Winter Medicinal Prep

Started a  jar of sage tincture.

Started another jar of mullein tincture

Dehydrated sage for meals and for medicinal tea and for recipes.  I use it to make homemade sausage, pumpkin sage mac n' cheese and other recipes.  I didn't have much to harvest as one plant is half dead, so I had to dig out my small dehydrator for that small job.

Started a jar of Four Thieves Vinegar.

Froze medicinal basil pesto (Rosemary Gladstar recipe)

Made a medicinal jar of thyme honey (Rosemary Gladstar).  I also have her recipe for Thyme Syrup.  That only lasts 4-6 weeks, so I have an indoor plant for that this winter.

Started one jar of elderberry elixir.

Put organic ginger root in the freezer.  I just rinse, dry, wrap up and place in a freezer bag.  It is used for ginger tea, homemade ginger ale and other recipes.  Ginger root itself has so many healthy benefits overall, I make sure I have it on hand at all times, especially when the snow is flying.  Which reminds me, I need to stock up on club soda for the ginger ale as well.

Planted basil seeds for an indoor pot resource. Lots of good benefits from it and I use it in recipes.  It's already sprouting.

I also restocked organic pineapple juice.  I use it for not just recipes, but it's great to have on hand for colds and coughs as well as the health benefits.  I use it to make homemade teriyaki sauce too.

Tuesday Tidbits

Now that Hubby is on night shift we had Monday morning open to run errands, so we also visited his sister.  I got my watch battery changed and finally dropped off jewelry to get repaired too.  We finally picked up a two receipt on daughter's car so now I can submit that for a refund.

My new garlic has not arrived.  I'm getting concerned that it's getting late to fall plant now.  I hope it arrives soon.

We got up to a high of 87°F yesterday and boy it was hot!  Heat index was 94°F.

We made southwestern black bean burritos again. We love this stuff.  I didn't have the right tomatoes, and walking out to the pathetic tomato patch was out of the question.  I used organic canned fire roasted and it worked out great.  I also used home grown green bell pepper vs. red.  That's what we had.

It'll be hot again today.  Once again I have to adjust my routine with Hubby sleeping after his night shift.  I hope to get crochet time.  We have been so busy lately, I've been fighting to get crochet time.

Happy Homemaker Monday

We had a wonderful weekend.  We spent two days with our daughter's family and grand-kids.  Oh my gosh we had loads of fun, and saw her laugh, made the kids giggle and what not.  It did a world of good for them all.  

We also gave her the necklace we put together, along with this bracelet.

From left to right, "Just Breathe" a cross, "Guardian Angel" angel wing, his birthstone, and the first letter of his name.  She loved them both.

Also, after two months of not riding, I finally got my biker boots on (right foot wasn't easy to get on, and very tight) and went on a ride.  We also visited Hubby's sister in the nursing home.  Felt great to ride too.

Other sort of good news....Hubby is trying to get in touch with our 21 year-old, to see if she'll bring Jesse here for a visit with me.  Oh happy day if it happens.  I'll be sure to post too.

Today I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

On the breakfast plate . . .
Have no idea yet.  Hubby is still in bed at the time of posting this.  He doesn't go to work until tonight.


The weather outside is . . .
It's pouring down rain this morning, but they say a high of 90° in some areas later today.  Crazy weather, but so glad for the rain.  I hope it plumps up both types of peppers out in the garden.  It's the last hoorah for the garden as far as weather goes.  Then I start yanking.


On my reading pile . . . 
Still reading the same book.


On my TV . . .
Whatever we find good on Amazon, otherwise I have movies on order at the library.


On the menu . . .
-Southwestern black bean burritos
-pasta/pesto, veggie
-four beans and sausage
-meatball cabbage rolls


On the to-do list . . .
Laundry
Dishes
Dehydrate sage
Grocery store trip
Visit Hubby's sister and take her some pretty flowers 
Start cleaning up and tidying up one bedroom
(shortest to-do list you'll ever see, ha ha!)
Turn air conditioning back on (should be the last day for it)



What I am creating . . .
Current project is to finish a set of pot holders that someone ordered from me.


Looking around the house . . .
It's not too shabby, but some rooms need major tidy control.


From the camera . . .

I have nothing on the camera (other than lots of pictures of the grand kids).  The last thing was the island trip.  Boy do we miss them both.  I think the island may be calling us just one more time if we can swing it.  Hubby is going to nights for a while.  We can't make any plans until we know how long.  Could be a few days, a week, two weeks, three weeks.....


