Fun Finds: Battery Operated Farmhouse Light ~ Dish Towels

 

I found this battery operated light for the bathroom re-do.  I just love it.  I'm trying to find another one the same color for the other bathroom.  They will come in handy during power outages vs. lighting a candle.  It was the only they had, and not sold online.  I am having my daughter check stores, as I am so dang super busy in the garden.

Snagged these for $.50/each

I love this one!  I could only find one, but for $1.00!  And of course the last one they had as well.  I like this one the best.

I found this post in my drafts from last year, ha ha!  Well, it's getting posted.  Oh, and the battery operated lights have come in handy.

Happy Homemaker Monday

We sort of had shopping plans, and ended up at another Wal-mart first.  I finally found a lot of white ribbon, and a few other colors, but still need pink and peach.  Only $.47 a roll, but only 20 feet per roll.  Anyway, I was very happy to locate some.  Now this means the next crochet project ha ha - baby booties.

The weekend went by way too fast.  A lot work that we planned to do on the house did not happen.

Today I will be joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

I will link up when she posts.

The weather . . .

Thunderstorms today, and a possibility of snow this coming weekend.

As I look outside my window . . .

The sun is starting to come up.

Right now I am . . .

Brewing another pot of coffee.

Thinking and pondering . . .

We are considering removing the bedroom carpet next.  Not sure when, but next on the list, as I get back to painting.  I have a door to paint in the utility room (for a cubbie) as well.

On my bedside table . . .

Water, two framed photos, and a few lozenges.

On my TV Today . . .

We just finished watching 1923, so not sure what will be next.

Listening to . . .

80's while I do housework.

On the lunch plate . . .

I have no idea yet.

On the dinner plate . . .

Burgers

On the menu . . .

-burgers, veggie

-chicken fajitas

-leftovers

On my reading pile . . .

On the to-do list . . .

-make homemade turkey sage sausage
-make a breakfast

-sweep/mop
-laundry
-dishes
-run dishwasher

-water seedlings

-take yarn, craft supplies upstairs
-start cleaning up bedroom to prep for carpet removal (probably will take a few weeks or more, as the carpet is in the walk-in closet too.

Plans for this week . . .

No plans, other than to get back to home repairs/renovations

What I am creating . . .

I'm still working on a blanket for us.  Trying to finish a scarf.

My simple pleasure . . .

Journaling.

Looking around the house . . .

I need to take some yarn upstairs that I have collected from around the house.

From the camera . . .

Bible Verse, Devotional, Prayers . . .

Seedling Heat Mat

 First time to try using a seedling heat mat to start the hottest of the hot peppers.  I typically do not have any problems starting my jalapenos, but the hotter peppers like the Serrano etc. I do.

I bought my heat mat online, and about $10.00 less than at our hardware/garden store (be sure to check reviews).

The one I bought was a simple, plug it in and put your seed tray on it.  There were a lot of "don'ts" so I put my mat and tray on my wood stove hearth (we are not using the wood stove right now).

In 6 days the serrano pepper seeds started to sprout.

In 7 days the cayenne started to sprout.

In 9 days the Datil started sprouting.  Did you know these are native to St. Augustine, FL?  I just learned this fun fact.

In 10 days the Cherry Bomb peppers, and Anaheim peppers started to sprout.

My hot banana have not sprouted yet (those were saved seeds), so I will keep an eye on that.  So far, it's helped the hot peppers to sprout much better than without the mat.  My jalapeno are not on the heat mat and have all sprouted.

Sprouts for my Chickens

I'm growing sprouts for my ladies (chickens) right now.  So easy to do, healthy and fun for the chickens, and in expensive to do.

I bought a large splatter screen at the nearest Dollar Tree store.  You can of course, order a seed sprout lid online as well.

I then used my quart jar to draw a template, and then cut those out to match the tops of the jars.  Simple right?

Fill your quart jar with water to the top.  Each day, soak, dump and rinse.  You can get complete instructions online (never leave them soak over night).

After each day of that process, I let it sit upside down on a towel for a bit.  I wanted to make sure all of the older water was out before leaning the jar on it's side, and covering with a towel.  It gets air flow, and sprouts grow this way.  They have gadget kits for standing your jar(s) tilted.  I'm just easy peasy, use what I have right now.

In about 3-4 days your sprouts will look like this.  Fun for the ladies and healthy for them too. 

Has anyone sprouted other grains or beans for their chickens? So far, I have only used green lentils.  

Freezer Clean Out ~ Finds ~ Frozen Tomato Line Up

Painting  has been paused.  I wish I could be in the gardens, getting them ready, as the temperature warmed up to the low 60's.  It's so wet out there from the down pour we got.

I, instead, did a freezer clean out.  It wasn't too bad actually, but I rotated some, so the older was on top in the meat drawer.  I did find a small bag of jalapenos from 2021 (sheesh).  Oh and some homemade sweet potato butter that didn't make the cut.

I made a list of what was in stock, and meals will be made as I rotate items out.  I noticed I still have a good amount of tomatoes in the freezer, so I may be focusing on that first.  I hate to have them wasted.  

What's cooking this weekend?  First, walleye.  It's the last bag in the freezer.  

While digging around for a box of homemade vanilla (I need to refill my kitchen bottle), I saw a grocery bag with stuff in it.  Odd.  Ha!  Not sure how it ended up in my closet, but I found boxes of canning lids and some bond tape.  I decided to do an inventory check on canning lids when I put them away.

I had plans for that tape last summer, but last year was a bit stressful.  I hope to get that done this summer and share.  I noticed it is 3/4 inch width, and I need about 1/2 inch.  It went in my sewing box.

