My Cozy Little Farmhouse

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52533981128109358522025-12-03T15:50:23.532-05:00My Cozy Little FarmhouseJoin me as I renovate my 1881 farmhouse with much creativity and very little budget. (Often with humorous results). Oh and there may be random ramblings posted from time to time. It helps quiet the voices in my head. Well, that and the prescription the Dr. gave me...Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.comBlogger431125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-36268091978354498552018-01-07T22:28:00.002-05:002018-01-07T22:28:42.510-05:00Jams and Fruit Butter Recipes

Here are the recipes from my last post Holly Jolly Jam ***DISCLAIMER*** this recipe isn't  approved by NCHFP. I found a few recipes I liked by looking through my various books and and a few internet searches, then modified to work with what I have, so proceed at your own risk. 1.5 c orange juice (no calcium added, with or without pulp is fine) 1/4 c lemon juice 3 c sugar 2 TBS

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-18479092818633378732017-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:002018-01-01T03:40:59.967-05:002017 wrap up and goals for the New Year

Hello all. It has been quite a while since I posted on my blog. I have dozens of drafts but couldn't seem to find the gumption to complete them. I hope everyone has been healthy, happy and productive. 2017 was somewhat trying health wise for me . A few procedures and minor surgeries. Nothing too horrible or life changing. To be honest, 2017 was just a trying year overall, for so many reasons

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-69426162675835629122017-07-26T00:36:00.002-04:002017-07-26T00:36:25.598-04:00Preserving my harvest

No time to write much. Even though I have about 20 half written posts sitting in my draft folder. I have been buried with cucumbers and zucchinis. Ignore the weeds. 2 plants each and it was the motherload. The cucumbers have escaped the garden and are climbing the fence. The Zucchini are very tall! The fence posts are 48 inches, the zukes are 3/4 their height.  Pickles Old

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-63195667879494798542017-06-27T11:28:00.005-04:002018-06-01T00:21:10.704-04:00Bloom Where You Are Planted

I REALLY debated if I wanted to post this or not and decided yes, I should share... This isn't a particularly funny or entertaining post today. Nor is it photo laden as are many of blog entries I post. However, I would like think this is worth the read. The hubbs and I have been working around the ol' homestead, trying to clean up and get rid of stuff. So much stuff.  You know how it

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-10456828006820988522017-06-05T00:47:00.001-04:002017-06-05T12:43:54.347-04:00Garden Update part1

Y'all...for the first time ever...EVER...I  lost my entire garden (11 tomato plants and 10 pepper plants--ALL Heirloom varieties) with exceptions being my berries, asparagus and 1 little old bell pepper plant.  How utterly tragic! We planted the garden on May 2nd. Normally we don't plant until Mother's Day. But it had been a very mild winter and the soil was much warmer than normal

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-5966557017519691932017-05-27T18:30:00.000-04:002017-05-27T18:30:03.942-04:00Trees Please

Remember when I talked about planting some trees on Earth Day? Well I placed an order from Stark Brothers Nursery. And this is a completely unsolicited response on my part... They have AMAZING customer service. Stark's was incredibly communicative. I received emails every step of the order process, who promptly fulfilled the order and shipped. I ordered April 9th, had a shipping

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-69161993465627336452017-05-24T23:00:00.001-04:002017-05-24T23:09:38.954-04:00Under Pressure

Yep, I did it. I splurged and bought an electronic pressure cooker! IP for shorthand. Y'all know I have a kitchen gadget obsession.  The IP is now being distributed via Target. I scored a great deal. On sale for $99.95 (before tax), an additional 10 % instant rebate, 5% for using my Target debit card and a $10 rebate. Woot! Soooo shiny! I have had a cook top pressure cooker

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-73698297412982483602017-05-17T06:00:00.000-04:002017-05-17T06:00:10.316-04:00A little late to catch this trend

It is a little late in the game but I am just now catching on to this trend...of vinyl wall art and quotes. I made a stop at Meijer's which is a local grocery plus store (they have clothing, home goods and a nursery in addition to the grocery). As I was meandering up and down the aisles I happened across a clearance section and found this vinyl wall quote for $4.99. SCORE!!  It was so

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com0Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-49912420408412877002017-05-14T03:18:00.005-04:002017-05-14T13:38:32.430-04:00Much ado about spices

Food is THE central component in my life. Food is social. How many events are planned around food? Food is comfort. Was it a good day? Let's celebrate with food. Was it a bad day? Let's drown our sorrows with food. Oh you're sick? You need to eat.  It isn't just about eating though. I think about food. ALOT. Where am I buying it? Can I grow, harvest and preserve it? What am I cooking,

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-75614921146893511062017-04-22T23:57:00.000-04:002017-04-22T23:57:01.452-04:00Happy Earth Day!

Did you know Earth day began as a counter culture movement in 1970?  On April 22, 1970, approximately 20 Million Americans took to the streets from coast to coast,  to demonstrate and raise awareness about water, air pollution, wildlife extinction and the ravages of pesticides. It is 47 years later and we still are plagued by the same problematic issues.  Without getting too

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-77471222110929907912017-04-05T21:48:00.001-04:002017-04-05T21:48:31.983-04:00Puzzled

How many of you like jig-saw puzzles? I like them although I had not worked any for a few years. Personally, I think they are great way to slow down the frantic pace of everyday life and they provide the added benefit of working the brain. My daughter gifted me a 1000 piece puzzle this past Christmas. A 1000 pieces...Oy!  One problem with puzzles- where can you work on them? I don't

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-15913596371806726242017-02-14T00:59:00.002-05:002017-02-14T16:03:45.875-05:00Silver Anniversary

25 years ago on Valentine's Day, the now hubbs and I stood in the judges chambers and exchanged vows with cheap gold bands. We were married on his lunch break. I wore a navy blue suit dress and he wore his work uniform. This decision to marry was not made on a whim. We had planned on a having a "real" wedding with a fancy dress, tuxedo, candles, flowers, and cake. But it didn't happen.

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com6Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-20195199807649131832017-02-12T22:23:00.001-05:002017-02-12T22:23:04.712-05:00Catching up

Happy belated New Year's to everyone. My apologies for abandoning my blog. I just couldn't seem to muster the energy to work on creative projects, let alone write about what is going on at My Cozy Little Farmhouse. Things are on an upswing. I seem to be coming out of my funk or whatever this moodiness is I have been experiencing for months. Since I last posted there have been a couple of

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-34333259441283469922016-12-17T22:25:00.003-05:002016-12-17T22:25:37.124-05:00IKEA Therapy

I love IKEA. Seriously. Forget Disneyland. It is the happiest place to which I can go, well IKEA, Target, Panera and Graeter's Ice Cream. They all make me happy. I was left to entertain myself, after meeting up with my daughter for our traditional "It's a week before Christmas and Dad hasn't bought mom's presents yet"  breakfast. Every year, we meet for breakfast at First Watch, have a

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com1Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2262786 -93.2342715 46.608295600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-39821594909798839882016-10-22T12:13:00.000-04:002016-11-03T12:15:27.751-04:00Sauerkraut Festival

October 8th,  my sisters and I ventured to Waynesville, Ohio for the 47th annual Sauerkraut Festival. **I didn't have my camera so the photos used are from the Dayton Daily News, Waynesville Sauerkraut Festival page and Inside Guide Cincinnati.** Waynesville is a charming town in Southwest Ohio, established in 1796, is of Quaker origin, known for its antiquities and the Sauerkraut

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com1Waynesville, OH 45068, USA39.529782399999988 -84.08660099999997339.480795399999991 -84.167281999999972 39.578769399999985 -84.005919999999975tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-23366205291759850232016-09-05T01:15:00.001-04:002016-09-05T01:15:05.700-04:00Garden Update

Every year I say, "Well there is always next year" when something in the garden is disappointing. This year the disappointing factor was me. To be honest most of the time it is me. Or I am a contributing factor. This year, I have been having some health issues, that combined with the 100°F weather or monsoon type rains, and I had to stay frequently indoors.  My garden is overgrown

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-16104290366790948322016-08-17T22:26:00.001-04:002016-08-18T20:26:39.596-04:00New Stuff

I could have sworn I had written a post about this. Apparently I forgot to tell y'all, but I have new appliances. Well, a  new stove and dishwasher. The refrigerator will be soon--not soon enough though! My sister moved into a condo with white appliances and she had a brand new black refrigerator that didn't sell with her house. The builder wouldn't switch the appliances to black, so we

