I made a hat!

Crafting...

I don't consider myself a really crafty person.  However, for some reason, I really have an interest in learning to knit or crochet.  I picked up an adjustable loom that can be used for knitting and weaving.  I tried about 4 different projects and was just not having any luck.  Finally, I found a video describing in great detail (which is exactly what I needed) how to make a hat.  So, I got to work and knitted this hat.  It is a little hard to tell but it is VERY small!  Good thing I have a new niece that was just born this past week because it is going straight to her!

So, it's back to the loom to add a couple of pieces into it so I can make a bigger hat.  The hat was supposed to be for me...

Should have watched this before I began...

We got a load of firewood delivered to our driveway.  We will be renting a splitter on Friday and this will be a great way to work off some of that Thanksgiving meal!

Peach Bourbon Jam

In the Kitchen

A short blog post today.  I have a terrible headache that I just cannot shake :(

Yesterday, I made some Peach Bourbon Jam!  Something new that I have not made before.  Smelled really good (and tasted good too!).  I took some of the jam and mixed it with dry onion soup mix this evening and spread on top of pork chops that are cooking in the oven...can't wait for dinner!

Also, made some cookies and froze some of the cookie balls before baking.  Now, I can make fresh baked cookies like everyday for the boys when they get home from school...they sure are spoiled!

Made some red and dandelion wine salt and seasoning packets this week too.  Way ahead of schedule on the Christmas gifts!  Did some weaving on the loom but I think I am going to jump right into some simple knitting...to be continued...

Canned Cranberry sauce

In the Kitchen

A short blog post this week...super busy almost every single night this past week with parent-teacher conferences and the boys were home from school on Thursday AND Friday.  Things seem to be slowing down a bit now...yeah!

Today I made homemade cranberry sauce and canned 2 half-pints of it.  I am going to send one to my mother-in-law in her Christmas gifts.  This is really the first time I have ever made cranberry sauce.  I can't stand the jelly like stuff that comes in a can so I usually just don't bother but this recipes changes everything.

I like the fact that you can make this ahead of time and "can" it so the big day you just open the jar and done!  It was easy to make and I had a little bit extra so I put it on my panna cotta that I made earlier this week (the panna cotta is a new favorite!!!).

Click on this picture to get the recipe I used for the cranberry sauce...

Also, in the kitchen, I was getting tired of looking at this steamed up window while washing my dishes (I like to look out into the neighborhood)...

So, I read an article about using shaving cream as a de-fogger.  So, I decided to test this and used shaving cream on the bottom window...you spread it on and then wipe it off (I used a bit too much...)

Next time it steamed up...the bottom (shaving cream window) did NOT fog up as much!  I wonder how long this will last?

I also have this problem in my car.  The window fogs up so bad and it takes FOREVER for the defroster to clear it.  So, I put cat litter in an old sock and placed it by the windshield.  I was told it would absorb excess moisture...so far, so good!!!

One finally note...I bought a knitting loom today!  First project will be a stocking hat for me...to be continued...

Natural cleaner

Around the Homestead

A couple of months ago, I taught Joshua how to clean the bathroom!  Now, it is his duty to do each weekend (I even made a YouTube video of how to clean the bathroom so he could reference it...).

I walked in a couple of weeks ago, to check how he was doing, and I could hardly breath.  He really, really, really likes to spray a lot of cleaner.  It was a bleach cleaner and he had it all over the place and all over him...

So, I was listening to this podcast the other day and they were talking about using vinegar and other natural cleaners.  I have made some "homemade" cleaners in the past but I have never found one that I really liked.  She described one that was super simple...just fill a jar with citrus peels and then fill to the top with vinegar and let sit for a couple of weeks.  Citrus is known to be a great cleaner and it helps to cover up the vinegar smell.  So, I made some this morning and it is stewing...

 Also, this is great because I rarely buy oranges but the boys love them so we will be getting our vitamin C!  We are also working on spraying an area 2 times...

The podcast I was listening to is called Pioneering Today.  I really enjoy the podcast and her blog.  Click on the picture and you will go to the vinegar cleaner recipe.

Reading...

I picked up this book at the library last week.  

Here is the intro from her website: "IN 1979, MOM AND DAD plunked their ideals and $40,000 down on some of the poorest farmland in one of the poorest counties in New York State. They dreamed of living off that land, of their children living off that land. And from the first night I laid my head down to rest on Sap Bush Hollow Farm as a child, I never wanted anything else. As I grew to adulthood and began a family of my own, I realized that this little farm was more than just a pastoral dream. It was an antidote to industrial food, climate change, harried living and social injustices. But how was one little grassfed livestock farm high in the mountains going to support two families? I looked to my Appalachian neighbors, who had lived well up here for generations, with little to no cash. If they could do it, so could we. We would simply have to learn to make what we couldn’t buy. I would become the radical homemaker."

I would say that the book pretty much reflect this intro....it was a nice read.

In the Garden

I think I will rip out my last tomato plants today.  It looks like we might have gotten between 1 and 2 inches of rain yesterday!  I have gallons of tomatoes in the freezer and when I have a free day, I am going to make sauce from all of it.

In the Kitchen

I finally cut into some pumpkin to make our jack o lanterns yesterday...took all the "scraps" and through them into the crock pot to cook down and make some pumpkin for recipes.  Also, roasted pumpkin seeds this morning.  Joshua asked if I was making fries (it's 8:30 in the morning...).  He just smelled them and they are delicious...

Also, collected my dried herbs and put away...thyme, rosemary, and basil.

Happy Halloween 2015!