No snow, but there is pie...

 The weather has been amazing.   We don't have much snow, which is unheard of for this time of year.

The other day at Someone's in the Kitchen, I saw this interesting pie crust contraption.   It is a plastic bag perfectly shaped for a pie or pizza pan.  It is simple to roll out to the perfect size.

It works pretty slick and sure saves the usual flour mess.

I made a cherry pie.  Since our oven parts are on a slow boat from China, my husband baked it in the smoker.  Wow was that good.

While walking Dollor, I came across these mouse tracks.  He went on quite the mouse adventure as they went for about a quarter of a mile.  

The sunrises and sunsets have been a bit lackluster.  It was nice to see a little color yesterday.  

Have you been baking?  How much snow do you have?  What is your favorite pie?  

Just a slow weekend...

The only exciting thing that happened this weekend was I got to see my niece.  We had a nice visit over coffee.  The weather has been nice. The snow is even melting. I took advantage of that and sat on the porch with my morning coffee today.  We even gave Dollor a bath.  Not his favorite thing.  No projects, no baking, and some pretty boring walks.  I'm not complaining.  Sometimes it is nice to have a quiet weekend.  

Did someone else get our winter weather?  Hope you had a relaxing weekend also.

Another project down...

 The oven project is finished.  My husband ordered a hickory panel to cover the hole in the bottom of the cabinet for the microwave cord.  He cut it to size; we applied a finish and glued it up.  Then we added a light above the stove.  It turned out perfect.  It only took four or five years, but now it is done.  We are not adding a shelf. 

Not much else has been going on.  The weather has been pretty sporadic.  Rain, snow, wind, sun...  I never know what is next.  The only thing that is consistent is the dog needs walked.

Right after we returned from our 2 mile walk it started raining like crazy.  Rain in January?  Don't worry it turned to snow at some point.  

I've been seeing a lot of elk on the drive home from work.  These bulls were making short work of someone's round bales.  They didn't seem to mind posing for the camera.  

The pay clerk does a phenomenal job feeding the birds at work.  Friday, we had a surprise guest.  A quail.  We are not sure where this little fella came from, as they are not native to the area.  I will be anxious to see if it stays around.  

That is all I have for this week.  I really liked the overnight oats and plan on making more this week.  

What have you been seeing for wildlife?  How has the weather been?  I hope everyone stayed safe from the storms that headed south.  

It is a cold world...

 It is pretty cold here, but we managed to avoid the winter storm.  We only had a skiff of snow.  I spent most of the week reading, cleaning, and walking our high energy dog.

I did try a new project.  I am experimenting with overnight oats.  

Overnight Oats Base Recipe

• ▢1 cup quick cooking oats, rolled oats work too
• ▢1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢½ cup plain Greek yogurt
• ▢1 cup milk, any kind, we used unsweetened almond milk
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢2 tablespoons maple syrup, or honey

• 1 medium banana, cut into slices (or mashed)
• ▢4 medium strawberries, cut into slices

Place all of the ingredients for the base recipe into a large container and mix until combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight (preferred). We shall see how it tastes tomorrow.  I got the recipe from:   Healthy Overnight Oats (1 base - 8 flavors!) - Fit Foodie Finds

Our other project was the small kitchen remodel.  We took out the dead microwave about the oven.  There were huge holes from the drywall anchors.  It looked like a patch and re-paint project.  It just so happened that I saw a glass backsplash on Etsy that caught my eye.  My husband also liked it, so we decided to give it a whirl.  It turned out perfect.  It matches the paint and the rest of the kitchen perfectly.  All that is left is my husband is going to cover the hole for the microwave power cord.  We have an overhead light ready to install after that.  I will be so happy to have a light over the stove again.  When the microwave crashed, we decided, for safety's sake, to unplug it.  Thus, we have been without a light above the stove.  A bit annoying.  I thought about adding a little shelf above the stove, but now I'm not sure.  What do you think?  Do you like the change?  I must say It feels more open and I really like the picture.  Since it is glass it should be easy to clean.  On the oven front, we opted for th slow boat from China.  We should have a working oven in a month (ACK).  I made no-bake cookies today, because I have to make something.  Luckily, we have the smoker and the stove.  I'm sure we will survive. 

What do you think of the change?  Do you think it should have a shelf?  Have you ever made overnight oats? Did you get hit by the big winter storm?  Are you ok?  So many questions.

Windy winter...

 It was a long weekend.  Quite a few little things were accomplished.  Of course, Dollor got lots of runs.  Even a little photoshoot.  

I canned, jerked, and ground up some elk for a friend that is battling cancer.  She understands I am not a professional processor.  They are in the middle of a medical nightmare, so I volunteered to help them with some of the meat.  They were out of freezer space, canned meat will help.  After that was done, we started on a mini-kitchen remodel.  We had a microwave above our oven.  It died in a horrible hardboiled egg accident.  We finally took it down.  I've ordered a backsplash.  We are anxiously awaiting a handyman visit.  Our oven died.  Thankfully, not the stove.  My parents have had the same ovens since their home was built.  Mine is only 11 years old.  The handyman warned us that if it is the ignitor, it is impossible to find a new one.  They do that so you have to get a new one.   Argh.  I am happy to have the microwave out.  Although the drywall anchors left huge holes in the wall.  Hopefully the backsplash I bought works.  Otherwise, my little kitchen remodel gets bigger, because I will have to patch holes and repaint.  I also spent the weekend re-organizing the bathroom and my closet.  Somewhere in all of that I made a chocolate raspberry cake.  Then since it was so miserable out, we cleaned the mounts and did some serious dusting of the logs.  

If Dollor looks miserable in this picture it is because we are.  This has been the windiest winter ever.  Again, this weekend the temps dipped and the wind blew.  

I was heading to work when this sunrise appeared.  I so love sunrises and sunsets.  The colors are so beautiful.  I never get tired of them. 

How old is your oven?  Any remodeling projects this winter?  Has it been windy?

The weather outside is delightful....

The weather has been pretty nice this winter.  It snows a bit and then it melts.  I've been getting outside a lot doing little things here and there. 

 

It has been so nice I raked the lawn.  Pine trees are my bane.  There is nowhere hotter than under a pine tree.  The needles carpet the ground below and they soak up the heat then reflect it back.  I know I will probably have to rake again in the spring, but it got me outside. 

My goal was to do a project every month based off of something I've seen on the internet.  This month I am after the elusive Danish roll.  I found this amazing recipe on Pinterest:  Sugar Raspberry Danish Bun - skilledcooks

The problem is you make a liquid mixture and a dry mix mixture.  After you add them together it says to incorporate the butter into the dough.  Well that is a little vague.  I've never added butter to the dough, I usually add it to the dry mix.  I melted the butter and that was a mistake.  I knew it when I did it.  Cold butter goes in pastry dough.  They turned out extremely stiff. It is a good recipe.  I just have to give it another go.  The custard was easy and yummy.    

I racked and bottled my plum and chokecherry wine.  I ended up with 14 bottles of plum and 7 of the chokecherry.  I have about 9 gallons currently processing.  I'm going to have to take a day and clean wine bottles.  People always give me their empty bottles.  I just need to take a day and get the labels off.  It is a 2 1/2-hour process to rack and bottle everything. 

That is about all I know.  This year is off to a busy start.  I'm happy for the warm weather.  I do wish I could snowshoe, but I'm sure that will happen in due time. How has your new year been?  Are you working on any winter projects?

Goodbye 2025 and Hello 2026...

 Every year I end with a review of last year's goals and if they were accomplished.  I then try to set some goals for the new year.  So here is a look back at 2025 and my goals for 2026.

2025 Goals and if they were achieved:

To do some more trips with my husband.  We were able to go watch the cranes this spring and bear hunting this fall.  It was good to go somewhere and do something new.  I want to go fishing in Ely, MN or see the Bighorns in Wyoming.  That goal did not happen and this is why. Meet Dollor the new addition to our home.  Not only has he kept us busy, but also the chipmunks, deer, and mountain lions.  We were able to see my brother's graduation in Sioux Falls, visit my parents, and take Christina around, but all traveling ceased in August when we picked up Dollor.  I can say I have made many trips (several them late at night) around our property walking the dog. 

I need to devise ways to keep critters out of my gardens.  They are on every front from voles to deer to birds.  I am determined to harvest elderberries.  They even got my grapes this year.  I am always amazed how people survived when a garden was their main food source.  There are so many things that can decimate a garden:  hail, heat, bugs, animals, the list goes on. This has been a goal many times in the past.  It seems like I come up with one solution and 10 other ways to invade pop up.   Despite the hail I had a good harvest.  My flowers were great until the hail.  Then the deer ate what the hail missed.   I got some live traps to cut down on the plethora chipmunks, but when I got a few of them eating out of our hand, we stopped trapping.  I was afraid we would deport the brave ones.  Visitors enjoyed getting close to nature.  That was probably the last time as Dollor has them all on the run now.  I do have to add that it has been a lifelong goal this year of getting chipmunks to eat out of my hand.

I have one last trail to finish to make a complete circle around our property.  It is pretty steep but once done I can snowshoe without going across uncharted territory.  With all of the building around us it is harder to enjoy quiet time or snowshoeing where the road hasn't been plowed.   We actually finished this project on January 2, 2026.  The weather was so good we took advantage and cut a trail through the western side of our property.  My husband also cut a trail down to a spring at the back of land.  Now if I just had some snow, Dollor and I could go snowshoeing.  

Take time for myself.  I have a new job and new responsibilities.  It is very stressful.  I am working hard to get everyone on the same page, get processes in place, and most importantly my student's futures depend on my decisions.  It is difficult getting a rhythm going and there is a lot of pressure.  I really focused this winter break on not spreading myself thin.  I need to keep that up.  I have 4 years, 9 months and 24 days until retirement.  I need to get there and still be sane and still love what I am doing.   I did take quite a bit of time off this year.  It was great celebrating my brother's graduation, spending time with our family from Minnesota, the niece's week with Aunt Bonnie, giving Christina's niece the whirlwind tour of South Dakota, acclimation time with Dollor, hunting with Tom, and finally some quiet time at Christmas. 

I am hoping to improve the experience for visitors to our cabin.  Over the years we have compiled a pretty extensive list of things you can do when you visit.  I want to add more games for rainy days and places to go when the weather cooperates.  We enjoy having company and are excited to see who visits this year.  Last year we were truly blessed with all of the friends and relatives that spent time on our porch.   This was a 2024 goal, but I thought I would revisit it.  We were lucky enough to host a number of family and friends this year.  I am always thankful for those who stop by so we can share some fun time together.  I am also grateful that we were able to share some time with my parents several times this year celebrating my brother's graduation, Christina and Lily's visit, and some time at Christmas. 

Wow. What a year.  I am looking forward to what 2026 has to offer.  Here are a few of my goals: 

Gardening goals are to focus on fertilization and protection.  I am great at planting things, but I get distracted with the follow through.  It always seems to boil down to protecting from animals and elements.  I want to fence my flowers.  I never thought I would, but even with Dollor the deer decimate.  I didn't realize how much destruction the deer and hail do until my husband fenced off his giant pumpkin and put hail netting over.  One of my chokecherries was in the pumpkin fortress and it was so happy and healthy.  

Training Dollor is high on our list.  While Ella was the perfect lady, Dollor is a wild little tramp.  His heart is in the right place, but he is naughty.  Still, he is a blessing as he keeps us active.  He beats a treadmill, because those don't look at you with big sad eyes when you need a walk. 

Keeping active is high on the list.  It is easy to just sit and scroll.  This year I want to make an effort to do one project that I saw online a month.  It doesn't matter if it is gardening, sewing, woodworking, home improvement, or a recipe. Now that we have all these resources at our fingertips it is easy to get lost in the enormity of it.  I need to focus and do something with all of this information.

With family and friends, it is hard to make a new goal so I will just stick with the yearly goal of doing my best to make them feel welcome.  My job is helping young people achieve his/her goals and to do this you have to build self-confidence and help them realize what makes them special.  The same goes for the relationships in your life.  Nobody is perfect, but everybody has something that makes them great.  Celebrating the people in your life is important to me. 

Well, that's a wrap.   Do you have any goals for the year?  How did 2025 treat you?