Pickled Onions

I finally did it,  I saw this on Martha Stewart's cooking school on PBS.  It looked delicious, and I can't wait to taste it.  It was really very simple to make also.

Until next time......

Big project....

Here it is, another new year.  Where has the time gone?  I haven't gotten to celebrate Christmas with my grandchildren yet but will be going the first new year weekend,  I was glad to have the extra time as it gave me time to make them all a drawstring tote bag, and filled them with goodies.  You can see pictures of the drawstring bags on my create page,  I was so proud that I was able to make them customized and did it all free hand.  Thanks to craftygemini.com for the pattern for the drawstring totes.  Until next time....be safe and have a Happy New Year.

Valances

Here are the valances I helped my niece make.  Did not have a pattern, so it was cool to be able to complete them and have them look this great!  I had some material left so I am going to make some simple drawstring tote bags. 

I'll try not to be gone so long next time.....I don't think the holidays are supposed to be this hectic?  Merry Christmas to all.....until next time.

December

Well it is Dec 1 and I haven't been here in a while, but like most of you, I have been busy preparing for the holidays.  Check out the new recipe I made this past week on my recipe page.  I found the recipe on Pinterest from the Six Sisters Stuff web site and wow is all I can say. 

I've been creating some small projects and watching a few online sewing classes.  I helped my niece make some valances for her daughter's bedroom, (pictures soon) and I made a small curtain to cover an antique box I have in my guest bathroom.  I want to start making a lot more stuff and utilize my sewing machine among other things.  It has been so interesting learning all of this new stuff, and I can hardly wait for retirement so I can get busy with more stuff.

I started my spring garden yesterday, but didn't take pictures.  I didn't think anyone would be interested in seeing how I strewed the hay on the grass to start some new rows.  But maybe I'll post pictures later.  Also, been trying to talk my honey into helping me build a chicken coop so that I can hopefully get a couple of chicks in the spring as well. 

Only 14 months till retirement....so excited.  So until next time....

Canning

If you are from the south, you know how we love our boiled peanuts. Peanuts come in season in this region in September and October, so I am a little late with this, but good none the less.





We had some fresh boiled peanuts recently, and I canned the remaining peanuts to keep them fresh longer. I also froze some, so we will see what is the best method for our household.

I cannot possibly explain how excited I am to be learning to can fresh vegetables and such while they are in season, for fresher quality in the winter. Today I will experiment with canning chicken broth and possibly stock. Yes, I found there is a difference! Who knew? So, until next time....

November already?

Wow, it hardly seems as if November should actually be here, speeding by so fast already, AND having our first frost the first weekend of Nov. Yes, it has been cold here on the Gulf Coast already! i am apparently the only person in Florida that likes the cold weather. I mean I can always put on more clothes, hats, gloves, socks, etc. to keep warm right? Just thankful we don't deal with snow....they can keep that up north thank you very much.

I haven't been here much lately, but I have been keeping busy. I have been doing a lot of reading and research as to being an "entrepreneur" and becoming a little more self sufficient.

As of this week I have 16 months until retirement from my day job, and at the rate the time is flying by, it will be here before I know it. So I want to be ready to be that farm girl with my chickens and gardens. As you saw from my earlier posts, I have already learned how to do some simple canning, and can hardly wait to can other stuffs. (veggies and fruits)

Any feedback or helpful blogs with good information in that area would be greatly appreciated.

Until next time....getting the fireplace ready again.

Fall is officially here!

I love, love, love the fall. It is one of my favorite seasons, and then of course there's spring....but it isn't here yet so I'll concentrate on fall. It's scarecrows and pumpkin time again, and the season we all start thinking about, and being thankful for, all the many blessings we have. So it was time to build.....

I thought I was going to have to build my scarecrow all alone this year.....

And he was coming along quite nicely....

And then help arrived....this is Nixon getting in on the action.

and then baby Derek and my cat-dog Tux showed up to help too.  (I call him my cat-dog cause he follows me everywhere I go when I am outside, and when he comes in he has to be right on me or touching me.) 

and then Spanky shows up, just so he can say he helped too.  So all in all I had quite a lot of help building the scarecrow. (My granddaughters couldn't agree on a name last year so he became Sam George Steve Tom the scarecrow)

So until next time......get out and ENJOY this beautiful weather!  Soon enough it will be too cold to go outside, unless you like winter?  brrrr.....

Aunt Grandma's

The weather on the Gulf Coast has been simply awesome, so quite naturally it keeps me out doors and away from the computer. Had some busy weekends lately and I am so excited about my first sale for my Aunt Grandma's Chunky Salsa and Aunt Grandma's Peanut Brittle. My husband said it was a slow day, but for me it was greeeaaaattt(in my Tony the Tiger voice). I didn't sell a lot, but just a few sales was a great beginning for me, gotta start somewhere right? Until next time....