(seedlings under a grow lamp)

Anyway, I mostly had a mundane day, but feel good I got the freezer in order.  I feel  like most mornings I do not get to enjoy my coffee, as I am either unloading the dishwasher, baking, cooking, doing dishes, laundry, taking care of floors, the trash, the chickens. tending to my garden seedlings....so, I make time for coffee, crochet....

...the cooking channel.  I have been learning a lot on here, and have taken down some notes on tips and tricks.  With all of our upcoming repairs/builds and renovations, I feel like I should be watching "This Old House" ha ha!

What I learned:

Use a whisk instead of a spatula when folding ingredients.

Brush oil on your tortilla when making a stove top quesadilla vs. putting oil in the pan. Use 8 inch, fold, and sprinkle oiled sides with salt to make them crispy.

I wrote up a list of menu ideas for my frozen tomatoes, frozen tomato sauce and canned sauce.  I'm sure there are recipes I make I'm not thinking of right now, but...

Chili

Crockpot Sweet potato Chili

Goulash

Crockpot Fiesta Chicken and Black Beans

Slow Cooker Chicken Bolognese Pasta

Crockpot Enchilada Shredded Chicken (Healthy Fix-it and Forget it Cookbook)

Taco Stew

Wandering Thoughts

Last weekend was a bit rough.  It's been one year since Mom's passing.  Doesn't seem like it's been a year either.  Rough weekend, but glad the kids came to visit.  I'm getting flowers together to take to the cemetery, but still need a base with styrofoam for them.  I forgot to check dollar tree for those, but on the to-do list.  Anywho, missing Mom hit hard.  

Oh boy did we get rain yesterday.   I had to run around the house and check all the drain spout extensions.  Sheesh, talk about squishy, flooded yard.

I, like a dummy, rammed my little toe and I got a very nasty bruise.  I should have taken before and after, because the bruise is almost gone in 3 days using my homemade comfrey salve.  I believe the salve was also made with some plantain in it.  Anyway, the power of medicinal weeds is mind blowing.

Fun Fact:  Did you know a "chipotle" pepper is a ripened (red on the vine) jalapeno, smoked and then dried?  I looked into making my own canned chipotle peppers in adobo, and learned this.  Anyway, we do not own a smoker, nor a charcoal grill.  I'm putting making these on the back burner for now, but definitely on the try it list.

My progress on our blanket.  I absolutely love how I rotated the white between the black and gray yarn.  Love it!  I measured it, and if I am correct, I need about 8-10 more sections of each color to finish it.  Since I started with soft white then gray, I would like to end it the same on the top of it.

Daughter K and her fiancé came and picked up this blanket. 

The only blue pair of baby booties I currently have in my inventory.  They are on their way to a Mom in Hawaii.  Very thankful for the sale.  I still cannot locate more satin ribbon in white, baby blue, pink and peach.  I use white a lot.

Over the weekend, I came downstairs with about 4 skeins of yarn.  My husband laughed and asked, "do we have a store up there?"  Ha ha ha!  I may actually run out of yarn for our blanket.  Knocking on wood that I have enough, because the last trip to Wal-mart they had zero of all three colors, and I bought the last gray one at another Wal-mart at another store.  I'm going to do another check on my stash this week.  I'm just preparing for another blanket if I have to pause our blanket.

The last few years have been a whirlwind, and I missed some comments on my "store" blog.  Mother Em, if you are still reading my blogs, I have gone thru my boxes of inventory and have the items below:

Scarf:  $20.00, Hat:  $10.00

Cross bookmarks in the colors that are in the photo:  $5/each

Wine bottle gift bags in the colors that are in the photo:  $5.00/each.

Shipping depends on where you live and how much I am shipping.  Also, payments can be sent via a check or paypal.

Let me know if you'd still like any of these.  And again, so sorry for missing your inquiry.  Last year alone was a whirlwind with Mom's health.

Barbacoa Beef ~ Sausage Gravy Dutch Baby

 I sort of followed a recipe for the crock pot Barbacoa beef that my husband requested.  I didn't brown the meat, but used a technique to help create a tender meat at the end of the cook time.

(How dinner turned out and topped with red onion and cilantro - delicious!)

While the meat was cooking in the crockpot, I made a breakfast, using my smaller cast iron pan - Sausage Gravy Dutch Baby.  I completely forgot to top it with green onion.  I have some in the freezer.  Our outside green onion is not weather ready yet.

I don't think I have ever made one of these before, but it is soooo good!  I would add more scrambled eggs next time on top, and I used my own homemade sausage gravy (vs.  just sprinkling the sausage and drizzling gravy).  Plus, it's only a 1/2 lb. of sausage, so I have the other half already cooked now for pizza this week.  We will freeze half of the beef we made too, and that will be great to have on hand for another meal night.

I think I used every utensil, bowls, pans, and even my food processor and blender, but I got a it all done, and it will last for a few days thankfully.

Funny thing happened.  I watched America's test kitchen while I took a break and crocheted.  I learned some things on frying fish in a pan, and the funniest part was that they gave tips on cooking Mexican dishes.  They also shared a recipe for fresh salsa (not news to me), but funny it was the same day I was cooking a Mexican beef taco dinner.  By the way, they said when you make quesadillas, brush oil on the sides after you fold it over for a more crisp tortilla vs. putting oil in the pan.

We have rain today, and warning of freezing rain.  Lovely.  Not what we needed, and they are saying the wettest day we've had in 2 years.  It's gonna be a muddy mess out there.  My fall planted garlic will love it though.