On my prayer list . . .
Me (leg), our daughter and her family who lost their son, our family, my friend's mother who is in the hospital with pneumonia, and other personal requests.

Random Tidbits

There is so much on our plate lately, it's making our heads spin.  I don't know why, but they are taking forever to get things done for his sister in the hospital.

Meanwhile, our daughter "T" who lost her son, is having a horrible time getting through each moment of every day.  We will be making a visit soon.  I'm thinking all take them some baked mac n' cheese.  I made a pan of it for our niece and her family (the ones with the new baby) and we got word back that they all loved it, and one little one who hates cheese ate three helpings of it.  It's definitely a crowd pleaser.

I'm still tapping my fingers, waiting on the doctor's office to call me.  I can't wait to get my leg taken care of and get back to a regular visit to the garden.  I have to start yanking stuff before the snow flies.  

I didn't get a lick of anything done Friday.  Youngest had no school, so we spent the first part of the day shopping for a homecoming dress and shoes, which we found.  The later part of the day we spent shopping for a car for our 20 year-old.  We found one, cross your fingers she can get a loan for it.  We test drove it and it has air conditioning (no more open windows for that gal, lol!).  I was so tired last night.

We are getting rain, so I'm not picking peppers today.  Maybe tomorrow.  Maybe even dig into the potato patch and see whats lurking there.

Please say a prayer for my husband. He had a stress headache last night, and I told him to please take care of himself as I need him too.  He is stretching himself mentally.  It's horrible to get a call from your daughter, crying so hard he can't understand her, after she came across her babies clothes while doing laundry.  We are trying to be there for her for all her needs right now.

Friday One Liners

Cloudy sunrise, but pretty.

Pure happiness, and first jalapenos to go in the freezer.

Harvest of our green bell peppers is small and peppers are small, but I'm just happy to have some to freeze for winter meals.

Started two jars of mullein tincture.

Started one jar of sage tincture.

This and That

Here is a photo of the vintage tablecloth I bought while on the island last weekend.  I love it!  I need more of the longer ones too.

Overnight breakfast casserole has been made and baked.  We love this one.  It's spicy but good!  I don't make it often, as it's loaded with sausage.  I'll be playing around with homemade sausage to see if I can whip up a better flavor and much healthier.

I finally got a few bunches of swiss chard in the freezer.  I lso froze the stems for saute's with the leaves, or to mix in with celery and onion as well this winter.  I blanched the leaves for 2 minutes and the stems for 3 minutes (bagged separately).

We finally got our Kelley's Island Christmas ornament in the mail.  She only made 200 and I ordered it during our July trip there.  It's our first island ornament to go on our Christmas tree this winter.

Well, we are going through another rough patch with family and health.  Hubby's sister  "P" was in the hospital twice, and then moved to a bigger hospital one hour away.  Emergency surgery was scheduled for Wednesday.  My husband went to the hospital very early to see his sister prior to surgery (which is now delayed until they drain her infection).  I had to stay home because it takes me took long to re-bandage my leg and get ready.  Honestly, I was afraid to go, so I'm glad I was home.  I can't risk catching any germs with my leg procedure coming up.  By the way, I'm just waiting on the insurance to approve one of two possible procedures.  One is a quick in-and-out where the veins stay in, and the other is invasive, I'm put under and the veins removed.

While he was up at the hospital, I had plenty to keep myself busy, along with the puppy (who is doing great by the way).  I had one mess of a kitchen.  I got the tables completely cleaned off (they sure can pile up when the wifey is not able to do it).  I had boxes, dry teas, the griddle, my mixer, blender, food processor, and a lot more that needed to be put away.  It was nice at the end of the day to have vintage tablecloths donning the clean tables (we have two, for large gatherings).

I'm glad I had time to do some de-cluttering and tidy up time.  I uncovered my pre-pay form for propane, which saves us almost $100 on our next fill up.  The deal was expiring 9-30, so I am so glad I found that and got that done.

We also had a birth in the family.  We have another grandnephew now.  

Garden Goodness Arrives!

Yep.  You read the title of this post correctly.  I'm so glad we are getting "something" from this garden.  I picked these last Monday morning - 4.5# of hot goodness.   I have more on the plants too.

We also enjoyed a homegrown bell pepper and some of those jalapenos for dinner - southwestern black bean burritos (and they were delicious!).

I canned one batch of cowboy candy.  I have forgotten how long it takes to slice up the peppers.  I'm just happy I got some canned.

So happy to get something from the garden this year.  Now I sort of feel on the normal side again.  I have green bell peppers out there yet too.  I'm waiting until after this week's rain, in hopes for some to get a bit bigger.