From My Home to Yours: 12/19/25

  From My Home to Yours

12/19/25

~ It's the week before Christmas, and all through the house, we're not hustling and bustling, nor trying to figure things out ... ~

Careful and intentional planning all through the year has made this status possible.  I started in January making plans and setting goals for this holiday season ...

We started a Christmas fund ...

I kept my eyes and ears open for things my loved ones might want or need and made note of them, so I wouldn't forget ...

We gave ourselves permission to say 'no' to too many activities.  Home is a very precious place to be, especially during the holidays ...

and I started making and creating things for our gift trunk that would serve us all through the year when a gift was needed, including Christmas.

These four things have made all the difference in the world in the amount of stress in our lives during the holiday season.

In fact, my thoughts are already turning to next year and what I want our holiday season of 2026 to look like.  I'll take what worked this year and tweak what didn't work for next year.  A quiet Christmas is not possible for everyone and in fact, not everyone wants a quiet Christmas.  Some people thrive on the hustle and bustle and that's okay too!  Isn't it wonderful to be different and accepting of each other's differences of how we celebrate the holidays?

So what did our week look like if we weren't hustling and bustling about?

It began with frigid, extremely cold temperatures for our area.  We knew these frigid temperatures were coming so we spent Saturday afternoon doing last minute preparations.  Because of that, we were able to weather the artic blast with little to no discomfort.

While nestled in our warm home, I ...

started a batch of garlic tincture (sorry, no picture)

cooked down and canned collards I harvested last Saturday from our garden (our high for Saturday was in the 60's, perfect weather for working outside) ...

made a batch of ham salad and enjoyed it in a tortilla wrap for lunches ...

we both had check-up's with our doctor this week and got good reports ...

watched Christmas movies ...

went out to dinner and enjoyed a drive through Christmas lights event afterward ...

I made a little after 'Santa comes' funny for our grands and sent it to them.  I also reached out to their parents and told them that if the packages got their before Christmas that they needed to hide them until after Christmas day.  You'll understand my request when you read the tag in the picture! (Reindeer poop = chocolate covered raisins!)

And finally, I hope you will take what I'm about to share in the spirit that it is intended.  Look at this beautiful gift I received from a reader.  These items came all the way from Australia and the giver made them all herself ...

a tote bag for pack and go hand work projects or to carry my Bible and study to a Bible study class ...

a handkerchief that is just too beautiful to use so it will be displayed in my home as decor ...

The perfect sized sewing kit that will take up residence in my purse for those unexpected repair needs when we're away from home ...

and if the gifts weren't enough, the giver wrote me such an encouraging note inside the Christmas card (thank you again, you know who you are), and this is where I want to park for a minute with the hopes that you understand my heart ...

There are not many of us writers/content creators/bloggers that share with the intent to encourage with no monetary intent.  (Please understand that there is nothing wrong with choosing to create content for the purpose of income.  I, myself have contemplated it in the past and even put out some feelers, but my heart is just not in it.  Should there come a time when finances dictate a need, I would likely try it full throttle, but until or if such a time occurs, I'm happy to continue blogging as a ministry. I'm saying all this so that you will understand that what I'm about to say next in no way casts a shadow on those who blog for income.)  Those of us who blog without financial purpose, need encouragement.   For those who blog with income in mind, their encouragement comes with their income.  Those of us who blog without financial purpose need to know that we are making a difference, that we are helping and encouraging others.  We watch our 'visits' numbers and links 'clicked' just like those blogging for financial gain.  We wait for the comments and opportunities to interact with our readers.  For us, it's about the communities of like minded people we are trying to bring together and encourage.  When the 'numbers' fall low and the comments just aren't there, we get discouraged and wonder if it's time to walk away.

With all these thoughts in mind, I'd like to make a list of like-minded blogs, Facebook groups or Facebook pages similar to mine that are not income based and post it here.  The first ones that comes to my mind are ...

The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm  (blog)

Country Home and Hearth  (Facebook page)

The Tuesday Afternoon Club  (Facebook group)

Help me out, let's make a list!  If you know of a like-minded blog, group or page that is not income-based, please leave the name and it's online address in the comments.  I'll check them out and possibly add them to the list here.

And if you're of a mind and if you enjoy their content and are encouraged by it, leave them a comment of encouragement on their blog, page or group!  I can't think of a better way to spread some holiday cheer!

One more thing ... the next time I write to you Christmas will be over and it will be the day after, so let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

~ MEERRRRRRRY CHRISTMAS ~

Okay, one more, one more thing!!!  The week after Christmas is my week to plan and get things in order for the new year.  One of those things is planning for content in my blogging.  Some of the things I'm contemplating are ...

posting more about our financial goals and the steps we're putting into place to meet them ...

posting more about how as senior citizens we work to maintain the best health we can ...

and posting about the changes in the way we keep a well-stocked pantry ...