Beautiful Day

Fall is here!  It is another beautiful day on the Gulf Coast, so I am out to enjoy it before it gets too hot.  Yesterday was a full and awesome day for me, and I am on my way to retirement!  I hope to till some ground today so that I can have a spring garden, but that tiller is so big....it might just kick my butt!  Never know till you try right?   We also talked about going to the bait store and getting some earth worms to help a garden flourish.  Any suggestions or feedback on spring gardens is appreciated.  Mean while at the pumpkin patch......

Aunt Grandma's peanut brittle

So, my daddy always told me I made the best peanut brittle and I should sell it.  I believed him, so I did.  Thank you daddy for the encouragement....until next time!

Peanut brittle ingredients...quite simple actually...

Temporary packaging but this is the general idea.  I want to use items such as bamboo and jute string to make them look more country, and more like grandma's place.

My very FIRST sale.  It looks like my goodies will have a market.  Folks really liked the samples and liked the reasonable pricing on them,  I am so looking forward to the day this is what I do for retirement!  Woo hoo!

Working toward retirement

Well I only have a little over a year before I can retire my job of 20 years, and here is what I am working on for now....Hopefully when I get more product I can go to our local farmers market to sell my semi homemade salsa.  It's called Aunt Grandma's Chunky Salsa.  Had I known it was so easy peasy I would have been doing it a long time ago.  Been getting a lot of postive feedback on the finished product. 

Sterilizing lids and utensils......

Sterilizing the jars and funnel

The water bath.  I added a towel to the pot to keep the jars from hitting against each other.

My mama's pot that she used 50+ years ago to sterilize baby bottles.

Cooling and waiting for the pop that excites me so much.  My handy dandy jar lifter upper is new to me, and boy did it make it a lot easier!

The finished product. 

and this is ME right now.....until next time.

New Project

Okay, I started a new project last night. When I got about half way through, I realized I had not taken a "before" picture. Now I'm not sure I should take an "after" picture? I hope it turns out as nicely in actuality as it looks in my head. That's the trouble with coming up with these new ideas, I'm not sure if they will be successful or not. BUT, if I don't do it then it definitely would not be successful right? So I'm off to blunder my way through it and hope it turns out. I'll post pictures if I think it looks okay. In the meantime I wanted to share this beauty with y'all....until next time.

Salsa

I finally successfully canned my home made salsa. I got way too excited when all the jars would "pop" meaning they had sealed. I was doing little Snoopy dances and clapping my hands everytime a jar would pop, and if you had seen me you would have probably wondered about my sanity! However, this is the very FIRST thing I have ever canned, and fear of failure had prevented me from making it before now. I canned my salsa three days ago and have already sold five jars with an order for four more. I am just way too excited, but as I said before I am easily entertained. Will keep adding pictures for all of the things I have/am learning to create. Not nearly as difficult as I would have thought....until next time.

I have more bounty in my yard.  The pear tree produced LOTS of pears this year and they have been really good!

Now to figute out how to get those down from there!  I shook some of the limbs to get some of the pears from the top, but I got bonked on the head and shoulders....ended that!

AND I juiced the pears in the food processor, strained them twice and even learned how to can the juice!  I was too excited about learning this project. I have been wanting to learn to can for quite some time.

Bountiful Harvest

I love this time of year with all the fresh vegetables and fruits. This was the bounty in my home this past week, thanks to my beautiful sisters, and the only part of it I picked were the blueberries. I did forget to add the watermelon in the picture....but it sure was good.

Gold Mine

I have a gold mine in my back yard. Many years before I bought my house these blueberry bushes were planted. We have harvested many blueberries over the past 11 years.

They are totally organic, we do nothing to them except try to weed out the bushes and trees.

Almost a gallon in less than an hour, 2 or 3 bushes

Spread them out to dry and pop them in a freezer bag and freeze for a delicious frozen treat for my grandchildren.  Or maybe I will make a blueberry crunch (see the recipe on the recipe tab)

New recipe?

Okay, so I've been gone a while....but it is just so hard to stay inside on the computer when we are having such beautiful weather. I am more of an outside person than inside, but I know that is no excuse for staying away so long. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Okay, so new recipe might not be the correct heading for this post, but that was all I could think to call it. It was actually a recipe for a week killer that I had been seeing on Pinterest, and decided to give it a try. I was very skeptical, but considering I already had most of the ingredients...well I just gave it a try. Guess what? It worked! I was amazed.....grass and weeds that were growing and green in the morning were dead and brown by the afternoon, and one of the best parts is it was not toxic to our animals, and was a heck of a lot cheaper than the weed killers you buy in the stores. Woo hoo! So now I will continue to use it wherever I need the weeds dead.

1 Gal white vinegar
2 C of epsom salt
1/4 C Dawn dishwashing liquid

I mixed it all right in my sprayer and went to work. The vinegar smell is kind of strong for a little while, but eventually it dissipates. So, until next time....Coming soon - Pictures!

Chandeliers?

Finally made those cute hula hoop chandeliers.  You will probably recognize them from pinterest?  I had two beautiful helpers when my neices came to spend the weekend with me.

