Something I Learned

 

(not my photo)  I learned something new.  We were browsing at an antique store this year, and my husband and another couple were trying to figure out what this tool was used for.  It's a board with spikes going upward. 

It was used in Colonial days to run the fibers of flax stems through.  Flax was used to make fibers of thread to create linen.  Ha! Now we know.

Freezing Strawberries and other Tidbits

 

I finished freezing the strawberries. I may have more to freeze, but the chickens got the sweet tops I took off.

The oregano that was dehydrating is all in a jar for cooking. I cleaned out one freezer, took notes on what needs rotated out and got my grocery list written down.  I have one container of cottage cheese and one of sour cream, so those were taken out and thawed to make Salmon Romanoff.

We eat way less pasta than we used to eat. It's mostly been a meat and vegetable lately.

I have a large cast iron pot that I badly need to re-season, but it's too hot to do that right now.  I'll wait for a cooler day for that job.  The black layer is peeling off, and according to instructions from the company who makes them, states to re-season a couple of times and the pot will be restored.

We are seeing more deer and rabbits this year.

New blooms in the flower bed.

My snapdragons are about to snap open.  I sure hope I have some pretty colors. It's been years since I have had snapdragons.  

The ladies were treated with ice chips in the heat.  Again, awful photo.  On my phone it looks great, not transferred to computer for some reason.  I guess I will start using my camera.

My husband put gas in the truck and it was $3.15/gallon, but with our grocery store points he was able to save $.70/gallon thankfully.  Prices are up on just about anything right now.  I'm trying to limit trips to town to avoid expensive fill-ups.  It's not like I'm lacking in a to-do list.

Grilling ~ New Recipe Tried ~ Dehydrating

 

We got more rain yesterday and woke up to a foggy start for the day.  More rain possible today.

Santa Fe Chicken Fajita marinade (for the grill). First time in a year to have to buy organic bell peppers.  There is a cold salad/relish that is great with this, but I do not have a green pepper.

New recipe tried - Strawberry Cheesecake Ice box Pie.  Yeah, I cheated on the crust, but I didn't have the crust ingredients on hand.  I froze it, then topped it with remaining whipped cream and froze again.   It's been tried and sampled.  It's not thick like a cheesecake, but more on the lighter side.  Everyone loved it.  The strawberries are pureed with a bit of orange juice.  I think it was called an "ice cream" pie, but I'll look for it and link it up here later.

9 trays of oregano went into the dehydrator.

I got my green onion starts in the ground before the rain arrived again.

 

Strawberry Season

 

Today I'll be freezing most of these bad boys.  We have already had a cold strawberry pie, but there is one more frozen one I would like to try.  It's been hot, hot, hot here, so frozen sounds great.

We got lots of rain yesterday, but it stopped shortly after dinner time and the sun came out.  Our road almost flooded, but this year, a farmer's son came out and cleaned the drain that goes from his field to a branch of the river and then out to the river.  Thankfully it drained.  However, more rain is in the forecast.

I feel like my to-do list keeps getting bigger and bigger ha ha!  I am trying to balance some indoor jobs based on when the rain is going on outdoors.

My additional grow bags finally arrived, so we'll be busy filling those this week.  Our mower quit on us.  We had to borrow a trailer an haul a borrowed mower in for our "mower guy."  Hopefully we can get ours fixed.  

The garden work has put a huge limit on my handiwork time.  Heck, reading a book has been on halt for a long time too.  

Sigh....me inwardly groaning about what I need to get done today, ha ha!  Oh boy.  

Blooms ~ Household Tip

 

My comfrey bloomed for the first time ever.

More bell flower blooms

Household tip:  It took almost a dozen purchases, to find the sink strainer basket replacement that actually fit the sink.  I'm not kidding either.  I finally found one that fit, so the label with part number is being taped inside my cupboard under the kitchen sink.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I hope your weekend was fantastic!  We had a fabulous getaway to our favorite island, and it was much needed.  We noticed that we feel so much better mentally after a getaway.

Every marina on the island was packed with all types of boats.  The weather was great for our getaway.  We listened to live music on the waterfront, had good food (but expensive this year), went to two beaches and visited with our friends over there.

A one scoop waffle cone that our one daughter wanted, was $8.00 (cash only).  All food overall was higher in price, and one restaurant is not making their famous wings this summer (due to lack of supply from their personal supplier).

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

I will link up when she posts today.  I have to get outside to water the garden and flower beds early.  It's going to be a hot one today.

The weather . . .

80's, sunny, slight chance of rain

On my reading pile . . .

On my TV . . .

Heartland

On the menu . . .

-grilled brats, camper potatoes

-sheet pan fajitas

-grilled marinated steak kabobs

-have no idea, ha ha

On my to-do list . . .

-water the garden (unless it rains)

-run to town for errands

-take stuff to donate

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .

Still working on crocheted water balloons (just soak and toss - eco-friendly).  I haven't had time to work on anything much.

Looking around the house . . .

Daughter K told us she would clean up her messes.  We shall see if that happens.

From the camera . . . 

A few new blooms on the homestead.

Something fun to share . . .

My husband bought me one of these tools from a school fundraiser.  I have had it almost 10 years and used it once.  Didn't like it.

Last week, I was watching a cooking show and learned something new.  The good ol' potato masher works better at working ground meat than the tool I used to have.  I tried the cook's tip out on some ground sausage and it worked so much better.  Why haven't I ever thought of this?  Ha ha!

On my prayer list . . .

No requests right now.

Kitchen-ness and Tidbits

 

Crockpot Queso

8 oz. organic pepper jack cheese, shredded

8 oz. organic Monterery Jack cheese, shredded

8 oz. organic cream cheese

1 4-oz. can organic green chilis, drained

2 herb garden green onions, sliced thin

1/2 cup organic whole milk

1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder

Stir together all ingredients in a crockpot.  Cook on low for 4 hours or until melted.  Note:  Some organic canned chili's may differ in size, and you could cube the cheese too, but it will take a bit longer (block cheese makes a creamer dip vs. buying already shredded cheese).  Sorry for the bad photo, but my husband was gobbling it up, ha ha!  I do think it needs maybe a jalapeno next time.

Not sure if this is the reason my biscuits are flaky with layers, but it may be.  I watched a cooking show and if you "shred" the butter vs. cube you get a better rise with the biscuits.  I cube, but them use a butter blender to cut the butter chunks up a bit more.

I baked up some whiskey sticks for snacking.  I needed to use up some organic pretzels I had.

Not the best photo, but I finally got around to making biscuits and gravy for dinner one night.  I could not find my recipe for "fried" apples, so I used a new one and love it.  It's a "copycat" recipe and baked in the crockpot.

So thankful for the rain we got.  My garden and flower beds got a nice soaking.  The rainy days have also helped me get caught up with laundry and other indoor tasks.

One dose of Mother Nature's rain and the garlic ramps were one.  Now, if my radishes come up fast, I see some dip in the making.

I hope everyone is doing well.  I seem to see such a lack of blogposts lately.  Our state is back to normal thankfully.  All restrictions have lifted.  It has been so nice to see people's faces and beautiful smiles again.  I hope your weekend is fabulous!