Forced to slow down

Friday...I was so excited! I had a lawn crew coming to finally get this 1.18 acres of jungle under control for me. THEN I had so many plans for the weekend. Finish the afghan for our grand-son due to arrive any day, finally get my raised bed garden put in before it's too late, catch up on laundry, SEWING!!!!.

These images are after 24 hours post-fall.

THEN....it all was a dream. When the lawn people were here, I had gone outside to talk with them, then headed into the house. The back "stairs from he!!" got me. once and for all.  They are the worst steps I think I may have ever seen in my life. They are welded steel and very steep. I have tripped, stumbled, fallen...so many times since moving here 14 months ago. Here we are...just a couple of weeks away from them being gone and WHAM! I started up the stairs, then my hand was screaming...not certain how it even transpired.

My hand is broken in two places. I see the Orthopedist on Thursday, so then I will know all of the future details.

Obviously there is no crocheting or knitting any time soon. My daughters are helping as much as I force them to they can around the house and garden. Sewing/quilting, I will be able to do before anything else, but that will be quite a while, too, I am sure. So much for the baby projects I planned to do this weekend.

It could have been so much worse, I am aware, but right now, I am pretty down about being halted in my tracks. Those dumb stairs!

It is for sure I have plenty of time now for computer work (one handed) and reading and watching movies.

Sunday Share {Week-10}

Good beautiful Sunday morning! Are you ready to take our Sunday stroll and go visiting?

6-in-1 Easy Mexican Meals - Sidetracked Sarah

DIY Magnetic Pin Plate - The Mother Huddle

Tie-Dye Shirts Using Sharpie Markers - The Art Girl Jackie

Sticky Lemon Rolls with Lemon Glaze - The Kitchn

Slippery Pot Pie - Home Joys

It's going to be crazy hot here today. I will be indoors enjoying the air-conditioning. Enjoy your day.

Let's go for a walk in photos

I was outside in the yard this morning taking photos and thought to myself that all these pretty photos would make a great post to show you around my yard/flowerpot garden.

Not looking great, but I still have hope. I had been neglecting all my little pretty plants and they almost died on me. A little Miracle Grow and they will look great really soon.

Pat-a-Pan squash blossoms. Never heard of it before, but the fruit is cute and edible, so I thought I'd give it a try.

Baby ears of popcorn for David! I honestly think my man can eat popcorn every single day and never tire of it.

Baby Big Bertha bell pepper.

A tiny little marigold flower trying to do it's job as a natural insecticide.

Rhubarb is something entirely new to me. Never grown it, never even eaten anything made with it. Oh the places we will go things we will do to grow food.

Baby heirloom tomato. This variety (can't remember the name) is the semi-equivalent to Roma.

Babies that I started from seeds. I know one is squash, maybe two. The other, I am not certain what it is.

Strawberries!

 

 

Harvest time for many herbs again!  Chamomile, Lemon Verbena, Oregano, Sage and Thyme.

See the baby Basil plant?!

Three different corn varieties, Okra, Cantaloupe and Watermelon(I think). Must re-pot all of this very soon!

New growth on the rose bushes that I nearly let die.

Well, that was my morning walk around the yard. Hopefully in a week or two, everything will perk up and look wonderful and provide lots of fresh food for our family.

Yes, I bought fabric....

This time for a special project. I am starting on Monday, June 25, on a "Quilt for an Hour" project with my friend, Judy from Patchwork Times.

Once we are in the new house and all of my boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes {oh and tubs!} of fabric.... (get the picture?) are finally unpacked and organized, I won't be buying fabric for a long time.

Yesterday I hit a gold mine! I was at my local Supercenter and found gorgeous fabrics on clearance for $2 and $3 a yard! I wasn't really looking, but a couple just jumped out at me for this project. I ended up finding several in a collection and picked them. I pretty much never buy fabric from the Supercenter for quilts...but this fabric is so nice and thick and wonderful quality. I figured "what the heck" and headed to the cutting table. There were 2 of the collection that I didn't get. I ended up with one that I bought that I won't use in this project, though.

Here's a cut out section of Judy's image to show what fabric will go where:

Source: Patchwork Times

Here is my swatch sheet. (Thanks, Judy, for providing this. It helped tons!)

These are the fabrics at a closer look. The first photo is the fabrics I got at the Supercenter. The second photo, I got at JoAnn's.

