Weaving

Remember weaving potholders as a child? I always thought it was so much fun. And then those potholders never got used! They were so small and they would melt if they got hot. They got shoved into the back of a kitchen drawer. I don’t even know what happened to those potholders I used to make.

I do remember enjoying the process of making them though. Such a simple thing – weaving over and under, over and under and watching the pattern unfold. It’s a calming process. Kind of like cross stitch I guess. Simple, repetitive actions that slowly turn into these beautiful pieces of art.

This one is made with wool loops dyed with goldenrod. It is not near as vibrant as the pictures show. More muted shades of golds and greens. It is absolutely stunning. And to think something as simple and plentiful as goldenrod was used.

I ran across an advertisement the other day and was intrigued. The same process from when I was a child only using a nice metal loom and colorful cotton loops. And all of these beautiful patterns to try. A finished product that you could actually use. So I decided to give it a try.

This one was made using wool loops dyed with walnuts. Probably my favorite so far.

And then, I discovered these naturally dyed loops. And the loops are wool. Oh my goodness. I love, love the idea of all natural. So much fun to see what you end up with. No two loops look the exact same color. So very very prim – just my style! And you can buy natural, undyed loops. Maybe I will give dying a try one of these days!

This one was made with cotton loops. Drew picked out the colors and the pattern. It think it turned out beautiful!

I love the bigger loom and the bigger size potholder. They are nice and thick and will be perfect for those hot dishes that come out of the oven. No worries about the countertop or worries over the potholder melting. Now I need to try to dig out my old smaller loom so I can make smaller potholders. I think they would work great for coffee and tea mug rugs!

This one was made with cotton loops. It is just so perfectly fit for Fall!

I can’t get Drew interested in making them. He thinks it looks boring. But he did enjoy picking out colors and a pattern for me to make one! I’m addicted to all the different patterns and designs. It’s just fun to sit down and put some colors together and see what you come up with. Or follow a pattern and try using different colors and seeing how different each one comes out. I want to try all the patterns and all the colors! But I definitely don’t need all the potholders!

A Simple Day

After days of hot and humid weather, the kind that make it miserable to be outside for any length of time, we finally got a break today! I even have the windows open! Perfect weather for hanging laundry on the line. Joe braved the heat last evening to finish up my clothesline for me – bless his heart! After I finished up the supper dishes I went out and helped. And I went to bed last night knowing I was going to get to hang clothes outside in the morning. I get excited about such crazy things! And today the sky is overcast, there’s a beautiful breeze, the temp is down and the humidity is gone. The chickens are even happy!

And I get to look out the open window and see my laundry dancing in the breeze! I get excited over open windows too. I hate having the house shut up – any chance I get the air gets turned off and the windows get opened. I love hearing the birds chirping and the trees rustling and Gilbert (in the picture above) and Matthew perfecting their cock a doodle doo!

I had wanted to learn to can for years and last summer I finally decided to jump in with both feet and teach myself. I asked for the Bell Canning Book for Christmas, purchased my canning supplies and next thing I knew I had jelly, salsa, applesauce and tomato juice all in jars waiting for winter meals! And now it’s canning season again!

The beginning of the tomato harvest. Now my table is covered with bright red tomatoes!

This year I’m finding that it has already become more “natural” to me. I don’t have to read before doing every step. I’m a lot calmer and I’m really enjoying the process. Last week I put up Canndied Jalapenos. I made them last year and Joe and I loved them. So this year, I’m planning to can a lot more of them. So far I’ve put up 8 jars using my tried and true recipe. But I’ve discovered a different recipe that is Trim Healthy Mama approved so I’m hoping to have enough jalapenos to give it a try. We’re working on eating healthier and we’re really loving the THM plan.

This week it’s been salsa. Abby came over Tuesday and we put up 11 pints. She took half and I kept half. Yesterday I put up 9 more. And it looks like I’ll have enough tomatoes and peppers to hopefully do that many more again! We like to eat salsa plain but I also put it in chili and other things so it’s nice to have it canned and ready. Canning for me is another way of living a more simple life. And there is just so much satisfaction in it. Yes, it’s time consuming. It takes a lot of time to harvest, prep and go through the actual canning process. But at the end of the day, you have all these beautiful jars full of summer goodness just waiting to be opened and enjoyed! And I never get tired of listening to that ping that says all is good! Homegrown, healthy ingredients – we know exactly where everything came from. Another step towards living simple!

And I pulled my onions today. My Mom says to never let the August sun touch your onions so no August sun for these guys! Last year I pulled them, chopped them up and put them in the freezer. This year I’m going to try and dry them and keep them in the basement. I’ve got them in the pergola right now drying. There’s lots of shade here so hopefully they will dry alright. I’ll keep an eye on them. Then when they’re dry, I’ll clean them up. Cut the greens off, trim the roots and dust off the dirt that’s left. Then I’ll put them in an old milk crate and store them in the basement and see how it goes. I want to keep freezer space open for our sweet corn so I’m hoping this will work out fine. It stays cool and dark in the basement during the winter so I’m hoping for good results. Again, another step towards that simple living. And the more I can put away for the winter, the less running to town I’ll have to do and less chance for worry when a winter storm hits!

Simple

I’ve been thinking a lot about the word simple. I want to live a more simple life. But when I really think about it, simple might mean something totally different to me than it does to others. By simplifying I want to do things more like those before me did. But this will have to be a balancing act as others in the family might not want to go as far as I would like to! As I was snapping beans today for lunch I was thinking about this and I realized that simplifying for me certainly doesn’t mean making things simple or easy. I could have easily opened up a can of green beans, dumped them in a bowl, stuck them in the microwave and served them. Simple. Instead, I walked out to the garden, picked the beans, snapped them, washed them, put them on the stove and steamed them with a little bit of water, butter and pepper and then put them on the table. Definitely not simple. But, they tasted so delicious. Drew commented on how good the beans were. And I know exactly what was in them and where they came from. After all, I did all the work to get them on the table. Well, almost all the work. Joe tilled up the garden for me this spring. Then I planted the seeds, weeded (sometimes) the garden, kept an eye on them as they grew, picked them, etc., etc. And this wasn’t the first time. I have picked beans several times and have put several quarts in the freezer for winter. That is what simple means to me. The simple act of gardening is so very fulfilling. Lots of work, yes, but so fulfilling knowing where your food is coming from and filling your larder for winter. And it’s what my grandmother did to feed her family. And her mother before her. And what makes the most sense to me.

Not only did we have fresh green beans from the garden for lunch, we had leftover jalapeno popper chicken using jalapenos from the garden, along with cherry tomatoes from the garden, pickles made from last year’s cucumbers from the garden made earlier using Grandma’s recipe and cucumbers and onions using cucumbers from the garden. A very simple meal but oh so fresh and yummy.

Simple. For the past two years I have not had a clothesline. We had a clothesline for years and had struggled with it for years. It was made of metal poles and no matter what we did, we could never keep it so the lines were taught. They would constantly sag. Still usable but not always easy to use. Then Drew drove through it one day with the Mule and took out the lines. I asked Joe if we could get it put back together as I really miss my clothesline. I was thinking we were going to piece the original line back together and it would take a little part of a day and I’d have a usable clothesline again. He had another idea.

Yesterday morning he started digging a couple of holes. Then he sent me to Dad’s to borrow the posthole digger. So I gathered up the garbage, ran it to town to the recycling center, dropped off a dozen eggs to an older friend and past coworker who lives in town and then to Dad’s before heading home. When I got there Dad had me come out back because they had company he knew I would want to see. My Uncle Jerry and Cousin Todd had stopped by for a visit! I was more than glad to spend a few minutes chatting as I never pass up a chance to visit with them. Such a simple thing, spending a few minutes on a Saturday morning visiting with loved ones. Then home with the posthole digger. The holes got dug and next come the poles. We used two poles that were originally part of the old building we tore down last year. To that Joe connected the boards to hold the lines. Again using wood from the old building. After getting the poles all put together, he sanded everything down and painted them. This took all day. Definitely not what I had in mind. But, recycling parts of the old building – that I love! That old building is all over our property now! We are definitely putting the salvaged lumber to use!

Then the next morning we sunk the poles. I added dirt while Joe tamped, and tamped and tamped some more. It took most of the morning to get those two clothesline poles in the ground and secure. Now to let them sit for a few days and really get set. Next we’ll add the hardware and the lines. And I will have a clothesline that should last for ages! We will have to purchase the bolts to hold the lines but everything else will be salvaged. Definitely not a simple project. And if we had done it the way I was thinking it would have been a pretty simple project but it would have been something I would have fought constantly. So, I think Joe is starting to look at things a little differently too. He’s starting to think the same way. No more doing something quickly and easily just to get it done. We’re going to take our time, do it right and have something that will last.

Which brings me back to simple. I am so excited to have a working clothesline again. There’s nothing better than bedding that has been line dried. Oh that smell! And I just enjoy hanging out the laundry. And taking it off the line and folding it as I go. Such a simple thing. Does it save time? Absolutely not. Throwing wet laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and pushing a button to start the drying process. Simple. Carrying wet laundry out to the line, hanging each and every piece up, waiting for it to dry, taking each and every piece off the line, folding it all, carrying it in. Definitely not saving time. But for me, it’s a simple and fulfilling process. And, it saves on electricity and saves on wear and tear on the dryer. For me, this is simplifying. Hanging clothes on the line takes me back to my grandma. I’m not willing to get rid of the washing machine yet, and probably never will. And I can’t see myself out hanging up laundry in the dead of winter when it’s freezing cold and blowing snow. But I always think of all the women before me who hung out their laundry because they had to. Because they didn’t know anything else. You can really slow down and think when you’re outside hanging clothes on the line. It’s another fulfilling home keeping chore. For me, another way to add simple to my days. And going for a walk down to the corn patch is a nice way to end a day of hard work and simple living!

Dandelions

Drew and I harvested dandelions earlier this spring when they first started popping up. Most people I know think of dandelions as weeds but after sketching them in our Nature Journals and doing some research we decided to make some useful items out of them. We have so so many dandelions in our yard and I love them. They remind me of little drops of sunshine all over the ground! And the bees and the chickens enjoy them too.

I decided to make some dandelion lotion bars out of the fresh blooms. And Drew wanted to try frying some blossoms. The lotion bars turned out so sweet and they work wonderfully. Drew wasn’t a huge fan of the fried blossoms. I kind of winged it and they could have used a little more flavor in the breading but it was still fun to try. We harvested quite a few extra blooms to dry for later use. I want to slowly start adding to my stash of dried naturals to have on hand.

Making use of dandelions was fun and a great way to get outside even though it was still an early chilly spring day. And now Drew will pick me little dandelion bouquets now and then when he’s outside playing!

Tea and Cookbooks

I’ve made a batch of sun tea every day since I started making it earlier this week. Joe has been drinking it like crazy since it’s been sooo hot out. Yesterday I decided to make two containers to try and keep up with him! It looks so pretty sitting in the sun!

Does anybody still use these old cookbooks? They were a staple in my house for years. I have a small collection but always went back to the same two.  They are literally falling apart and have to be held together with rubber bands. They are stained and ripped and falling apart and I’ve written in them. I would write the date I tried the recipe and what we liked or didn’t like about it.

I don’t hardly use them anymore. The reason why I even pulled them out was to get an old tried and true no bake cookie recipe.  Now I find myself getting recipes off of Pinterest and Facebook. I print off the ones I like and keep them in a binder. I use my binder all the time – it’s handy because I can pull out the recipe I want, it’s in a plastic sleeve so I don’t worry about it getting dirty or ripped or stained. Or I go to my computer and find recipes I have saved. These “new” ways work great. But I think I need to pull these old books out again. These recipes are tried and true comfort food recipes. They use basics from the pantry. Things I usually always have on hand. And there’s just something about these old books, there’s something about picking out a recipe to make that was submitted by someone I know. A lot of these people are gone now but seeing their names brings back memories. I think the younger generations are missing out on something not having these wonderful old cookbooks to use. They are like old friends to those of us who use them!

Rainy Thursday

We got rain yesterday- 1 1/2″ to be exact. And we needed it. Things were really starting to get dry in our area again. Others in the area got up to 3″. We are very thankful for every drop of it! It was dark most of the day and there was lots of thunder and lightening. It was raining when I got up at 5:00 this morning and it was still raining at noon. We hadn’t had a rainy day like that in months. It was a perfect day for burning candles.

