From My Home to Yours: 5/29/57

   From My Home to Yours

5/29/26

~ Canning Jars! ~

This week I want to talk about the lowly canning jar ... that has many uses!

This week alone, I ...

used them in making iced tea ... Here's how I make iced tea:  (1) take 2 empty canning jars, two rubber band (these came from celery bunches purchased at the store) and 4 tea bags.  Place 2 tea bags in each jar secured by the rubber bands (2) bring a kettle of water to just before boiling, don't let water come to a boil.  Boiling water can make some teas bitter, I prefer a more milder tea taste.  (3) pour hot water into jars and place an air tight lid on each jar quickly to hold all those tea flavors inside the jars. (4) Once the tea is cooled and dark in color, 12 - 24 hours, I pour the 'tea concentrate' into a pitcher and add as much water as tea.  Sweeten as desire, stir, refrigerate and enjoy!

used one as a 'vase' for my homegrown roses

used some for storage purposes ... I needed to restock my tea bags and so used three to store newly purchased tea bags in, in my pantry.  This will protect the tea bags from anything that would diminish their flavor or cause them harm until they're used.

and we can't forget all the yummy foods, kefirs, home canned foods, herbal concoctions, dried, and or fermented foods that call canning jars home for a specified amount of time in my home.

You can always find empty canning jars in residence in my kitchen waiting to be used in any of the above ways!   Empty canning jars are a staple in my kitchen and are near the top of the list of most used items in my kitchen!

How do you use the lowly canning jar?

Now, let's talk about our garden and my to-do list for the week ...

I harvested ...

squash ... actually, I harvested at least twice this much and then a dear friend shared with us from her abundance, more squash.  If all goes well, I should be preserving squash in the upcoming week.  In the meantime, we are enjoying fresh from the garden squash with our main meal of the day ... and it's delicious!  Thus far we've enjoyed it grilled and pan fried ... both equally good in their own way!  As of this writing, we have enough pan fried left over to make a squash casserole.  Hmmm, I can't wait!

Can you see all those 'pods' in the above picture?  Look closely, they are hard to identify! Each of those pods houses several seeds ... collard seeds.  We left a couple of collard plants to over winter to produce seeds for this fall's planting.  I harvested the pods this week and placed them in a dry area so they will continue to dry and then be removed from the pods.  This will make hundreds of seeds.

I did the same with a couple of cabbage plants and harvested those pods this week as well.  The pods look a lot alike so I had to make sure I placed them in separate areas so as not to accidently mix the seeds!

I harvested more elderberry flowers and apple mint this week.  (On a side note, I worked on thinning out my elderberry bushes, they were turning into a thick mass that was doing it's best to outgrow it's designated area!  A place for everything and everything in it's place definitely applies to those herbs that like to challenge their boundaries, one of which are elderberries!)

Next up is my 'to-do' list ... how did I do?

clean out another raised bed ...  I got one more done!

continue harvesting elderberry flowers ...  Done!

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)  Didn't get done!

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires.  Didn't get done!

We had a lot of rain this week, almost daily in fact, so finding time to work on my to-do list was a challenge ... but ... I did make a little progress and a little progress is better than no progress.  We desperately needed the rain so I'm praising God and in no way complaining!

Let's set some goals ('to-do's') for next week ...

of course, I'm going to work on the unfinished items from last week's list

preserve squash

plant more garden (the weather in our area this year has made planting the garden a challenge)

I continued reading book 7 in the Bregdan Chronicles, Glimmers of Change, by Ginny Dye. I finished listening to Roses by Leila Meacham and started listening to The Reluctant Bride by Jody Hedlund.  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

This past week was my birthday week and I had a somewhat unusual 'gift' request!  You can read about it HERE and see what I did with it!!!  My dear hubby never knows what to expect from me and this was not even on his radar for possibilities of things I would asked for, for my birthday!!!

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!

