Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I lost count on how many days it's been with zero rain.  Watering everything continues for us.  We've been waking up in the 50's, so it makes my daily chores more difficult.  I have to wait for it to be warmer to do the watering.  The forecast is saying possible rain this coming Sunday, with warmer temperatures. I also have to rotate watering with laundry/dishwasher, so the water pump is not working in over drive. It's hard to be outside too long with the Canadian wildfire haze contaminating the air outside.  We sat out on the porch the other night, and totally forgot about the air issue, and a nasty sore throat woke me up in the night. I am finishing up with strawberries.  The chickens love their cool, sweet treats (they get the tops). Froze several quarts, and will make a cold strawberry pie as well.  Canned 8 - half pints of reduced sugar jam. There is a cottage cheese craze going on in recipes lately, but for years, we've enjoyed cottage che...

  Sorry for the bad photos above.  My camera battery died, and I tried using photos off my phone.  My preferred option to stock up sweet potatoes, is freezing them.  Click here to see that post. I made beet chips way back in 2012, before I even had a mandolin or a dehydrator, and they were delicious!  Info on that post, CLICK HERE We tried "chips" this time in the dehydrator.  My dehydrator guide book stated 125°F.  They literally tasted just like sweet potatoes.  I highly recommend, that if you want snacking "chips" to season them with maybe garlic, cayenne or other spice/herb.  I used a tiny bit of organic avocado oil and salt.  They are bland.  So season it up if you want flavor. You can also dehydrate just the sweet potatoes, and grind them into powder for smoothies etc.  I have not done that, but I may try it in the fall when it's cooler out.

  Just when I said there was "nothing" going on here....BAM!  Strawberries!  I'll be busy over the next few days.  I am cutting back on how many jars of jam I can for us this year.  I canned too many last year.  I do can our jam reduced sugar, so it's more fruit to the jar.  I freeze some for smoothies, crumbles, crisps, and pancakes.  Of course we eat some fresh too.   It'll keep me entertained indoors, as the Canadian wildfire smoke is choking us out in our state.  I noticed it two days ago.  The smoke is moving south, and we are in it's path, and it is very visible in the air (hazy). On the extreme clean front, I am now pulling boxes out of my tiny office.  Keep in mind we boxed up the kitchen a year and two months ago, and some boxes from that job were still in there.  It's the last room with carpet too. I found dishes from Mom's place, a lot of paperwork to shred or toss, 4 cones of black cotton yarn (gulp!), stu...

  In desperation, my husband told me to order a set of these.  I'll have to go back on my Amazon and get the actual brand, but there are several on Amazon (not an affiliate).  He's been working 16 hour shifts and we have no help to get the garden fence up.  These were charged and put in one of the gardens. The next day, I did not see one squirrel.  I typically see about 3 going around munching on maple tree helicopters.  I have not seen any of them since these went into the garden.  I have not lost any more bell pepper plants either, and some are coming back (where something bit the tops off).   If they continue to work, I will buy two for the other area we planted.  The ones I ordered stated they were also waterproof of course. We continue to remain in drought conditions here.  I'm running out of blog content, so don't worry if you don't see daily posts. There is nothing going on but my husband working his bum off, me watering ever...

  Although the weekend was another hot weekend, and no rain, most of the garden was tilled, and all the tomato plants were tied up.   I think we are on about day 15 of no rain here. Sunday was our Monday.  Hubby worked, so I got most of my regular "Monday" stuff done already. I worked up another hat pattern, but this time using some Red  Heart yarn I had, and I asked my husband for his opinion.  He said he did not like the "feel" of the yarn.  He preferred the Bernat yarn I used.  Do you all have a preference?  I have a lot of Red Heart in my stash. By the way, the above pattern is free online from the Friendly Fox, called the Mountain Ridges Hat.  It uses more yarn, and is thicker than the last hat pattern I used. Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  I will link up when she posts. The weather . . . Whelp, a possible rain this coming weekend.  We shall see.  It's going to be cool at night and highs in...

  Ten years ago, I crocheted my first washcloth for selling at craft shows.  The photo above is from a camping trip in 2013 (that is a store bought black dishcloth to the right).  It's cotton, but over the years, it is not a favorite, and I stopped making them.  They where two thick, and too small, especially after several years of washing them.   It was not a good selling item at the craft shows.  Ten years later I still have these in my inventory.   I still have 7 sets (one washcloth and one face "scrubbie").  The size is perfect for camping or traveling.  I know a friend who takes her own washcloth on vacation.  I got this pattern online for free, but her page is loaded with adds.   Above 3 photos were taken a few days ago.  The bottom one is showing you how my first washcloths held up over the years.  It also shows how thick the stitches are, compared to the "make up" washcloths (most current pattern mad...

The heat continues.  We had a high of 92°F, so I was out pretty early to water the gardens.  My sprinkler decided to work when it wanted, so it has to be replaced now.  It will not rotate all the time, and handling the hose to water everything is a 2 hour job. I let the chickens out pretty early now as well, put frozen water bottles in their watering units and then later re-do it again when the heat hits the worst.  Let's just say, there is no porch time going on right now.  We could use a nice breeze. We had some excitement in our parts.  Two inmates escaped the jail in my hometown.  I was on alert, and yesterday they caught them in a town I go to often.  Anyway...... I'm finally all caught up with dental appointments.  It took them a month to get my permanent crown done.  Glad that is all over with.  I went in for a cleaning, and they found I had chipped a tooth, which ended with 4 total visits.  I went ahead and booked ...