It was also the perfect day for making a pie, Freezer Peanut Butter Pie. I’m not a peanut butter fan but Joe and Drew love it so I thought this would be perfect for the hot weather that’s supposed to be moving in for the weekend.

It was also a perfect day for running outside between the raindrops and gathering Hollyhock blooms so Drew and I could make dolls out of them.  Mom never grew Hollyhocks but I have always loved them and have planted a few over the years and yet I had never made dolls out of them. So I got on Pinterest to find out how and Drew and I had fun making them. I think they look a little like sweet southern belles! I think everyone should slow down and make a Hollyhock doll once a while. It’s amazing how much joy you can get out of something so simple. I’m not sure what Drew had more fun with though, making the dolls or playing in the rain while I picked the blooms!

Kids In The Kitchen

 

Drew ran across this old Better Homes and Gardens kid’s cookbook I used years ago with Abby and Aaron. Back then I had both kids fix supper one night a week so they could learn to cook. Aaron loved it – he was pretty good in the kitchen.  Lasagna was his specialty! Abby on the other hand – she would make macaroni and cheese or frozen pizza. She had more important things to do than learn to cook although I think she does a pretty good job now. It’s amazing how getting married and having kids changes what is important in your life – gotta feed the family! Eric never wanted to even try but now that he’s worked at Casey’s in the kitchen I think he can find his way around the kitchen too.

Anyway – Drew found the cookbook, sat down and went through it and asked if he could make pancakes. This was not on my list of things to get done for the day but I have been wanting to work with him in the kitchen this summer so I figured I might as well get started. The best time to introduce something new to this kid is when he shows interest, otherwise it may or may not happen. So, pancakes it was. With a lot of help, a few giggles, and a few stern explanations as to why we don’t goof around when using a hot griddle – Drew stated he made the best homemade pancakes ever!

Homemaker Mode

 

(My Clematis is blooming – so pretty!)

I seem to go in spurts – I can be in homemaker mode one day and the next – not so much. Usually homemaker mode for me means planning ahead, experimenting and being frugal. The past few days I have been in homemaker mode. I pulled some chicken breasts out of the freezer and cooked them up in the crockpot. After shredding them I now have chicken for Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza, Chicken Spaghetti, shredded chicken for a lettuce salad and enough to freeze for later.

(Cheesy Creamy Chicken Spaghetti – yummy!)

I made the Sweet Chili Chicken Pizza and it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. We love this pizza from our local Pizza Ranch and I am hoping to be able to make it at home. For one thing I didn’t have any pineapple and it was definitely lacking the pineapple. I also used too much pizza sauce and instead of using mozzarella cheese I used what I had on hand – which I think was Cheddar Jack. I’ll definitely try again and make a few tweaks and hopefully I can come closer to the Pizza Ranch one we like!

I also picked up some blocks of cheese on sale at Hy-Vee and shredded it. Now I have shredded cheese in the freezer. I don’t like actually shredding the cheese – I always make a mess and it’s somewhat time consuming but – I like having  it stocked in the freezer – I think it tastes so much better than the bags you buy at the store.

I did some research on chives as my chives are blooming right now. I harvested some and froze for later. I plan to freeze a bunch more. Then I harvested the blooms and have some chive blossom vinegar infusing in the cupboard. I’m hoping to make a Dijon mustard vinaigrette later this week with the chive infused vinegar to put on our shredded chicken salad. I hope it turns out as good as it sounds! We had chef salads for lunch over the weekend and it was so good to sprinkle fresh chives from the garden over the salads! I also chopped some up and mixed with a container of cottage cheese. Yummy! I’m planning to transplant some later in the season and bring in for the winter – hopefully we can have fresh chives all winter long!

(The color of the vinegar is so pretty!)

I made a big batch of potato salad to have for supper meals. It’s always nice to have a big salad to eat on throughout the week to go along with whatever we have for a main course. And it’s a great way to use up eggs when I have an abundance.

I also tried pickling some eggs with our over abundance of eggs. A couple we camped with last year brought jalapeño pickled eggs to the campground and Joe loved them so I thought I would try to make him some. In three weeks we’ll know if they turned out or not. It’s always fun to try new things and see how they turn out!

