more Christmas lights, and decorations.  Of course in between it all I folded towels, did more laundry, and put my craft totes away until next season.  I did the dishes, wrote out a shopping list, worked on the Christmas menu (cutting it down, but healthy and yummy), put some bows up outside, wrapped all the gifts, set rat traps in the barn, and brought in more wood. ...on the Christmas morning breakfast menu.  I know Hubby has to watch his...

I've been getting up about 5-5:30am to stoke the fire.   We woke up to 19°F.   We will need to cut more wood this weekend.  The repairs on the coop have been delayed due to the dark days, and how dark it is when Hubby gets off work.  Repairs resume on the weekend as well. I finally got around to canning some applesauce.  It pretty much took most of my morning and afternoon.  I bought 20# this year (I haven't canned applesauce in a few years now).  Remaining apples will be in the cooler garage.  I may can another half-batch of applesauce too. ...and since I had apples, I put steel cut oats in the crocky for our next breakfast (cutting the brown sugar down this time).  The apples and raisins add enough sweetness. Guess what's on the menu this weekend?  Crockpot "fried" apples with breakfast. Hubby and I watched a good movie on Netflix the other night.  It was pretty good too.  It's call Falling INN love...

Does anyone else feel like Christmas will be here way too quick and over with way too quick?  I feel like the clock is zipping by this year.  I love Christmas time too.   Hubby's family arranged crafting weekends all month long, but all the crafts are items that go to the cemetery.  I'm just getting depressed from them all, so I'll be staying home and focusing on positive, mood boosting, happy stuff.  Not that I don't want to forget anyone, but it's been one long year and I'd rather move on and be happy as they'd want us to be. Bad news has flowed into our lives again.  My mother has to see a doctor at Cleveland clinic regarding heart issues.  She's already had two surgeries, and one that is the most difficult and most serious to do.  Not what we all wanted to hear, but thankful that she asked the doctor to do a check, otherwise would have gone undetected. What do you think?  Daughter wanted something cosmetology related ...

I'm no longer a fan of homemade shampoo.  It was drying our hair out.  I found a chemical free/organic store brand at my grocery store (of all places) with argan oil in it and we love it.  It even comes with a seal on it. I had purchased extra cookie ingredients for this Christmas, but now I won't be using them.  I may donate them to the kids.  There will be no buckeyes, sorghum candy, homemade toffee, cut outs, etc.  It's gonna be way less stress, but odd.  I will at least bake einkorn peanut butter cookies.  We are all about to weigh a lot less.   Speaking of Christmas, I got all the trees up.  I do need more lights.  Five up  - 6 if you include my bathroom Christmas tree night night.   I also got some garland with lights up, and some decor. I put up a battery operated "camper" string of lights on my Christmas quilt rack.  I just love it. It's not very long, but long enough for the quilt rac...

Yesterday's sunrise has some beautiful colors in it. My rooster was still alive Friday (whew!).  I named him Cluck Norris, since he fought the predator and survived.   The craft show is now over, and I'm up to start out Sunday work day.   We didn't do that great this year.  First, I was in a different building (they use two).  Second, the way the had us set up the tables was so congested.  Third, we were way in the back and customers walked in and not all they way to our tables and left. I didn't sell one set, just a few things.  I'm starting to put the sets up on my other blog . Today's to-do's:  repair the chicken coop, muck the coop, cut wood.  We are completely out, and the temps are to really dip low the early part of the week.  Then, if we get all that done, the Christmas tree goes up. I posted the new Christmas tree ornament on my S.C.R.A.P blogspot.   I'll admit, it's not a very exciting ornament, b...

...and just like that (snap), I was inspired by my friend's mother who recently passed, and who loved playing the organ.  I have started to create a new Christmas tree ornament to sell next year.  I'll have a post soon next week I hope.  The first one will go in my friend's Christmas gift bag in memory of her mother. Sunday I had plans to start decorating and put up the tree, but if weather is good, I'll be mucking the coop and replacing wire on the coop.  One of these years we'll finally get the new coop built (amongst many other jobs on the list).  I went out to the coop yesterday and found 4 feet of wire ripped from the frame, one hen dead with a broken neck, and my rooster with a broken leg.  I'm not sure he'll make it yet.  We can't wrap our heads around what would do this.  A very sad day for sure.

I love making Christmas tree ornaments.  I'm so ready to make something new for next year.  I made many policemen ornaments back in 2011 for a police station tree and for one of my brother's trees. I made these one year too. I have so many that I made, golly. This year, our tree will be ornament-less (puppy proofed).  It'll be lights only, but pretty as well. I had so much creativity and motivation back then.  I even made these.  I think I will check more books out of the library to get more ideas for next year. I made these with all sorts of decorated "cookies" for an entire elementary class.  I used to make a homemade ornament for each student in my kids class for the Christmas school party.  I sure miss those days.  Hopefully, when my grand kids are older I can help with their class party (if they still have them by then). I made these from toilet paper rolls, and gifted them to my family for Christmas. I made th...