These are 3 things I'm contemplating, what are your thoughts?

Is there something you'd like to see me include in my content for 2026?

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 12/12/25

 From My Home to Yours

12/12/25

~ the joy is in the journey ~

This year, as every year, we do our best to make our own holiday joy.

We like to drive around at night and look at the beautifully decorated homes ...

visit local attractions that get all decked out for the season ...

make and bake holiday goodies to share ...

watch Christmas shows on TV ...

shop at the times when the stores are least crowded ...

give and get gifts ...

send Christmas cards (yes, we still send a few Christmas cards via mail) ...

hand deliver Christmas cards to local friends and Church family ...

we tease and play Christmas pranks on each other ...

listen to Christmas music whenever we're in the vehicle ...

and look for ways to brighten others days ...

All these things and more fill the days leading up to Christmas with excitement and joy.

If distance separates you from your loved ones/family during the holiday season, the joy in the journey is up to you.  You determine how you'll spend the time; we choose year after year to do the things, some small and some not so small, that bring us joy in the days leading up to Christmas.

So what did this week look like?  Come on, let's take a peek ...

Earlier in the fall hubby had boiled a huge pot of peanuts and after he had shared with others, he put the remaining in the freezer.  This week he decided he wanted some so off to the freezer he went to grab a bag.  He put the frozen peanuts in a pot of boiling water to thaw and warm after which he drained them and then promptly sat down to enjoy boiled peanuts ... out of season ... all thanks to his efforts earlier.

Keeping a well-stocked pantry is not just for basics, it's for those foods that really are treats too!

Hubby found a package of marked down ground chuck at the grocery store, purchased it and brought it home.  Since it was marked down for quick sale, I browned it in a skillet along with some chopped onions.  While this was going on, I made some pickled onions.  I have been wanting to make some for quite some time, but there just hasn't seemed to have been a big enough chunk of time available.  While the ground beef and onion were cooking, I decided that now was the time.  I had to be in the kitchen to keep the ground beef and onion mixture stirred and cooking anyway, so I made up 2 jars of pickled onions.  Here's the recipe I used and sad to say, I didn't make a note of where it came from, so I can't give credit to the proper person.

Delicious Pickled Onions!

1 red onion

Fresh dill (optional) (I did not add dill.)

3/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup water

2-3 tbsp honey (adjust to taste)

Slice onion thinly.

Place all ingredients in a jar.

Warm vinegar, honey, and water until boiling.  (I did not add the honey until the vinegar and water had come to a boil.  I removed the pot from the stove and let it sit for about 5 minutes and then stirred in the honey.  My reason was to preserve as many of the nutritional properties of the honey as possible.)

Pour mixture over onions.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before enjoying.  Keeps for up to 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator.

 Serve on a sandwich or in a wrap

In the garden ... yes, in the garden, can you believe it?  In the garden, our collards are ready to harvest!  I'll do that next week and preserve them by canning.

Next year's garlic is up and growing!  We're supposed to have frigid temps next week; that will probably kill it back until spring when it will start growing again.

Remember the hanging towels that my sister and I did together via technology earlier in the year?   This week I packaged them along with a wooden spoon and started giving them as gifts for those times when someone drops by with a gift for me/us.  Living prepared is not just about food!  You can read about how I packaged these gifts HERE.

I also finished up the alphabet letters I've been sewing on for one of our grands.  You can get a look at all of them HERE along with 2 of 7 drawstring bags I'm working to finish.

How is the holiday season going for you?  Are you enjoying the journey?  I hope so!  One thing that we didn't do this year was put up a tree.  Yes, you read that right!  This is the first year I can ever remember where we didn't put up a Christmas tree.  I have put out Christmas quilts and a few Christmasy things, but we opted to keep the decorating low key this year and I can honestly say, it feels good.  I do miss not having a lighted tree to enjoy in the evenings, but this has been a challenging year, so instead, we are opting to enjoy the decorations of others.  Next year, we'll assess how we feel and make the appropriate decision for us.  Our ultimate goal for the holiday season is to enjoy it, we are well past the season of life where we try to keep up with the 'Jones' and all the stress that it brings.  ~ Smile ~ ... it's a beautiful peaceful place to be!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 11/28 & 12/5/25

   From My Home to Yours

11/28 & 12/5/25

~ tis the season to be busy~

We didn't plan for it to be as busy as it got, so when it did, we grabbed hold and hung on!  Here's a peek at the last couple of weeks and some things we did that helped ...

Hubby asked me to make biscuits two different times and each time I made a super large batch.  We enjoyed them as ham & biscuit's, sausage & biscuits, and butter and biscuits.  It was nice to have them made ahead and stored in the refrigerator ready to heat and eat.  Having the biscuits, ham and sausage cooked ahead was a time saver when we needed a quick meal or snack!

One of the events (yes, there have been several) we attended was a pie baking event done by the teens of the church we attend. The teens made a total of 16 pies, the majority of which they gave as gifts.  They made sure we had one and that saved me time in the kitchen when it came to Thanksgiving meal prep!

The ones given away were packaged very pretty and hand delivered.

In and around all the holiday events, I canned up the last of the $.29 per lb turkeys and also canned the cranberry tonic I mentioned in the last post.  All together we purchased 4 turkeys over a period of 2 weeks and got 28 jars of canned turkey plus several meals.  One way we used the turkey I didn't can was in turkey wraps.  They were easy and quick to put together and having the turkey already cooked was a big-time saver.  Here's how I make them ...

1 flour tortilla

1 slice cheese of your choice

1/4 - 1/2 cup cooked turkey

I laid the cheese slice on the tortilla then added the cooked turkey.  I rolled it into a roll and warmed it enough in the microwave to melt the cheese.    You could add seasonings or a sauce of your choice to the wrap, but I found the simple taste of the cheese and turkey in the tortilla was just what my taste buds wanted.

During this time, we were given two very large collard plants.  I cooked them down, added smoked turkey neck bones for seasoning and when the cooking was completed, let them cool completely.  There wasn't enough for a canning, so I froze them instead leaving out enough for a meal.  Oh, they were so delicious!

I froze 4 ice trays of the cranberry tonic I mentioned earlier.   I've already enjoyed a couple of cranberry tonic ice cubes in water two different times.  I'm really enjoying the taste and the health benefits it affords me.

In the midst of all this activity, hubby had a birthday and requested a made from scratch German Chocolate cake.  We tag teamed the making of the birthday cake and actually baked it on his birthday.  It was so delicious!

Our Christmas cactus is right on time with blooming!

I pulled the last of the 'doll blankets' I crochet from my gift trunk for a little girl who wants a dolly for Christmas.  I must make it a priority to get busy and get some more done and into my gift trunk ready for gift giving.  I make them out of blanket yarn, and they are so incredibly soft!

In trying to boost my immune system during the winter months I combined flaxseed meal, wheat germ, nutritional yeast and, not shown, chia seeds into a mixture and jarred it up ...

I add one tablespoon to my morning smoothie every day and keep the jars stored in the refrigerator the rest of the time.

One more thing ... I shared my thoughts on 'Grandma-ing' over on From This Heart of Mine.  What is 'Grandma-ing?'  This link will tell you!

That's it for this week, I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 11/21/25

From My Home to Yours

          

11/21/25

~ More Fall additions to our pantry ~

I preserved the second turkey that hubby purchased last week for $.29/lb.  It gave us 7 quarts of pressure canned turkey for our pantry along with enough left over for 2 meals.

I found celery on sale for $.99/bunch and purchased 4 bunches to preserve, to use in roasting yet another $.29/lb turkey and some for upcoming meals and of course, any that is not used will be chopped and frozen for future use.  Waste not, want not!

One meal we enjoyed this week involved rice, so when I cooked it, I cooked enough to freeze for future meals as well.  It's an easy way to get ahead with meal preparation!

I decided after a comment that a reader left last week (thank you Elaine) to do something different with my cranberries and cranberry juice than I had first planned.  Instead of flash freezing the whole cranberries and turning the cranberry juice into frozen cranberry juice ice cubes, I combined the two into a big pot and added dehydrated lemon slices, cinnamon sticks, dehydrated ginger and cloves.  I brought it all to a boil and then let it simmer for a while.  Once the simmering is over and cooled (it's in the cooling stage now), I plan to refrigerate the whole mixture until morning and then strain and process.  I plan to can some, and I also plan to freeze some into ice cubes.  I'll use it in water, juice and or smoothies as an immune booster.

Hubby found 'marked down' bananas at a local grocery store and brought some home to restock my 'flash frozen chunks of bananas for smoothies' in the freezer part of my pantry.

I finished stitching up this skirt to go with the Christmas sweatshirt I reworked earlier.   You can get more details about it in this post!

I continued working on stitching up this gift of letters for one of my grands.  You can read more details about them in this post!

I started mailing out Christmas gifts today!  I really try to have everything that gets mailed done by the first of December.  Sometimes I make my deadline and sometimes I don't, but I always like to try.

On my to-do list for next week ...

Enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday and my husband's birthday!

and 

then 

there

is 

this ...

That's it for this week!

I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

~ Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. readers ~

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!

From My Home to Yours: 11/14/25

    From My Home to Yours

11/14/25

~  first freeze, first fire in the woodstove of the season and first snowflakes ~

Yes, you read that right!  In the land of 'no snow' we got snowflakes ... big fluffy snowflakes that fell right before bedtime.  We didn't get any accumulation, but let me tell you it was pure excitement, not only at my house but at several other houses in the area.  For a little while there might have been a texting frenzy going on amongst those who saw it and some far away who didn't see it!

As a result, we made the first fire of the season in our woodstove.  Wood heat is so much warmer than HVAC heat ... and it's a lot less expensive too!  

I am so thankful for the winter preparations we made earlier in the year for this winter.  Little did we know that below freezing temperatures and snowflakes would be a part of our November ... which no one that I've talked to has ever seen happen this time of year in our area.  Thanks be to God for granting me wisdom, guidance and discernment to prepare to the best of my abilities for the future that only He knows about!

Before the freezing weather arrived, I did one more walk through and harvest in our garden.  I harvested plantain; comfrey; St John's Wort; nettles, parsley and catnip.  My small house looked like an herb store with all these herbs drying in various places.  With the wood stove going, it didn't take long for all of them to dry.  I started jarring them all up right before finishing up this post.

All of these will be used in either cooking or herbal remedies.  I have been working really hard to replenish the medicinal part of my pantry with the herbs that I use.

horseradish

I purchased 5 lbs of freshly dug horseradish and as soon as it arrived, I set to work preserving it.  If you know anything about horseradish you know that if preserving is intended, then it needs to be done before it cures out and gets hard.  With that thought in mind, I washed, cleaned and peeled the chucks and got them ready to work with.  The first thing I did was to chop some and add it to the fire cider I had in the works (I was out of horseradish when I started my current jar of cider fire.)  Next, I chunked some and started a tincture (jar on the right).  After that I chopped up the rest of it and dried it in the dehydrator.  When it was finished drying, I jarred it up (jar on the left) and added it to the medicinal part of my pantry.  I'll use both the dried and tincture in making herbal remedies as needed.

We purchased this turkey for $4.16 (with a $35 grocery purchase) at a local grocery store.  

I stuffed it with apples, butter and a roasted garlic seasoning mix. I also coated the skin with butter and the same garlic seasoning mix!  Hubby was back in the same store later in the week and did the same deal again.  This time the turkey cost $5.90!  I'm always keeping my eyes and hears open for deals and bargains to keep my pantry stocked and $.29/lb for any kind of meat, is a bargain!

From the first turkey ... 9 pints of turkey ready to have the lids and rings put on and added to the pressure cooker.  I expect to get the same amount out of the second turkey.  

In other news, we got a shock this week when we were notified that our auto insurance was increasing $200/month.  Yes, you read that right!  This made absolutely no sense as there are no wrecks or tickets on our driving records.  We had already absorbed the expected increase when we purchased a new to us vehicle in the spring, so that shouldn't have been it.  When we inquired about the reason for such a large increase, we were told it was due to the collision part of our insurance ... that used parts had increased significantly due to inflation.  We were speechless, were we being told that we were expected to pay for 'used parts' in anticipation of possibly needing them in the future?  Needless to say, we immediately started shopping around for a more reasonable rate.  I am happy to say we found one with a different company for the same amount of coverage and for less than half of what it was going to cost us if we had stayed with the old company.   Looking well to the ways of our household includes being good stewards of our finances.  

I've started sewing and creating for the holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year).

Click on each title to be taken to pictures and additional information on each!

I restyled a Christmas sweatshirt

I made and put in the mail Thanksgiving treats for our grands

and

Started stitching up this gift for one of my grands

On my to-do list for next week ...

I purchased cranberries to flash freeze and divide into smoothie size portions ...  (cranberries are pretty much available only this time of the year in our area so that means I need to preserve enough until this time next year.)

I purchased 100% cranberry juice to freeze in ice cube trays for use in flavoring water and or smoothies ...

Preserve the other turkey hubby purchased

I'm on the lookout for a good deal on carrots as this is usually the time of year that they go on sale.  If I can find one, I'll be canning carrots as well.

Here's a list of things I look for in November that you can usually find for a somewhat good deal:

turkey

ham

sweet potatoes (I don't need to buy any this year as we were able to grow enough for our needs)

carrots

cranberries

pie crusts (no I don't make pie crusts from scratch)

Baking supplies

Brussels sprouts

Food wise, what do you look for in November that might be considered seasonal?

That's it for this week!

I hope you've found something in my ramblings that will help and or encourage you in the upcoming week.

Until the next time ...

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

~ quietly holding the home front ~

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Other Places You Can Find Me ...

Grandma's Got a Sewing Machine 

From This Heart of Mine  

Mrs. Patsi on Instagram

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting my work via one of the following ways. Your expressions of appreciation help me keep my pantry well-stocked and me motivated to keep on keeping on with my attempts to inspire and encourage you (Titus 2:3-5) through my writings!