Happy Homemaker Monday

 We had another fantastic weekend (birthdays/Mother's Day) getaway.  Why not.  We are doing much more travel this year.  We went to Amish country.  We really didn't have anything in mind, other than re-stock some organic/non-gmo items, pick up some cheeses, and maybe dine at the brewery.  You'd think they would have a big yarn store in that area, but they do not. They do have a fabric outlet.  Anyway, it was our first trip in 2 years.

The menu was changed at one of the restaurants we love to go to, and they took our favorite meal off of it.  

We came home to 37°F, snow and thunder.  What a messy day, but Mother's Day overall was nice.  We delivered flowers, 6 bottles of wine, chocolate, and a travel tote bag to my Mom's.

Came home to gifts and flowers from the girls.

Good thing I checked the rhubarb before we left.  I had to cut those blooms off.  I will however, need to cover it again for the next few days, as we dip into the low 30's (ugh).

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

I will link up when she posts this morning.

The weather outside is . . .

58°F/37°F, cold

How I am feeling this morning . . .

Rejuvenated.  Ready to take on the day, but will try and relax.

On the breakfast plate .  .  .

I have no idea yet.  I need to bake something for the next few days.

On my reading pile . . .

I bought this book at the flea market over the weekend.  I met the author too.  It's her life story growing up and leaving Vietnam.  I'll let you know if it's good or not.

On my TV . . .

Whatever we find on Netflix

On the menu this week . . .

-baked mac' n cheese, green beans

-walleye (locally caught and gifted to us)

-have no idea. . . .will check the freezer/pantry later today

From the camera  . . .

Something new in Berlin.  We got this for dinner one night and took it to the hotel.  A local guy was in line just to buy their BBQ sauces.  

Traffic is always crazy in Berlin.  They don't have a light here, and so often they have an officer there to stop traffic and let people in and out.

Looking around the house . . .

One daughter actually cleaned up the living room while we were gone, but she did not do the dishes (no surprise there).

To relax this week, I will . . . 

Read or crochet

Something I want to share . . .

Our hotel actually had a breakfast this time.  It was not a brown bag breakfast, but biscuits and gravy, waffles, boiled eggs, etc.  The only thing they didn't bring back yet, was the scrambled eggs and bacon/sausage.

Devotional, Inspirational, prayer list or Bible verse . . .

Random Tidbits

The gloom and doom of gray skies here is taking the zip out of my zoom.  We are so ready for some sunny skies.  The weather has been rain and clouds lately.  Oh, and colder weather.

The rain however, is bringing up more asparagus for us.

It's been an exciting week too.  We have our birthdays to celebrate (5 days apart, husband and I), and Mother's Day.  I was actually born on Mother's Day.  We are focusing on our good times this week.  

Daughter E looked at more apartments yesterday.  Oh, she got a raise at work too, which is good news.

I replanted my organic/non-gmo habanero seeds.  Nothing so far.  I even looked for plants while I was out the other day.  Nothing.  It's not yet time to plant the garden/flowers, so I have some time yet.  I'm on the look out for two types of hot pepper plants.  I have many more places to check as well.

Normally, I can make a set of hot pads (including the edging) with 2, 2 oz. balls of cotton yarn.

I was stumped when I got the second piece done using the first ball of yarn.  I literally had almost nothing left.  I then weighed the other ball.  It was correct in weight.  I may need to edge them with another color.  Unless I can find the same color at the store I found this yarn at.  I'm sure the first ball was less than 2 oz.  I'll figure it out after I get the second one done.

I worked on the second hot pad last night and realized I didn't have enough yarn for the second one too.  I did some checking and my balls of yarn I used for the previous ones were 2.5 oz.  So....balls sold in stores now are smaller and higher prices.  I guess I'm ordering my next yarn online.

Sheet Pan Eggs

 

I finally got around to try out sheet pan eggs.  I baked them at 350°F for 12 minutes.  Yolks are cooked, but soft.  You could adjust temp and time for what you like, but it worked out well.   I used my organic shortening that had coconut oil in it to grease the pan.  It did not change the flavor of the eggs either.  Farm fresh eggs are so delicous.

Have leftovers?  These heated nicely for egg sandwiches for breakfast the next morning.

This and That

Yesterday was a day into town.  Twice.  First I had a haircut with Daughter E, then a few errands, and I could not find hanging baskets that I like (for the front porch).  Second, we all went out for dinner for my husband's birthday. I got out of cooking dinner for the night, ha ha!  He picked Mexican, so that's where we went.