From My Home to Yours: 5/22/26

  From My Home to Yours

5/22/26

~ We Found It! ~

What did we find ... ground beef on sale for ... $3.99/lb.  Not so long ago I would have refused to pay that much for 73/27 ground beef, but in today's economy that is a sale price!  Regular prices in our area right now are running from $5.99/lb and up.  We did a stock up using the grocery money we haven't had to use the last few weeks.

That's one thing I was able to mark off my unfinished 'to-do' from a couple of weeks ago.  Here's another item on the list I started working on ... freezer meals!

With the ground beef, we ...

added chopped onions from our freezer and browned a big skillet full and froze it ...

made meatloaves and froze those ...

made meatballs and froze those ...

Made hamburger patties and froze those ...

Yes, we've been busy ... and I do mean we, my dear hubby has worked along side me doing the parts he felt comfortable doing.  (His knee injury has healed enough that he can walk around inside without assistance, but isn't quite ready to take on the uneven ground outside yet.  So, we work as a team, he helps out inside doing as much as he can, and I take care of the outside chores ... as much as I can!)

We also found marked down 'overripe' banana's and I made a couple loaves of banana chocolate chip bread for the freezer ... well, actually only one loaf made it to the freezer!!!

At the same store, we found whole milk on mark down (with a best by date of 5/22) for $2.45 per gallon.  I love it when we find deals on milk ... I try hard to use every drop in some way before it goes bad!

(Cucumbers working their way up the trellis.)

Out in the garden ...

I've spent a small portion of almost every day in the garden this week and was able to make progress on ticking off yet another item on my 'to-do' ...

clean out remaining raised beds ... I got 1 done leaving two to do yet.  Our temps soared this week and early mornings were the only times I could stand to work in the garden.  You'd be surprised what you can get accomplished by working in the garden approximately one hour a day!

(This years garlic harvest was not the largest bulbs we've ever grown, nor were they the smallest!  We'll take it!  This variety is 'Music.')

I got the garlic harvested and now curing ...

I amended the raised bed the garlic grew in and planted sweet potato slips ...

I planted more tomato plants that we grew from seeds as well as tomatillo plants, also grown from seed.

I pulled the 'suckers' from our well-established tomato plants and put them in a jar of water to root.  As soon as the roots start to appear, I'll plant them in a raised bed or container for a second wave of tomatoes, later in the summer.

With this year's garden I have really tried to focus on using heirloom seeds from things we have grown and doing things such as using the tomato 'sucker's' to generate new plants.  I also grew our sweet potato slips from left over sweet potatoes from the last harvest.  Anything we can do to help offset the cost of seeds and plants, we're doing!

(this is one of my new roses and the smell is amazing!)

My roses are blooming and showing out ... even some of the new bushes I planted earlier this year are already producing roses ... and they smell so good!  As part of my garden walk each morning, I cut roses, bring them in and add them to a mason jar of water.  I replace the spent ones with the new ones giving me a beautiful jar of roses to enjoy everyday.

(The results of one mornings 'hour' in the garden.)

In addition to pulling the occasional weed, directing rose legs or cucumber vines up their trellis and watering, I also harvested the things you see in the wheelbarrow ...

garlic scapes (I made more garlic scape vinegar)

rhubarb (it wasn't enough to do anything with so I froze it and will be adding to it as often as possible.)

elderberry flowers  (they have medicinal properties too!)

a few more garlic bulbs of a different variety

and finally, the day's rose harvest!

Not pictured, but occurred on the same 'morning' ... a handful of spearmint.  I walked by the container it was growing in and noticed that some of it needed harvesting so, that's what I did.  It is now air drying in a colander near a ceiling fan.  So is a colander of apple mint!

I think that almost takes care of my 'unfinished' to-do list of a couple of weeks ago, so let's make another one for the upcoming week ...

clean out another raised bed (the only thing left on my 'unfinished' to-do list.)

continue harvesting elderberry flowers

work on herbal garden area (it needs some freshening up)

plant wildflowers and cockscomb seeds in tractor tires.  This is what they looked like last year ...

I finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye and started on book 7, Glimmers of Change.  I finished listening to An Unexpected Grace by Tracie Peterson on Libby the library app and then listened to Wish You Well by David Baldacci, also on Libby the library app.  I now understand why there was a long waiting list for Wish You Well, this book touched me in deep places in my heart. And then I started listening to Roses by Leila Meacham.  If you like Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, you'd most likely enjoy Roses.  To me it's another 'page turner!'  (All the audio books I listen to come from Libby the library app.)

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!

From My Home to Yours: 5/15/26

 From My Home to Yours

5/15/26

~ 15 Different Items ~

Take a close look at this picture of one area of our raised bed/container garden gardening area ... there are 15 different items growing here.

hyssop

parsley

rose bushes

tomatoes

squash

apple mint

onions

st. john's wort

blueberries

comfrey

cucumbers

green beans

horseradish

lemon balm

tomatillos

Can you spot my windchime and shepherd's hook???  We had my mother's day outing this week on a day when we had to be 'out of town' and I found exactly what I was looking for in a windchime.  It's gentle 'tinkling' in the almost continuous breeze is just beautiful!

I threw my 'goals' list for the week completely out the window!  We had a lot of 'going' to do last week and the only thing I got done was green beans planted.  On weeks when we have so much to do away from home, I can quickly get to a point of feeling overwhelmed ... I can feel it building, but thankfully next week, as of right now, is a 'yipheee, I get to stay at home every day week!'  I love home, being home, working in my home and all that home encompasses ... 

I want to work on putting at least 2 freezer meals in the freezer next week.  I have the recipes/methods chosen and really want to get my 'meals in the freezer' part of my pantry restocked.

I also need to harvest our garlic ... it's ready!  While it's curing, about 2 weeks for our area, I'll pull out all my garlic preserving recipes and methods and decide which ones I want to use this year.  Some are culinary and some are herbal.

My nettles have grown to the point that they can be harvested again ... I need to get that done, so they'll keep putting on new growth.  I'm enjoying powdered nettles in my morning smoothie, the powder is tasteless so it doesn't affect the taste of the smoothie but I get all the nutrition and herbal benefits!  That's a win, win situation in my book!

Oh goodness, the amount of garden planting I still need to do is scary, what a spring it has been in so many ways.

    I started listening to An Unexpected Grace by Tracie Peterson on Libby the library app.

Over on my ladies Bible study blog, I added a post titled, When Trials and Tribulations Come Your Way.  Ladies, go take a look and let me know if you can add anything to this 'how-to' list.

And now I want to close this post with a praise report to God.  A year ago I was diagnosed with cysts and nodules in my thyroid.  I was assured that they were not cancerous and in fact that they were common in women of a certain age.  I went back this week for my yearly check up to see if anything had changed.  Between last year's check-up and this year's check-up I did a lot of praying that if there was something I could be doing to help support my thyroid that God would lead me to it.  I did a lot of research, found 3 things I felt were worth trying and was diligent to do each of them every day praying that they would help and that God would heal my thyroid through my efforts.  My check up this week left me in tears ... the cysts were gone, the nodules were gone and my thyroid was healthy.  I have been praising God ever since.  Through His providence, He lead me to the information I needed.  He abundantly answered my prayers.  I asked my endocrinologist last year, if there was anything I could do to support my thyroid and I was told, 'no' and for me not to get caught up in all the info online.  I'm so glad I didn't listen!

Before I share what I did, let me say again that I am not a doctor and have no medical training.  What worked for me may not work for you, as everyone is different and your thyroid issues may be completely different from mine.  I'm only sharing what worked for me and about how God worked in my situation to bring about what I was asking Him to do.  Please consult your doctor, a trained herbalist or other medical personnel for thyroid treatment.

Here's what I did every day ...

ate 2 brazil nuts

took one kelp capsule

used a very low dose roller bottle of frankincense and coconut oil on my thyroid area

prayed ... oh, how I prayed!

Please understand that I am not in any way saying or even suggesting that this is a cure for cysts and or nodules in your thyroid, nor am I suggesting that anyone should try it themselves.  I'm just sharing what worked for me ... and giving God all the glory!