Spring at Easter time

See I told you spring was here!  Well at least we think it is.  We did have a record cold night last week, but at any rate my Heirloom Iris presented us with it's beautiful blooms for Easter this year.

I do absolutely nothing to this other to water it during dry spells, but it just thrives.  Now let's hope my veggies thrive as much!  Gotta get another succulent for my broken pot vase.....we have had entirely too much ice this year and it killed off quite a bit of flowers and stuff!  I guess that is part of living in NW Florida?  NOT!  Until next time.....♥

Spring has sprung, finally

I took a picture of my wisteria over the swing with all the blooming flowers. However, the picture is on my camera, and alas my camera is on loan to my niece (adopted daughter) who just had a baby. That is exciting news in itself, but back to spring has sprung.

Actually, just when we think Spring is here, we have a record cold in April, and now it just seems to be the winter that will never end.....I did plant lots of flowers, but still have not put in my vegetable for the summer. I MUST get that done, so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor....get it? garden, fruits, well never mind, you get the picture.

Okay back to the baby. He is adorable, but then I suppose I am terribly prejudice. Maybe not so much? All the nurses talk about how cute he is, so that means I am not just prejudiced? At any rate, he was six weeks early, so prayers would be appreciated while he remains in the NICU to get strong enough to come home.

Until next time....(I must come up with a witty sign off).

Another re-make

Should this be called a re-make or re-furbished?  I'm never quite sure on the term.  Anyway we picked this up really cheap at an auction and turned it into this

I think it turned out looking awesome and then we sold it at the yard sale....GREAT profit.  I love this part of the job.

Re-makes

We gutted this old TV that once belonged to my dad and made it into a bookshelf/entertainment Center.  Pretty cool huh?

And then we sold it at the yard sale....I thought it was fun and exciting to see the transformation, but then, I am easily entertained....:)

Another successful day!

My honey was able to have another yard sale this past weekend.  Without me this time, due to health issues on my part.  Doesn't matter, he is enjoying himself immensely.  Check out our Create page for some of the projects we have completed.  Make it a great day!

Buying and learning....

Well I enjoyed a long weekend from my regular job, but did we ever stay busy! I love that feeling of accomplishment I get when we get long planned stuff done! We didn't do any selling this weekend, but we did do some buying and learning. We went to yard sales on Saturday to see what treasures were out there, and then we did the Pensacola version of storage wars on Monday. That was cool, and very educational??? But the most fun was scrapping with my honey on Monday too...no not that kind of scrapping. We had to take some stuff to the scrap yard, and he is like a little kid when it comes to demolition. He loves that kind of stuff...maybe he should be in the demolition derby? Anyway we stayed busy on Sunday as well, building a work table out of more "scrap". One day we will have to learn how to balance the work with play time....unless of course the work is the play time? Will have pictures soon of my flea market, scrap donation table. Till next time take care and be safe.

Awesome table!

Check out this beautiful table my friends Craig and Brandon made out of pallet wood.

It was beautiful and uniquely made.

Now just a coat of polyurethene(?)...okay varnish, and it will be complete!  It will become an end table in my friend Tonya's house.  Gorgeous.  I want one, or two?

Success again!

Well we had another successful "yard sale", but this time we went to the flea market.  I am really enjoying this adventure, and am so thankful to God for the opportunities He has placed before us.  By the way, it is hard work, but so worth it. Can't wait to post more pics of our "stuffs".

Monkey Bread

I made Monkey Bread for the superbowl dinner we had.  It was too good.  I must give credit to Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman for the recipe.  It was so simple to make and scrumpdillyicious!

SUCCESS!

Wow!  We had a wildly successful Estate/Yard Sale today.  I was going to take pictures but it was much TOO busy.  Wait, is there any such thing as too busy during a sale?  I think not!  It far exceeded my expectations, in both sales and fun!  Who knew?  I learned a lot, and even had some vendors from other "flea market/antique shops" offer advice, and even picked up a couple of phone numbers for future endeavors.  I may like this new "job".  Now I have to go see if I can be creative and make some new stuffs....See you next time! :)

Official/Unofficial start?

Well today is the day! We officially/unofficially (?) start our new venture today! We are having an Estate/Yard Sale Can't wait to make my other new stuffs! Loving the jewelry! Porcelain Dolls!  Too excited for a yard sale!!

Yum Yum

Thankful

Thank you Foofie for all the help. Not even June Cleaver is as beautiful as you! Thank you to all my family for all the help too!

My new spice racks.

New Ventures

Is it already the middle of January? Wow....starting a new venture can be fun, but sometimes in my quiet moments it gets kind of scary....like "what am I doing?" scary! However, I will ignore the voices and carry on one baby step at a time. Mikey went to auctions yesterday looking for "treasures", and found out that he had fun doing it. It was a version of Storage Wars in our little town, and he said the fun came when they throw open those doors to reveal the treasures inside. I call it treasures...he calls some of it "junk"! :) Until next time, and until my niece gets out here to help me figure out how to post pictures....See how I did that foofie, put the blame on you? ♥