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com6Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-20870255358961809212016-08-06T18:32:00.006-04:002016-08-06T18:32:57.443-04:00The Great Garage Clean Out

Or an alternate title..."how to not be a hoarder." Which by the looks of things we are...um, errr..were..are trying to not be! I don't have any before pics to share because it was bad. Oh so bad! 4th of July weekend, I decided to take advantage of the cool, rainy weather-combined with the fact the hubbs was gone for the day to attack the hoard pile. Here is the de-crappifying in progress.

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-73774707690479065242016-07-24T23:03:00.002-04:002016-07-25T10:55:10.088-04:002016 International Can-It-Forward Day

July 22, 2016 was the 6th annual International Can It Forward Day!  The Can It Forward tradition began as a way to share the joy of canning. You don't have to be a foodie, a gardener or a canner to participate or enjoy the "fruits" of labor.   The last few years have seen a resurgence in the art of home canning and food preservation. Everyone has different reasons for wanting to

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com1Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-44605554151520120662016-07-11T09:05:00.000-04:002016-07-11T09:05:54.232-04:00Freaking Fracking Rabbits!

Ehhrrrmmeeehhggaawwddd!  The freaking, fracking, rabbits are eating through my fence. Two weeks. Two stinking weeks I have had my fence and there are FIVE patches.  You realize of course, this means war! I have already decided next year, I am building a hardware cloth enclosure. And I am electrifying it! At least the deer have only left paw prints and a few, umm... presents

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001337.336239600000006 -88.07069700000001 43.4983346 -77.743549000000016tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-60932686952693024242016-07-03T01:26:00.001-04:002016-07-03T12:20:13.661-04:00No time for housework, I have a garden to tend!

Remember when I was wishing and hoping And complaining I had the 3 stooges of seedlings And some stuff was way overgrown and out of control And everything was all muckety muck But I persevered. Slowly bringing the garden back to life. I cleaned out the weeds. SO MANY WEEDS!  I added bird netting and a small section of plastic fence to protect the strawberries. I

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com5Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-67903045692712404632016-06-27T01:28:00.001-04:002016-06-27T01:52:27.862-04:00Taking control of my health_Living with Diabetes

Warning--This is a pretty long post with many educational points. If you don't want to feel like you are back in school, you can skip to the bottom, where I have posted a healthy and yummy recipe! Y'all know I am a diabetic right? I am sure I have mentioned it a few times. I have been diagnosed since 2005. Eleven long years of dealing with this crappy ass disease.  I have the type

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com4Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-41696355753026624852016-06-18T01:23:00.002-04:002016-06-18T01:37:49.688-04:00Let this be a lesson

We had another major storm blow through our region Wednesday night. Several thousand people experienced power loss, including us. Ours was due to downed power lines. We think lightening struck a tree, caught it on fire and the limbs fell on the lines.   This time we were prepared to deal with the power outage---or so we thought. Once the torrential downpour subsided, the hubbs wheeled

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-84265912439292149012016-06-11T22:31:00.000-04:002016-06-11T22:31:29.805-04:00$32 bathroom spruce up

I have been complaining about the downstairs bathroom for quite some time. It is still on the list to remodel but as life goes, things happen and priorities shift. Soooo...I put on "my creative, let's thinks outside the box and make this work on the cheap" hat. I couldn't change the the walls right now, but I did make a few inexpensive changes. BEFORE AFTER--btw I know the toe kick

Tonya @ My Cozy Little Farmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12289024681312440621noreply@blogger.com2Ohio, USA40.4172871 -82.90712300000001334.2103666 -93.2342715 46.624207600000005 -72.57997450000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5253398112810935852.post-9804518033342183502016-06-04T23:23:00.000-04:002016-06-06T21:17:17.294-04:00Mad Hatter Tea Party

“I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours.” ― Lewis Carroll Follow the arrows to the tea party. The sign was printed offline from a Google search and the frame was from the Dollar Tree. The tassel's were purchased at Target (Dollar Spot bins) and the glittery hearts was a 4 pack purchased from Old Time Pottery. Which key? I have a "thing"