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!

Making an Herbal Salve

 If  you read this post, then you'll know that my hubby is dealing with an injured knee.

While visiting the friends mentioned in last week's post, the lady of the house offered the use of an herbal healing salve she had had good results with to apply to his knee.  After a couple of days of use, hubby could tell a difference in his pain level and it was at that point that we became very interested in purchasing some for him.  It could be applied in a roller bottle form or in a salve.  Thanks to the generosity of our friends, hubby was sent home with some of both and a recipe to make both.

I made a batch of the salve once we were home and what follows is how I did it ...

(Here's where I have to say that I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any herbal or medical training other than my own personal studies and usage.  As always consult your doctor or someone trained in the usage of herbal treatment.)

I used 3 ingredients ...

 coconut oil  (the brand I used, pictured, is Member's Mark.  I prefer coconut oil to be organic, virgin, cold pressed and unrefined.)  The link, coconut oil, is to what I've used in the past and would use again if I could not find locally what I was looking for.

 beeswax (I used what I had and grated the amount needed.)  I highly recommend that if you have any health issues with your hands, such as arthritis, etc that you use beeswax pellets.  I've included a link to ones I've used in the past and will go back to using for anything that calls for beeswax pellets.

an essential oil herbal blend called Restore 

a container to put your salve in ... I used a wide mouth half-pint jar, but a roll-up tube such as this one or this one, would be better in my opinion.

step 1:  grate beeswax and measure out 2 teaspoons; set aside ... or measure out 2 teaspoons of beeswax pellets and set aside.

 step 2:  set up a double boiler.  You can use a glass heatproof measuring cup that has a handle that will hook over the side of the pan if you don't have an official double boiler.

step 3:  measure and add to double boiler the following:

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons beeswax

stir occasionally as it melts being careful not to slosh any out into the water which could cause water to pop up into mixture.  You don't want water in the mixture you are melting.  The coconut oil will melt quicker than the beeswax.  The stirring is needed in order to mix the oil and beeswax together.

Step 4: When the beeswax and coconut oil are completely melted, set the top part of the double boiler off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring off and on to further blend the beeswax and coconut oil.  Note:  allowing the mixture to cool for this short period of time is necessary in order not to destroy the therapeutic properties of the essential oil  you will add.

When the 5 minutes are over, add the essential oil blend (10-20 drops) and stir in really well to blend essential oil with coconut and beeswax mixture.  Note: if essential oil is not blended well with coconut and beeswax mixture it will separate when cooling.  So ... stir, stir, stir until well blended (for me, it was approximately 2 - 3 minutes of stirring)!

All three ingredients are blended, in the container of choice and cooling.  I put an air tight lid on the container and let it sit for 24 hours.

The final product!  All that's left is labeling and using!  I'll make another batch as hubby continues to use this salve on his knee.  Next time though, I will use beeswax pellets and roll-up tubes!  

One more note:  the method used here is your basic salve making method.  The only thing that would change is the essential oils you added if you wanted to make a different salve.

Tell me what you think, would you like to see more 'how-to' posts in addition to the weekly 'From My Home To Yours' posts?

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!

From My Home to Yours: 5/8/26

 From My Home to Yours

5/8/26

~ Happy Mother's Day ... ~

to all women who have the heart of a mother whether you have biological children or not ...

to all the women whose heart hurts over estranged children ...

to all the women who fill the role of mother to another woman's children ...

to all the grandmothers, or whatever the grands call you ...

to all the mothers who can't be with their children ...

to all the mothers who will be surrounded by their children ...

you all matter ...

Happy Mother's Day!

(roses from my rose bushes)

This week didn't go quite as planned, but we made hay with the 'hay' we had ...

(Hubby had a knee injury and I battled allergies and respiratory issues all week.)

