Homemade Vanilla Mint Honey Scrub ~

...on the to-do list 

Got the scrub made.   Recipe is on Mountain Rose Herbs blog.  I'm going to make another batch with sugar, for my youngest now.  It smells so good and feels great on my skin.

I finished a few more color options for the headbands.  They are posted on my farm store blogspot now.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  I can't believe I got through the holiday season without baking one pie.  I picked this photo today to inspire me to bake one this week or over the weekend.

We got 2 inches of snow Saturday night.  Sunday it was frigid. The wind was wicked and cold.  We ran out of cut/split wood Sunday morning, and it's not the first.  We got that job done ASAP and of course, Hubby was mumbling under his breath about not being better prepared (happens more often than not, ha ha!).  Another snow storm is heading our way this coming Saturday too.


On the breakfast plate . . .
Leftover blueberry pancakes


The weather outside . . .
23°F, and the wind has died down today.


Right now I am . . .
Getting the fire going again.  Some ding dong left the top damper open and it burned completely out last night.


Thinking . . .
I better get Youngest up in a bit.  They had a two hour delay due to the drifting yesterday, and some roads still need more plowing.


On my reading pile . . .
My youngest and I were just talking about this yesterday.  Both of us haven't been reading much of anything lately.


On the TV . . .
The Ranch (can't remember what episode we are on)


On the menu . . .
A crock pot week other than tuna and noodle, mashed potatoes and green beans
-Steel cut oats (breakfast)
-Spanish rice
-4 beans and sausage
-potato corn chowder and biscuits or homemade bread
-red beans and rice
-chili


On my to-do list . . .
-work out
-laundry
-dishes
-sweep
-vacuum
-tidy up the living room



What I am creating . . .

"F" bombs  - a lot of them for an order


New recipe I want to try. . . 
A homemade skin scrub. A lot of cooking recipes too.


Looking around the house . . .
Looks like my kitchen could use a tidy up job too.


On the camera . . .

I haven't taken any photos since our trip.

On my prayer list . . .
The kids.  I have some news on one of them, but can't share it just yet.  And no, no one is pregnant (thank goodness).  The other news is that our nephew and his wife are selling their trailer and buying a house.  It's a grand deal, but two kids can't afford to buy it until May, so we are hoping it does not sell until then. Otherwise the deal is off for them.  I hope it works out, but at the price it's selling, it may get sold before they can buy it (due to their lease at their apt).

Keeping Warm ~ Weekend Updates

There's nothing exciting going on at our homestead right now.  I've been puttering around with the basics - laundry, house cleaning, organizing, putting away forgotten Christmas stuff, paying bills, etc. etc.

Oh, I have a list of things that need made, but my mojo is at a bottom low.  I blame it on the cold, cold temps we have.  It sort of sucks the energy out of you like a very humid hot day would.  

Friday I spent more time on the slow side of chores. However, our 19 year-old had a complete melt down and Mom and Dad had to go to the "rescue."  First, she's already seeing how hard it is to live on her own as an adult, and they are now approaching possible new living arrangements (living with her brother), which is throwing a lot of stress at her.  On her way out, her fuel line broke, and she had the dogs with her (her two).  She called crying and wanting her Mom and Dad. She has just put her last $25 into a tank of gas and that was the kicker for her melt down.  Of course we told her we'd refill it for her, after it was repaired.

She borrowed a car and made it out.  I listened.  I fed her good food (she lives way to close to fast food in town), gave her the "it's gonna be okay" speech, Dad called her while she was here and reassured her we'd be over to fix the car, and she calmed down.  She said, "when things go wrong I just want my Mom and Dad (ha ha!)."  Meanwhile I crocheted and listened until she was okay.

I slipped into PJ's early, poured myself a glass of wine, and watched Judge Judy while I crocheted more (my favorite slowdown routine when it's quiet in the house and there are leftovers).

Saturday we were naturally up at 5am.  Hubby cooked breakfast and we of course had to wait for our 19 year-old to get out of bed to head to her place.  By 9am, it was still only 26°F outside, and cloudy.

We drove up to fix Daughter's car, picked up groceries and came back home with about 2-3 hours to spare.  Hubby arranged a night out with a poker game, Youngest went to visit her boyfriend, and I stayed home and crocheted.  

The snow rolled in and boy it was cold and the road not that great.  Didn't see or hear a snow plow until wee hours in the morning.

This morning?  Or today?  I have no idea.  All depends on anything that pops up to interrupt our plans.  Since we spent most of the day fixing Daughter's (19 year-old) car, we didn't get wood split prior to the snow arriving.  Hubby and daughter had my car all night, and never got home until almost 2am.  I was furious.  The roads were terrible, and I received a message they were on the way at 8:30pm.  By 11:40pm I was calling.  Here it took Youngest to drive 1 1/2 hours to pick Hubby up, when it should have taken about 30 minutes or so.   So here I am, up at 5am stoking the fire, while those two are sound asleep.  I'm tempted to bang a lot of pots and pans right now.

Normalcy

We've hit the 20's here lately, and dipping into the teens at night.  The cold can really get to you, but I'm taking advantage of it with indoor jobs etc.

Now that the house is getting back to normal, I can get back to the kitchen.

Garlic powder and granulated garlic was made.  Just one more way to preserve my garlic without a root cellar (basement or proper storage area).  I then use these to make homemade spice/herb mixes, including homemade seasoned salt.

Strained another tincture.  

Found a quick fix for the coop door that leads out to the outside ramp.  It'll go on the inside, so both sides are secured.  I'm without "wheels" again (Big Red just needs replaced in my opinion), so it was work with what I had.  There has been no animal sightings whatsoever.  Hubby feels that the idiots in the woods (most likely illegal hunters) were the cause, but we still don't know.

I still had one daughter's dog (Mia) yesterday.   She is getting homemade food.  Her Mom didn't leave me enough of her dry dog food, so her belly is happy.  She was picked up last night.

I've been trying to squeeze in crochet time to work on the 11 "f" bombs.  I have 7 more to make.  In the midst, I'm getting some plans in motion for Christmas gifts for next Christmas.  Thank goodness for my notebook.

Wacky Weather

The weather is just like any other year here in this state can you have a thunderstorm, hail storm, and snow in 24 hours.  Tuesday it was 52 and warm, no wind.  Suddenly we had a major thunderstorm, which quickly turned into a major hail storm. 

Wednesday morning the snow rolled in, along with cold temps.  I woke up to a stone cold wood stove.  Not good.  Took me forever to heat up the house again.  I think Hubby and I both were just too tired to remember to do the last stoking of the fire.

Dinner has been "on the fly."  One night it was breakfast for dinner - biscuits and sausage gravy, fried potatoes and scrambled "farm fresh" eggs.  

It would have been homemade pizza last night, but someone forgot to restock the mozzarella cheese.  

Here is a better look at my new candy dish.  We joked we'd put celery in it, ha ha!  Not sure what I'll put in it just yet.  Maybe organic mints.

(click here for the instructions)

I started making these ornaments way back in 2014.  Yikes.  As I removed the ornaments from the tree, I realized I had never finished them for some reason.  I will be adding this to my winter list.  First, I'll need to locate the box they are located in, ha ha!  I just may get them done this year.

There has been many breaking and enterings going on.  One recent one was a Cashland not far from home.  Oddly, the driver's ed used to be in the same building but moved over the years.  The guy probably drove past our homestead.  Either way, I'm always on guard and house kept locked.  I have two dogs here too to alert me.  I'm babysitting Mia again.

Warm up ~ Christmas Deconstruction

Tuesday we woke up to a warm 52°F.  It felt wonderful, but the forecast keeps telling us we'll be dipping into very cold temps soon. I love seeing the sunshine this time of year, and we are getting it off and on now.

Christmas deconstruction is finally done.  There were 4 more totes not in the photo and the trees of course.  These all went back into storage.  Whew!  See that red candy dish on the table?  I bought it at an antique store while on our recent trip. I love it!

I don't have to worry about putting gifts in places.  We did not get anything from anyone but one family member - Hubby got flip flops and a tape measure and I got a ceramic angel.  The angel went in the Christmas totes for next year.

The packing up and taking down wore me out, so no crochet work was done.  Hopefully I will have time today, after tidying up and cleaning one bathroom.  I still have more to get done off my to-do list this week too.

I got my thank you notes written, but need to get them in the mailbox today.  These were written to thank one local lady that makes chocolate truffles where we vacationed, and one to a local business not from our our home. 

As for the mysterious opening of the chicken coop run...I had doubts until the other morning.  I found the bottom of one of the heavy sliding barn doors pulled out, as if a large animal went in.  Those are heavy doors too.  Hubby and I doubted a raccoon could get that latch open, but we considered it.  I got out my handy dandy small animal trap and will set it.  We may or may not find out what it is.  

Question ~ Tidbits

Question:  I use organic whole cloves often.  Where is a good place to buy it bulk?  And what's the best way to store it (freezer?)?  

Can raccoons open a barrel-slide style door latch?  I went out yesterday to find all my chickens outside.   The horror!  All were accounted for, but only 2 eggs.  I got 7 the day prior, even in this cold weather.  Only I let them out or in, and it was getting cold (so the ladies and gent stay in).  Someone or something opened the latch on the door to the ramp that goes outside.  It's a tough, tight latch and you have to lift the door slightly to get the latch all the way open.  We heard gun shots out there the evening prior, and hunters were stopped by a Sheriff yesterday not far up the road.  

I'm going to talk to Hubby, but a game camera should be put up for now and I may have to secure the outside (and the inside).  


New item over at my Rooster's Crow Farm Blogspot.

Ship's Helm dishcloths/doilies.

Also available are headbands/ear warmers.
More colors are being added soon, so check back often.

By the way, hot banana pepper relish is fantastic in a grilled tuna/cheese sandwich.  Yum!

Nothing like hunting for hours for a paper cutter, then realizing a kiddo took it when they moved out.  And that was just the case, and she forgot to bring it when she came over too.  Ugh.  Kids.   That project can wait I guess.