Weekly Roundup 12-22-19
Hey friends! I'm back with my last weekly roundup for the year! Next week I'll be rounding up the whole. entire. year! Fun times. And it promises to be a long post yet again. Next week's that is. I'll try to keep this one short(er) than my usual posts. But I make no promises.
I've felt pretty uninspired lately with crafting. I feel like I've spent most of my creative juices on the business (with very good success!), but that left me empty when it comes to other crafting. So I've been rereading some blogs and instagrams for inspiration. That's part of my problem sometimes, I get so bogged down that I forget to look around at what I'm doing so I turn outwards for inspiration. I think it's good to find inspiration around us though. And there are so many talented people who provide that inspiration. Here's a quick rundown of some of my old favorites: Natalie Creates, Bugs and Fishes, Posie Gets Cozy, and Little Cotton Rabbits. I felt like I need to try something new other than the homesteading stuff I've been doing. Kind of like a mental break. I have a rubbermaid tote underneath the bed that is full of felt. I used to make felt ornaments, mobiles (I made this mobile for the Mister's niece years and years ago. I wonder if she still has it?!?), advent calendars (you should see the huge one I made for my nephews). So I sought out the bloggers and instagrammers who have provided inspiration to me in the past.
And I'm happy to say that I found my inspiration. I'm going to do some more crafts over the next few weeks just for fun. Stay tuned for details. I'll work with my felt again. It's nothing fancy. I bought it at walmart (gasp! LOL) a long time before I knew what natural, eco-friendly was. So I'll use it to do some crafts. I also have some fabric that I'll use to make little crafts. Maybe sell. Maybe add to packages. I feel inspired again.
We're also making plans on updating the farmhouse a little. If you've been following along for any length of time, you probably know we live at a fly fishing lodge and we share the old farmhouse with the guides during the fishing season. But then the rest of the year we have the house to ourselves. And I've been wanting to make some updates. Nothing major. The house went through some renovations about 10 years ago but I'd like to update the paint. And the kitchen never got a backsplash. The Mister and I were discussing that. We bought a piece of bluestone backsplash at Lowe's the other day but then we remembered we had slate tiles that I bought at a yard sale years ago. So then we started thinking maybe we could use that (hello free!). So we'll work that out. I want to paint one of our walls upstairs with chalkboard paint and then put beadboard on the bottom half of the wall. I'd like to paint the rest of that room a nice soft green. We'll move things around and hang some pictures. We'll pull up the carpet and lay down some linoleum. Before we moved in, the upstairs housed lots and lots of people (on a rotating basis...not all at once!). And the carpet is officially a mess. If we put down linoleum, clean up will be easier. Plus we'll put down some rugs. The space isn't that big so it won't take much. We're also going to get our pictures out of storage and start hanging them up. I'd also like to paint the living room but I'm not sure what color yet. Something light, but with a clubhouse feel. That's the aesthetic in there now. So I want to keep with it. But dark colors won't work. That'll be enough for this year. Then we can see where we're at next fall/winter and do some more if we're so inclined. I like nesting. I like being at home. But I want that home to be cozy no matter where we are.
We finished processing the deer this weekend. We let it age for about a week and then the Mister was kind enough to do the final butchering. I'll weigh it and then we'll know how much meat we got. The deer was 120 pounds. Also, we gave the kitties a bigger basket. If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen (in my stories) the new basket in front of the electric heater that the kitties have been fighting over. Someone suggested that I give them a bigger basket. I didn't think I had one but, lo and behold, I do! I had all my yarn in the big basket so I took it out and put it in rubbermaid bins with lids (ha! Take that Corny. You can't get to my yarn now!).
I felt inspired by all the Christmas baking and cookie exchanges happening so I decided to make a little something for some of our neighbors. I met one of our neighbors while I was canvassing for my friend this past fall. She was super nice and I know her daughter (didn't realize it until I met our neighbor). Anyway, her daughter was telling me that our neighbor (her Mom) was asking about me. So I thought I would do a drop by with some cranberry bread. Then I thought 'why not make more and drop off to other neighbors!' So that's what I'm working on this week.
Everyone else on the homestead is doing just fine. All animals are enjoying our slow days of being home together. School is out for 2 weeks. I've wrapped up the business end of things for the year so we'll spend the next few weeks snuggling, baking, making, and reading! One of our little libraries (we're lucky to have TWO libraries near us!), well, one closes for 2 weeks during the school break. So I ordered a HUGE stack of books that have been on my goodreads list for a long time. I'll go through them and then decide if any will make my Amazon Wish List. And I'll read them in between reading our book group selection-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
Speaking of wish lists and holidays. I was looking for a 2020 calendar. I've bought them from Rifle Paper before and from The Little Canoe. I loved the one from Little Canoe...it had paintings of produce for every month. That was kind of what I was looking for but she's not currently making them. And I loved my "Coffee and Tea" calendar from Rifle Paper from a few years ago but I wanted something from a small business. So I started looking around the internets and I just couldn't find anything that I loved. So I decided to make my own! I used my photos and shutterfly. I'll give you more deets later because I'm thinking they might turn into some Christmas gifts. But I'll give you a sneak peak:
The Mister and I went shopping this past week. We are officially done with everything-Christmas and homestead wise. We should be able to just hunker down on the homestead for the next couple of weeks, working on all those projects I mentioned above. I made our Christmas cards again this year and they all got mailed out too. Let me know if you'd like one! I love sending and receiving cards and handwritten notes! They're the best.
Things are slowing down so much that I finally had a chance to make waffles this morning! Oh my goodness y'all. You have to try this recipe! They're slightly fermented and so good. You make the batter the night before and then leave it out on the counter and finish it off the next morning. I can't remember where I got the recipe. I keep it in my notes on my ipad so it's handy (and that's how often I used to make them!). I'm sure the recipe was passed along by a friend at some point. So now I'm passing it along to you! It wouldn't be a normal Chicken Librarian post without a recipe!
Good Night Waffles
Ingredients:
1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 cups whole milk (warmed)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
Steps:
combine warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Stir together and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy and bubbly. After 10 minutes and the yeast mixture is nice and bubbly, mix in milk, butter, and salt. Beat in flour until smooth. Wrap bowl tightly with saran wrap or other wrap. Let stand overnight on the counter (do not refrigerate). In the morning, mix in eggs, vanilla, and baking soda.
Spray waffle maker with cooking spray and use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour batter onto hot waffle iron. Top with butter and maple syrup and enjoy! This recipe makes about 20 waffles!
Also, I melt the butter in the milk and then let it cool slightly before mixing it into the yeast mixture. And I just use a whisk to mix the flour into the yeast/milk mixture. All in one bowl. So clean up is easy-peasy!
I tried making Apple Cider Vinegar but I didn't weigh down the apples so they got moldy! Rookie mistake. I did put this kit on my Amazon Wish List on the recommendation of Bekah and Tracy. And finally, my Ruffled Feathers Salves (here and here) are 50% off. I need to make room for more stock! I hope you all had a wonderful week and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!