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 

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