~ from my home to yours ... ~
I love our little home, it's perfect for us! There's warmth and love within its walls and yes, mason jars, home preserved foods, herbs, books, WIP projects, lots of snuggly quilts, a swing on the front porch and a rocking chair nearby! We call it home and we call ourselves blessed. We give God the glory for He has had and continues to have His hand in it all!

Sunday, May 3, 2026

From My Home to Yours: 5/1/26

  From My Home to Yours

5/1/26

~ Let's work on our pantry! ~

But first, we got some much needed rain this week!  One day it rained all day long ... a slow, steady continuous rain that we very much needed.  We are praising God for the blessing of rain!

In the garden (that's where pantry building for us starts) ...


The green peas are growing and starting to bloom ... we'll have peas to harvest before much longer ... they will be flash frozen and added to our pantry.


We continue to harvest radishes.  This week I hope to pickle some to add to my pantry for use in salads and in wraps.


Our tomatoes loved the all day rain we got ... they have a ways to go before bearing, but when they do I'll be ready to preserve them ... tomato powder, regular flavored canned tomatoes; hot flavored canned tomatoes and sauces.  These too, will become a part of our pantry.  While we're in the waiting and growing stage though, I'll make sure that I have everything on hand I need to preserve them in the selected way when they are ready.

Separate and apart from the garden we did some bargain shopping ... for our pantry.

We found #10 size cans of tomato sauce for a really good price ... I'll re-can them and turn them into quart size jars of chili base sauce.  This winter when we have chili, preparing it will be quick and easy as all I'll have to do is add the browned ground beef and onion (which I plan to already have in the freezer, several packages, in fact) and canned kidney beans.

At the same place, we also found #10 size cans of pizza sauce and purchased a few of those as well.  I'll re-can those and use them as spaghetti sauce as we seldom make pizza at home any more.  The flavor is perfect for spaghetti sauce!

At a different place, we found jars of pickled asparagus and pickled okra, actually it was from a very small warehouse distributor.  We restocked those items in our pantry at a good price, essentially eliminating and bypassing the increased grocery store price.

We visited with some dear friends this week who blessed us by sending us home with freezer meals for the freezer part of our pantry.  Off and on throughout our visit, we discussed our mutual desire and intention of building up freezer meals in our pantry.  When we got ready to leave, they handed me 3 different freezer meals to bring home with us.  Yes, we are blessed!  Those freezer meals are in our freezer right now waiting for one of those days when a freezer meal is just what the doctor ordered!!!  Thank you B and J!

We are in a very busy season right now with spring planting behind us, summer planting needing to be done and the beginning of harvest season ... and that's just the gardening portion of our lives!  To keep from getting overwhelmed and stressed out, I'm bringing back my weekly goals and use that list as a place to work from each week.  Here's what my goals list looks like for the upcoming week ...

harvest and preserve nettles

plant green beans

get 3 remaining raised beds ready for planting

start more seedlings

tie up rose bush 'arms' (from the rose bushes I planted earlier this year)

snip roses from older rose bushes and bring them inside to enjoy

add 1 freezer meal to the freezer part of our pantry

make a batch of pickled eggs

make yogurt

do a garlic check, indications are that it won't be much longer before it will be ready to harvest

my dear hubby always gets me something for mother's day and he has asked me what I would like to have this year ... I need to decide and let him know!  Yes, I am blessed.  My hubby is so good to me!

try my hand at making rhubarb tea (we have rhubarb ready in the garden)

do a price check on ground beef

make a herbal pain relief salve

I'll report in next week with a progress report!

I almost finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye.   I am very much enjoying this series and I fluctuate between hurrying through each book to see what happens next and reading at a snail's pace because I don't want the series to end!

I didn't get any sewing done, but I do need to pull together two busy bags for a couple of little girls at church.  The draw string bags that I'll use to house the 'busy' part of the bags are already stitched up and in my gift trunk.  These type things are the reason I am always stitching up some type of draw string bag.  The are perfect for so many things ... and are a great way to use up smaller cuts of fabric!

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

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

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!

Friday, April 24, 2026

From My Home to Yours: 4/24/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/24/26

~ What can We Learn from our Farming Friends? ~

Our farmers have a couple of strikes against them this growing season (drought and diesel prices), yet they are still working to do what they do best ... produce food for their families and our country. 

This week I've decided to focus on sharing some of the things I'm learning from farmers by observing their methods and when possible, gleaning from their wisdom.

Here are a few of those things ...


First, there are many ways to grow produce.  This is one method we've used in the past.  It helps with weed control and with moisture in the area under plastic.  A small hole will be made in the plastic where the grower wants to plant a plant or sow a seed.  This farmer has his field ready to plant.  Obviously, he grows produce on a large scale, but this method works on family size and smaller gardens as well.


This picture speaks to me of preparedness and frugality! 
This farmer clearly is thinking ahead about his needs and taking steps to meet them as frugally as possible.

We can do the same ... determine our needs and then take steps to meet those needs as frugally as possible.


Look at how this farmer is utilizing his land!  Look at his first planting and then notice that he has everything ready to  do a second planting ensuring continued crops.

We can do that too ... are we preparing for the next 'crop?'  For the next 'season' ... are our pantries prepared?  Do we have a plan ... the farmer in this picture does?


This gravel road made me smile ... at the end of it was another farm and another farmer doing what he can with what he has.

Isn't that what we're all doing, whether we're trying to garden or are depending on the grocery store for our food needs, we're all in this together doing the best we can. 

Our strength to weather the current crisis lies within each of us, let's utilize the wisdom around us, make a plan and then work that plan.  That's what the farmer does!

I hope you've found something in this little pep talk this week that will encourage you. 

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

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

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!

Saturday, April 18, 2026

From My Home to Yours: 4/17/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/17/26

~ Gardening! ~


Can you spot the cabbage in and amongst the radish plants?


I harvested the first 2 radishes this week ... they were delicious!


We're not finished with installing the arches, but here's an update on our 3 newest raised beds (The 2 smaller ones and the longer one next to the trees are the new ones)!

Planted in the first smaller one on the left is a climbing rose bush, parsley and lemon balm.  Planted in the longer one it is connected to by the arch is another climbing rose, same variety, storage onions and squash.  The other two raised beds haven't been planted as of yet.

I continued reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye.   I finished listening to Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson and started listening to After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson.

No sewing this week but not because the 'want-to' wasn't there.  The need to get the garden planted is a top priority right now. I'll get back to sewing after the garden is planted.


My roses are starting to bloom ... such beauty!

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

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

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!

Saturday, April 11, 2026

From My Home to Yours: 4/11/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/11/26

~ A Different Kind of Week! ~


This week there was no time for gardening ...
sewing ...
reading ...
or anything else!

Almost every waking moment was spent on preparing for our church's annual youth rally!


I was assigned to teach one of the classes of teen and pre-teen girls.  I had 19 precious young ladies in my class and we talked about baptism in the Old Testament.  It was quite the joy to teach these girls what God's Word says about the subject.  We started the class by getting everyone's opinions and thoughts on baptism.  I then made the statement that when it came right down to it, it didn't really matter what they or I thought, but it did matter what God's Word said.  We then started looking at and marking Scripture in our Bibles from the Old Testament that showed what God's thoughts on baptism was and is, beginning with Genesis.


The other thing I was assigned to do was to create a scavenger hunt that went along with our theme ... Saved through Water.  Some 45 children of various ages ran all over the church yard looking for the clues they needed to win the hunt!  It was so much fun to watch them hunting down God's Word!


I got absolutely nothing else done this week except the prep for this event and while I missed being in my garden, etc, working for God takes precedent in my life.

Next week, I'll be playing catchup.  I have lots of plants that I grew from seeds that need to get in the ground.  It's also time to get the summer veggie seeds in the ground.  I've got a full week, so stay tuned!

Here's a couple of posts from the archives for you to read in the mean time ...



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

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

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!

Friday, April 3, 2026

From My Home to Yours: 4/3/26

 From My Home to Yours

4/3/26

~ It's Strawberry Season! ~


Aren't these strawberries pretty!  It's strawberry season in our area and time to restock the pantry for the upcoming year.  (Hubby bartered fresh eggs from our chickens for part of the strawberries we got!)

The first method I used for preserving strawberries was to wash, cap and prepare them for flash freezing.  After about 3 hours in the freezer, I removed them, labeled the bag and then bagged them up.  I returned the bagged strawberries to the freezer and repeated the process.

These bagged flash frozen berries will mostly be used in smoothies with an occasional use of being turned into a topping for ice cream, etc.


Hubby requested I make him some strawberry freezer jam so I did.


Here are the caps and as I am trying hard not to waste anything, looked for a way to prepare them that we would eat.  I read about several different things I could do, but none of them were a good fit for our family.  Instead, I fed them to the chickens ... and they loved them ... and they'll give them back to us in the form of fresh eggs.  There are always options for getting the most out of a harvest ... even when it means the best option is to feed it to the chickens! It's wasteful to preserve food in ways your family won't use ... sometimes we might need to remind ourselves of that!

We did it again ... hubby mentioned that he would like to have another raised bed, so ... we built another one out of cinder blocks that's just like the one next to it.  All we lack having the project completely finished is installing the hog and cattle panels that will connect them.  If all goes well and we get it completed, I'll include a picture of it in next week's post.

We planted squash this week along with more cabbage plants we grew from seeds.

Let's check on our raised beds ...

In this one are ...

storage onions on the outside 

potatoes in the middle

pole lima beans against the trellis (they're a bit hard to see in the picture)


In this one are ...

cabbage plants in the center under the wire baskets

storage onions on the outsides

radishes all in between

I continued reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye.   I also finished listening to With Each Tomorrow by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse and started listening to Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson during my daily exercise.

Ladies, the 8th lesson in our Bible study on Naomi has been posted.  You can find it HERE! We've got one more lesson in this study and it'll be finished!

No sewing this week as there simply has not been time ... preserving strawberries, building a new raised bed and gardening in and around the usual family and home activities left me with no sewing time!


I noticed this iris in my front yard and snapped a picture ... isn't it beautiful!  God's handiwork just can't be beat!


The same sentiment applies to this rose ... which is growing in a pot at a corner of our house.

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

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links.  This means that if you click on the link and place an order, etc I earn a small fee at no increased cost to you. Thank you for your support through these means. 

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay.

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!