I started on Daughter T's hot pads.  She is getting the color "Swimming Pool."  I will do some sorting of the cotton I have and getting a plan for using it up.  I have many colors they discontinued.

Thoughts while entering a new garden year. . .

I don't have to can cowboy candy this summer.  We have plenty from last year to eat up.

Corn.  Well, I have plenty in the freezer, but I noticed I can freeze it in smaller amounts. I may buy the same amount this year but gift my Mom some of it (frozen and fresh).

Green peppers.  We have two bags left in the freezer and we were so happy to not have to buy any from harvest up until this last bag is gone.  So happy we planted so many.

Garlic.  We are still enjoying last year's harvest.  I will most likely need to make garlic powder this coming fall.

I'd like to locate a new meat supplier to stock that up this year.  Organic/non-gmo of course.

I'd like to plant popcorn this year.  We didn't the last few years due to weather issues.

We exhausted our frozen tomatoes a while back.  I'll need to up that number this year. 

We are still getting asparagus, but will be planting more this year.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Today is the day Daughter E looks at the apt.  I'm still not ready for this. I finished her hot pads.

She loves them.  Go figure, the color Daughter T wants light blue.  I have one ball in all the yarn I have.  Wal-mart is a sorry place to shop for the yarn I love anymore.  They are selling a different brand, and balls are smaller.  I don't like what Hobby Lobby sells (higher price) and Meijer doesn't sell much of it (cotton).  My husband picked out a variegated blue.  I will be checking with her to see if she likes it or not.

I haven't even thought about my to-do list yet.  It's been a weekend of riding.  Our birthdays are coming up, so we are talking about that, and dinner plans.  

One of the bike rides we had planned, was to head to the cemetery to place my solar cross on Dad's plot, but Hubby invited others to ride, and we ended up elsewhere.  That's okay, it's sort of a private thing to do on our own anyway, so the cross light is still in the saddle bag.

I know I need to make some egg salad for a quick lunch.  I need to check laundry, and figure out a day to go get my hair cut, but otherwise I haven't drawn up a to-do plan this week. Oh, I need to make homemade laundry soap for sure.

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

The weather outside is . . .

Rain.  68°F/61°.  A lot of rain in the forecast over the next two weeks.  I sure hope we can get some tilling and planting in.  It will also make hardening my plants difficult.

How I am feeling this morning . . .

Exhausted.  We rode the bike all weekend, and even had the largest group on Sunday (21 bikers), but the wind was horrible.

On the breakfast plate . . .

I most likely make a breakfast casserole.  We had burritos last week, so I'd like to eliminate the flour.

On my reading pile . . .

Nothing.  Mostly your blogs ha ha!  I just haven't been in the reading kind of mood.  I'm starting to think I'm a vacation or seasonal type of reader.  I tend to take a book to the island, but end up playing cards or going to listen to live music.  I tend to crochet on long truck rides vs. read too.

On my TV . . .

Godless, Netflix

Greater.  Based on a true story.  I bawled my eyes out.  If you want to see what my daughter looked like when she found out her boyfriend died in an accident, the mother's reaction was similar to hers.

On the menu this week . . .

-slow cooker tomato basil chicken, quoina, roasted rosemary asparagus

-sheet pan dinner

-baked chicken, veggie

-leftovers

From the camera . . .

Looking around the house . . .

Well, I've almost finished the spring cleaning in the master bedroom, so my options are the utility room and room leading to garage.  If Daughter E moves out, it'll be the master walk-in closet first.  

To relax this week, I will . . .

I honestly have no idea.  I normally crochet.  We'll see I guess.

Something I want to share . . .

I tired two new recipes last week.  Just zip on over to my previous post for the recipe links.

Devotional, inspirational, prayer list or Bible verse . . .

From Pile to File ~ New Recipes Tried

French Onion Dip.  I wanted to try this out for family cook outs etc.   Made with fresh onion and garlic, and gruyere cheese.  We found it good, but felt leaving it in the fridge the night before thickened it and tasted better than when we tasted it right after making it.  Also, using less than the 1/4 cup of milk (it's suggested to add the milk last until the desired thickness).  Of course I adapted organic ingredients and used home grown garlic, but we liked it.  The recipe is online with I am a baker.

Sorry, I didn't get a photo.

I made these too.  First time for me to ever make soft pretzels.  I used the recipe from  Served from Scratch.  The only problem I had...

They stuck to the parchment paper.  I had to slice them off basically.  I did exactly what the recipe said to do - lightly grease the paper.  Anyone have any suggestions on the next time I bake these?  So they don't stick?

They were very good!