Happy Homemaker Monday - February 27, 2017

Family Corner

The weather.....is much chillier this week than last week. It's been in the 30s now (compared to the upper 50s last week). We feel fortunate, though, that the big snowstorm that hit southern Minnesota didn't drop a bit of snow here!

The pond was open last week and there were geese swimming in it. The last few days it froze over again with the colder temperatures.

Right now I am....getting ready for day of multiple appointments.

Thinking....how to make a weighted blanket that doesn't make a person overheat...or is there one out there that would fit what I need?

There's a certain amount of pressure that sheets and blankets provide which is nice. However, depending on how much pressure you like, the heat from the blankets can get quite overwhelming.

Reading...started reading The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Am about half way done with the book.

On my TV.....things I'm falling asleep while watching. Seems like I'm having a lot of trouble staying awake at night. It's probably because I'm not sleeping well at night.

Favorite blog post last week (mine or other)....came across Vickie's Kitchen and Garden's post about ways she was frugal during the past week. Thought it would be a good idea to consciously plan and reflect upon ways to be more frugal.

Something fun to share....March is Color Therapy Month. Who knew? I certainly didn't. There's a whole page of suggestions - one for each day of March - to celebrate Color Therapy Month.

March is also National Craft Month. If you go to its website, you can sign up and be notified "when the party starts." Wonder what they have in store for those who sign up.

Blog hopping (newly discovered blog)....I was looking for a free pattern to make pillowcases and came across The Seasoned Homemaker. Purchased the fabric to make two pillowcases and will be making them this week.

On the menu for this week....I planned meals using recipes that I've wanted to try (most are from Taste of Home magazine) and Olivia's Five in a Row cookbook. She's almost done with her cookbook/scrapbook now. It's a nice visual record of the many recipes she tried that tie into books she read and I read together.

This is the first week that I'll be using the grocery store chart that I created last week. It should make trips to the store much more time-efficient since everything on the list is in the order that I walk through the store.

The grocery store chart/list is two-sided.

This should save time as I go through the store. 

For breakfasts, we'll be trying some new recipes this week: frozen fruit cups; overnight coffee cake; biscuits with ham and cheese; and sourdough bread. The latter two recipes are from the Five in a Row Cookbook.

For lunches, new recipes include: vegetable hummus tortilla wraps, Boston brown bread, and whole wheat bread. The latter two recipes also are from the Five in a Row Cookbook and will be used for making sandwiches.

For dinners, new recipes I want to try include: spaghetti and meatballs in the slow cooker. We'll be having pancakes and sausages for dinner on Tuesday night (Fat Tuesday).

We're using up what we have in the freezer and cupboard, so using the meat we have on hand, I'll be making some recipes that we've had before like beef stew over wild rice; turkey burgers; tuna noodle casserole. Sophia will have a salmon burger for at least one meal.

Olivia with a salmon burger.

We have quite a few frozen patties that

we are trying to finish.

On my to do list....in addition to homeschooling, working on taxes, and helping the girls on 4-H projects they are doing (Sophia is making a quilt for her bed and Olivia is doing a latch-hook project):

Monday: allergy shot (Sophia), renew passports (Sophia and Olivia), Hoss's hooves trimmed, and hopefully get Cooper into the vet to check one of his dew claws which he has been licking a lot over the weekend. Something happened and I can't figure out why it's bothering him so much.

Tuesday: homeschool co-op (Sophia and Olivia), harp lesson (Sophia), drop off donations at thrift store, get supplies for 4-H meeting on Thursday, and start going through photos that are in boxes to determine which ones to keep and which ones to toss.

Wednesday: give all dogs heartworm pills as well as apply flea & tick medicine; organize freezer and refrigerator (including defrosting freezers); and Mary B. here for 4 hours.

Thursday: 4-H Wildlife Project Bowl meeting (2 hours), 4-H meeting (2 1/2 hours), and 4-H Banner Committee Meeting (1/2 hour).

Sophia will be doing a demonstration at the 4-H meeting about

how to make baked donuts.

These are mini-donuts that are baked in a donut-shaped pan

(kind of like a muffin pan).

Friday: funeral for a friend's father.

Saturday: go to my sister's condo for 4 hours to go through photos from our parents' photo albums. Determine which ones to keep and which ones to let go.

Go to the co-op afterwards and get essential oils, tiny jars for the essential oil blends, bean sprouts, and alfalfa sprouts. Hopefully they have the sprouts. The major grocery stores no longer carry them (it's a food safety issue).

I've been using a blend of these essential oils during the past week.

They are good for helping with sinus issues.

Sunday: wash the basement walls and update the barn quilt trail website with the 11 new barn quilts that were painted and installed this past spring to winter.

In the craft basket....finished three sensory/activity quilts for seniors at the nursing home where Sophia, Olivia, and I volunteer. So many of the residents are struggling with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. This is an issue close to my heart since my dad had Alzheimer's Disease and mom had dementia.

 
I made the quilts using children's clothing, items from the thrift shop, and fabric that I had on hand.

It was nice to make something useful from these items...while freeing up several bags of items that were taking up space.

All the fabric is purchased, washed, and ironed for the two pillowcases I want to make this week. Just need to cut and sew the fabric now. These will be entered into the county fair. I'm excited to be starting on some items for the fair. Last year I didn't enter much of anything. I was too busy with 4-H. I've cut back this year which has given me the opportunity to re-visit crafts that I enjoy doing.

Picked out the fabric for two potholders. These also will be made for the county fair that's in August. It will be nice to be able to use them after that and replace some of the more worn ones that we're using now.

Looking forward to this week....spending time with my sister and looking at photos of our parents.

Looking around the house....there are areas that I need to de-clutter and clean. The sensory/activity quilts took about ten hours to make - a significant chunk of my weekend. I'll need to tuck in cleaning time during the week to get things to be a bit more orderly.

From the camera....Sophia made homemade ice cream using a method she saw on You Tube. She placed dry ice on a cookie sheet and covered it with a towel. After pouring some rubbing alcohol on top of the towel (not sure if that was to speed up the cooling process or to activate the dry ice), she put a cast-iron pan on top of the towel.

The pan began getting cold pretty quickly. She put an ice cream mixture on top (basically sweetened condensed milk and whipping cream) and some fresh strawberries.

Using two utensils that we got in the paint section at Wal-Mart, she chopped up the berries and moved around the ice cream mixture.  Before long, the ice cream was done.

It was amazing! Super fresh...only a few ingredients...the way ice cream should be.

Would we use the dry ice method again? Probably not. We'd use our ice cream maker since getting regular ice is a lot cheaper than dry ice. Nonetheless, it was an interesting experiment and delicious dessert.


Also linked to:

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth