The Country Homemaker Hop- Week 5

Happy February!

It's that time of the week already... time to welcome all of you to link up your posts and join our little blog party.  It's already been four weeks since we started this little linky party and shared our first Country Homemaking posts.  Thank you for participating.

 Are YOU a Country Homemaker? 

Please join us each week and share your homemaking and homesteading ideas.  Pictures, recipes, tips, household wisdom, gardening ideas, barnyard stories, giveaways, and sewing/craft tutorials, just to name a few topics, they're all welcome.   Chime in about what's going on at your homestead.  Share as often as you like.  I love reading your great homemaking updates, stories, recipes, and tutorials so please, keep em coming!

I have a bit of exciting news this week.  Our little hop is growing. Thank you friends!  To help keep it growing, my good friend Michelle of the blog Michelle's Little Piece of Heaven has volunteered (code for I pulled her in) to co-host The Country Homemaker Hop sometimes too.

 We've been learning the ropes together since last summer, and she's ready to take the plunge, to host.  She's my dearest friend and the best cook I know, besides my Mom and blog chef phenom- Dolly of Dolly is Cooking .  I look forward to her contributions to our little homemaking community.  She is responsible for some of the best tasting recipes I've ever had.  She also happens to have a great sense of humor and is an amazing artist.  Please go by and check out her blog, if you haven't yet had the chance to do so.


Here's what I've been up to...

This last week was a bit dreary so I didn't get much done.  Instead, we took a mini-vacation to the warmer climate of the Kaweah River Valley. This is a picture I took from our campsite. It was so peaceful there.

I spent ALOT of time this weekend in the forest with Wi-Fi (after the sun went down), surrounded by the gentle roar of the river and a sleeping, snoring husband.  I got a chance to read quite a few of your posts.  I found several exciting recipes.  I am going to try a few of them this week.  In case you missed them, here they are again.  The names of the recipes are hot links so you an click on them to be taken to the recipe on the author's blog.

My plan for the week is to bake up a batch of Michelle's bread.  Doesn't it look fantastic!  So tall and fluffy.

 copyright Michelle's Little Piece of Heaven

Then, I am going to make myself one of Dolly's Mile High Chocolate Meringue Pies...  I will NOT be sharing this one...

copyright Dolly is Cooking 

  Next on my list are a few of Deana's Lemon Shortbread Cookies.  They look absolutely divine.

copyright Country Momma Cooks

I am going to get my Hubby to help me mix up a batch of Lisa's Homemade Herbal Salt Substitute and then I am going to try it on some chicken and rice.

I can hardly wait to see this week's posts.  Thank you all for your fantastic contributions.  I sure enjoy reading what you've been up to around your homestead.  Have a GREAT week.