We had a big pile of brush that needed burning, but couldn't be burned because of a burning ban.  After the rain we had last week, the burning ban was lifted and hubby seized the opportunity to 'get it done!'  He soon realized that his knee wouldn't allow him to stand on it for the duration, so he enlisted my help and we got it done.  We are a team through the thick and thin of life and very much enjoy our life together ... even when we're doing something like burning a brush pile!

We had occasion to be at the grocery store this week and the food prices were shocking!  We don't purchase a lot of groceries, mostly loss leader items or specific items we need for a certain meal and as a result don't keep up with food prices that much.  I came away with the conclusion one again, that this is certainly the time for frugal shopping, stretching what you have and working hard to build and or maintain a well-stocked pantry!

Let's move on, what about my goals for this week, let's take a look ...

 Here's what my goals list for the week looked like ... 

harvest and preserve nettles ... Done!

plant green beans ... Didn't get Done!

get 3 remaining raised beds ready for planting ... Didn't get Done!

start more seedlings ... Didn't get Done!

tie up rose bush 'arms' (from the rose bushes I planted earlier this year) ...  I started this but didn't get far, but hey, I did get started!

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

add 1 freezer meal to the freezer part of our pantry ... Didn't get Done!  In fact, we ate a couple of those freezer meals we were sent home with from a friends house.  Having freezer meals ready to cook and or thaw, heat and heat sure do come in handy when the cook and the cook's assistant are both a bit under the weather!

Speaking of freezer meals, I pulled an apple pie out of the freezer that I put together last fall.  I let it thaw and cooked it for 45 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  Both hubby and I thought it was delicious!  Note to self, make more of these for the freezer when apples are ready to harvest this fall!

make a batch of pickled eggs ... Didn't get Done!

make yogurt ... Didn't get Done!

do a garlic check, indications are that it won't be much longer before it will be ready to harvest ... Done!  It's not quite ready, I'll keep checking.  I did however harvest some garlic scapes, chopped them up and added them to a pint jar of ACV.  This will be used as a basis for a homemade dressing.

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!  Done!  I told him I wanted a wind chime to go on a shepherd's hook I was given last week.  We had planned an outing to go purchase said wind chime, but towards the end of the week I told him I needed to talk to him about said outing.  I told him that I appreciated that he was willing to push through his knee pain for our planned outing.  But considering his knee injury, and taking into consideration that I was miserable with allergies and respiratory issues, that I would really just rather wait until I felt better and his knee had more time to recover.  I told him that I wanted to enjoy our outing not push through and treat it as something that needed to be checked off  of a to-do list.  He agreed and so we postponed my mother's day outing until we're both feeling better.

try my hand at making rhubarb tea (we have rhubarb ready in the garden) ... Didn't get Done!

do a price check on ground beef ... Done!  The price was $5.99/lb for 70/30. We didn't buy any, we'll keep looking!  We checked at a different store later in the week and its price was $5.86/lb.  We didn't buy any again, we'll keep looking!

make a herbal pain relief salve ... Done!  I will be posting the process in a separate blog post asap.  Update 5/10/26 ... I finished the how-to post, you can find it HERE.

In addition, I did some weeding of blackberry bushes, raspberry bushes, rhubarb and Echinacea while keeping an eye on the burning burn pile.  

We also purchased a few more strawberries (at a reduced price) to flash freeze and add to the freezer part of our pantry.

Here's my goals list for the upcoming week ...

We have several appointments next week so I'm not sure how much I can get done, but here's my list anyway ...

try my hand at making rhubarb tea

plant green beans

make a batch of pickled eggs 

make yogurt 

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) 

keep checking prices on ground beef

shop loss leaders, marked down or clearance price grocery items if opportunity arises

... and anything else I can work into my schedule!

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

and finally ...

I nearly finished reading book 6, Carried Forward by Hope, in the Bregdan Chronicles, by Ginny Dye and put my hands on book 7, Glimmers of Change for the purpose of starting it as soon as book 6 is finished.  I listening to Somerset by Leila Meacham on an audio book from Libby the library app.  I really enjoyed it as well!   I had more listening time this week than 'sit down reading 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!