All Caught Up

These came today and I’m now all caught up! Yeah!!! I love these books and I love the writer. She lived in my small town when she was younger and I remember her well. She is now a great author, has a fun blog and is on Facebook. Check her out! I started out getting her book on the Kindle. Remember – an agreement I had with Joe was no books if I got a Kindle. Well ………. I decided these were books I needed to own. I mean really – look at those beautiful covers. Diane’s husband takes the pictures for the covers. And one of the pictures on one of the books is of the office where I worked for years. (I have the coffee mug with that book cover too!) And they are books – you just have to have a few actual books right? We have all kinds of kids books. After four kids who love to read you have to have books. But I’m slowly buying books again here and there. I just think a house needs to have books! Now to get caught up on reading them. That’s what I’ve been reading while I’m sitting in line to pick Drew up from school – I get a good half hour of reading in! I’m on book 17 and there’s 20 so far in the series.  A new book comes out every three months.

And bookmarks. You have to have bookmarks. You just can’t dog ear a book. But, I tend to lose bookmarks and so I usually just use a scrap piece of paper or a piece of junk mail. But I follow Susan Branch’s blog and get her Willard newsletter and she has the cutest bookmarks that she offers for free. This is the latest one I’ve downloaded, printed and run through the  laminator. It’s just the cutest. Of course it is meant to be used as a nametag to use at her picnic but since I won’t be going to the UK anytime soon – I’ll just use it as a bookmark. And it has a lamb on it. I love, love, love anything with a lamb on it!

This came in the mail today too. We were given this exact knife as a wedding gift oh so many years ago. It hasn’t seen a lot of use. Mostly to cut up a watermelon and Joe would use it to cut up his deer meat. Which is what he was doing this year when it snapped in two. There was a time when I would have thrown it away and bought a new one but now that I’m not working we need to be way more frugal with our money. (Something we should have always done I know) So, I went  online and discovered that Chicago Cutlery has a lifetime guarantee. I emailed them a quick message and they responded quickly and before I knew it – a brand new knife! Isn’t that wonderful??!!

 

Another way I’ve been saving money and being frugal and trying to make things easier around here is freezing leftovers. I have two of these containers filled with beef stew in the freezer. I work at the school again tomorrow and Friday and instead of paying for a lunch there I’ve pulled out one container to thaw and that will be my lunch for the next two days. Perfect. No fuss, no worries. I’ll peel an orange in the morning and throw it in my bag along with my beef stew and a bottle of water and I’ll be all set. And I have another container of beef stew and one of veggie soup in the freezer for the next time I’m subbing at the school!

The next few days will be busy. Two days at school. Then Saturday I’m thinking we may visit my aunt who is in Iowa city in the hospitalwith pneumonia. We’ll have to see if she’s up to visitors yet.  Then Sunday we’re meeting Joe’s siblings in Des Moines for lunch and to sign some papers and make some decisions. Then home to watch the Super Bowl I’m assuming. Joe doesn’t seem to be too into it this year so who knows. I have never been into the whole football thing. I’d rather watch a good episode of Little House on the Prairie!

Baby Steps

In an effort to try and make some changes around here I’m trying to get Drew to eat healthier. He loves oatmeal for breakfast on cold mornings but I know those little packets of instant oatmeal just aren’t healthy. Are those little pieces of fruit even fruit? I’m not so sure. I found this recipe for homemade instant oatmeal in my Little House Living book and thought I’d give it a try. It took some trial and error. He didn’t like it plain even though there’s brown sugar in it. So next we tried dried fruit. That was a no go. So onto frozen fruit because that’s what I had in the house. Blueberries first – he decided he doesn’t like blueberries. Then strawberries – he didn’t like those because I warmed them up in the microwave along with the oatmeal. He refused to try them again without warming them up. So, then I tried a little bit of sugar and cinnamon. Bingo! Now I need to mix up larger batches of this stuff at a time because he loves it. He even wanted oatmeal for supper last night! He’s been eating two bowls every morning before school. This is a huge plus for me – a nice warm filling bowl of oatmeal makes me feel like he’s starting his day off on the right foot! And I’m loving the oatmeal too – might have to start buying it in bulk! So baby steps – we’re starting slow – one little step at a time!