I haven't decided which fabric I will use for my binding. I bough extra of all of them, so there will be plenty left for the binding.

Here's the link to the Quilt for an Hour over at Judy's place. Head on over for all of the details and join in with us on Monday, June 25!

Making myself a list

checking it....oh so many times!

In order for me to keep myself on task, I MUST have a list. As hard as I have tried over the past many months, and just ignored what I know I needed to do.

I bought myself a steno book and am doing much, much better!

I will share my "method to my madness"...if there really even is one to speak of, once I we are moved and settled into the new house.


So much to do but so much happiness for us ahead.

Pure blue heaven

 I just finished up making a batch of homemade Blueberry syrup and canning it.

Wow was it a messy task to do. Then I finally decided that it was too much work and to much waste of the berries to make syrup and I just wouldn't do it again.

Wrong answer sista!!! This stuff is out-of-this-world delicious! I tasted just a tiny bit out of the pan after I filled the jars and OH MY GOODNESS! Immediately, I knew I would be going to the store tomorrow, the last day of the sale on blueberries, and get tons more!

I used about 8-9 cups of fresh blueberries (5 pints). I did a quick process in my food processor to chop them up some. Then I put them in a large pan with 2 Tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice. On low/medium heat, I let this simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often. After allowing the berry mixture to cool down some, I put them in my wire mesh strainer to drain out all of the clear juice.

{Side note here} I should have used cheesecloth, but I couldn't find mine at the time. Instead I used a paper towel to line the strainer and it.took.forever.

After draining the berries to get out all the juice possible (I got between 2.5 and 3 cups), mix in 4.5 cups of sugar and cook over low/medium heat for about 5-8 minutes or until all sugar is completely dissolved and mixture is bubbly. I ended up with 5.5 eight ounce jars of syrup.

Pour into your sterile jars and process in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.

I never dreamed it would be so good.

It is late and I was hungry after finishing so...I HAD to try this beautiful syrup.There was this one jar that wasn't full, so I just drizzled some on my organic yogurt.

So delicious!

I will be headed out tomorrow morning for more blueberries. I refuse to go through so much mess next time I make the syrup, though.


This recipe works for any type of berries.


Hope your week is wonderful!

Sunday Share {Week-9}

Wishing you a beautiful Sunday...

No Knead Overnight Bread - Chef Tess Bakeresse

27 Ways to Clean with Baking Soda - The New Homemaker

"In Tents" Camping Dishcloth - Lil Knit of This and That

Homemade Air Freshener - Delightful Country Cookin

Frozen Banana Pudding - Southern Plate

Enjoy those Sunday visits!

In my world right now

Our new home (manufactured home) is on the local lot and awaiting it's time for set-up and delivery!!!  David, the kids and I are so excited! We have decided to buy a new lot and have the new house put there, instead of on the existing land I am on. That way, we can do everything the way WE want it, not having to convert horse barns, trees where we wouldn't have put them, etc.  We will then either remodel and rent this little place or sell it. We haven't made that decision yet. It does need quite a bit of work on it. So, we will see.

So, I have begun the process of getting things sorted out, trashed, sold/given away and packed. I have moved so many times in the past 6 years since moving to Amarillo, you would think it would be an easy task for me. It's not. Never will be. The older get, the less organized I am and it just stinks.

On a great note, though, once we get into the new house, I will finally have a studio! A place to work and call mine. I am working to release a new product line of baby/child items and I will finally have the space to do what I love to do!

We are ordering one of those "Amish built" wood portable storage type buildings and will "build it out" into my studio/guest room/bathroom over the course of a little time.

This photo is awful, I took it with my cell phone and just couldn't get a good shot. This one is NOT ours. It is just what ours will look like from the front. I am torn between a metal or shingle roof. But ours will be painted to match our new house. These are so reasonably priced, rent-to-own in 3 or 5 years(your choice), with no credit check. Pay for it and keep it as long as you like...or pay it off and keep it forever.  So easy!

Ours will have my studio, guest room and a 3/4 bath on the ground floor, then storage galore in the attic area! There is even a neat ledge on the front inside that will be a gorgeous place for plants and displaying my creations. I am so excited!

Working on the layout. I love designing floor-plans of houses (or buildings of any type).

I have also been busy a little with continuing my knitting journey...

Remember back in May, I made my first knitted project (dish cloth) while on the road to Louisiana? I so love making these! Quick and easy. Just the way I like it at this point.

I am also working on a crochet afghan for our new grand-son due the end of this month.

My garden....it's taken quite a beating. Since we decided to buy a new piece of land, I never got things out of pots and into a garden properly, so nothing has done much of anything. Next year will be different!

Here's hoping the weekend is wonderful for you and yours.

Sunday Share {Week-8}

Running behind today. Slow and steady, isn't that what they say? I am going "slow and steady" getting back into my blogging and housekeeping grove. I think I can....I think I can....I KNOW I can!

Square Felt Farm Animals (great for the kids for summer fun) - Little Family Fun

How and Why You Should Grow Calendula - Frugally Sustainable

Baked Egg Cups - Modern Vintage Homemaking

Hand Towel Apron - The Way Grandmama Does It

Fruit Peel Jelly - Country Blessings

Wishing you a wonderful week!

It's that time again

Canning season has begun at our little homestead.

Yesterday I made 8 half-pints of apricot jam. I found this recipe online. I used it as a guide, along side the recipe in the No sugar/low sugar Sure-Jell. I used the 1/2c. lemon juice from the online recipe in place of the 3/4c of water that the Sure-Jell calls for. I also used the online recipe tip of using 20% extra Sure Jell. I had 3.5 pounds of apricots and used 4.5 cups of sugar. It made 8 half-pints of gorgeous jam!

Then, last night, I made salsa! Two years ago I purchased a mix to make kosher dill pickles, by Mrs. Wages, at the Supercenter. Those pickles were AMAZING! So I tried the salsa mix by the same company. I haven't tried any yet, but it looks and smells yummy!

This batch I made with canned, petite diced tomatoes. This was an option on the package of mix. Six cans, 1/2c vinegar and 1 packet of mix. Fresh salsa!

Over the course of the next few days, I will be making Strawberry jam, Peach jam and Grape jam. I'm loving it!

Sunday Share {Week-7}

Trying to get back into the swing of things around here. Hope you have a fantastic week!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls w/Cream Cheese Icing - Fresh from the Farm

Homemade Corn Dogs - Alicia's Recipes

Crock-Pot Homemade Yogurt - Practical-Stewartship

Crochet Sunflower Dishcloth - Best Free Crochet

Crafty uses for ming from your garden - Crafting a Green World

Enjoy!

Lemony kind of day

Ah fresh squeezed lemon juice. Beautiful! This juice is for fresh homemade lemonade. The juicer...it belonged to my mother and has been around for as long as I can remember. It is likely at least 50 years old. I love the thing!

Lemon peels. These will be made into lemon infused vinegar for household cleaning.

"King of the lemon peels"!!! Well actually, this cute little 4oz jelly car of fresh squeezed lemon juice will go into jam tomorrow.

Fresh squeezed, freshly made lemonade. Yum! How do ya like that neat glass pitcher? Under 5 bucks at everyone's favorite (or not) Supercenter. 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1/2 cup of sugar and 7 cups of water. So easy!

This, my dear friends, will be some of the most awesome household cleaner known to women(or whomever cleans house). I just dug all of the fleshy part out and cut the peels up in half or so. Put them into a pint jelly jar and filled it to the top with vinegar. It will sit for a couple of weeks and voila! See the lemon seeds? Ima gonna see if they will grow. Likely not, but hey, can't blame a gal for trying.

Heck, I even had on a lemon yellow t-shirt. I just love this shirt! It came from one of my most favorite stores, Tractor Supply. Oh and I didn't plan all of this lemon-y goodness around my shirt....it's just what I picked to put on this morning.

Lemon blossoms SMELL.SO.GOOD! I bought myself a Meyer lemon tree about a month ago. I have often been curious about Meyer lemons. I know they have a distinct shape, are much larger than typical lemons and are quite spendy.

Baby lemon!!! The tree has likely around 15 little tiny babies on it! So...on with the story about Meyer lemons. So since I was curious, I put a post on Facebook and lo and behold...got all the scoop on Meyer lemons: "Meyers Lemons are have a slightly higher sugar content (because they are a cross between an orange and a lemon), are more spherical and have thinner peels. They are a hybrid so if looking for "heirloom" - go the other route. Meyer's also get a lot taller than regular lemon trees (15' vs. 8-10'). I like Meyer's for lemonade, but not as much for baking."

So there you have it. A lemony kind of day.

Tomorrow's agenda: Apricot Jam