Good Evening my Dears..It has been a rather stormy day today!   I was wondering if you would like to take a little walk with me.. This morning my  hubby and I rearranged the cupboards and such up at the House of Henry.  I   then came back and sewed.  Shall we say after a couple of hours or so I decided that I needed a wee break.. That is where you come in..lol.. Perhaps we will take a walk together down to the beach..  The Bay of Fundy is really rough today. 

I took a couple a really good video shots but I just can't upload them to my posting because I have the new editor version of Blog.. I guess we will have to be happy with  a couple of pics.instead..

We are standing in front of my friend's cottage..It is right on the beach.. One night last summer I was invited to stay overnite with her and listen to the waves right up close.. Lovely!!

There are the caves over there.. They are really quite popular...

Then over there on that far point is where my friend Janelle lives.. It is called West Quaco... I am afraid that you can't see her house from here.  She is the gal that makes the delicious coffee!!  On Wednesday she and I have been invited to tea with an English lady who lives in one of the oldest houses around... I will let you know how that goes!!

The wind is really blowing!!  I should have worn a hood..lol... Our daughter and her family were out the other night and we took a walk down here to the beach.  It was about the same kind of day!  I told her that I would rather have a stormy beach than a calm one.. Let's just say she did not see the logic in that....lol... I guess God just made us all different!

Well, perhaps we should head towards home..

Our house is up there behind those trees.. That is the Quaco Inn beside us...

I see I have left my work light on.. That is my craft room.. It looks out towards the Bay and I can see the waves from there...

I think we will just walk on by and

 go up and see what Terry is doing first...  

There he is... the dear thing!!   Can you see him there in the window of the shop?

He is antiquing the woodwork..Well, I hope you  have had a nice time but I have to get back to work..lol..

These are a couple of little cheesecloth swags I am making for the window in the door..

I am using a sponge stamper and a bit of black paint.  Pretty easy, eh? 

Well, I hope you enjoyed our little time together and I will try to  be a little more informative and inspiring on another day.. ok?

Remember Jesus loves you and He can calm any of the storms in your life..The wonderful thing is that  He is as near as the mention of His Name...

Hugs...

Faye.

Planting and Sewing.....

Good Evening my dears..I am posting tonight on our date night.. Can you believe it?  Well, sometimes work comes before play even with the best of intentions.. Terry is up still painting the shop.. (I love the colors) and I have been sewing a ton of curtains... .Well, maybe not a ton...lol... Let's be honest and say 14 - 18 valances... I am not sure about the door or the little window over the sink... I made double ones for my sunroom last winter and loved them so am going to try it again...
For those of you who do not know or do not read my other blog which concerns my work... Primitive Lace Blogspot  then we are trying to change my shop over from the old barn to a wee cottage.  I am open only through the summer when we are here in St. Martins, N. B. at our cottage.. We stay here for about four months during the hot weather.. It is seldom ever very hot here... Thank you, Lord..And we also both have lots of cousins here... Which I love...

Anyway, back to the story ...  Like I said I have been sewing...

I need my glasses to sew now...It just keeps getting better and better..lol..

Yes, that is my curtain fabric.. One is sort of a plaid homespun while the other is a check in the same shade... Yes, girls... big surprise!!  Black!!   My favorite color as you know.. My husband thinks that I do not know any other shade..But you would have picked this too when you see the rest of the story...lol..

Just a few more days now, please Lord..

I also thought you might like to see some pics of another big job I have to do before we open...

These are a bunch of herbs for a new bed we plan to put up on one side of the shop....Which ones do you see?  You can comment and tell me..lol..or even just comment... please!!!  Oh, I want to thank my new follower.. my husband.. Isn't that sweet?  Or I am just getting deperate for followers..lol.. I receive emails from some of you who don't follow and I appreciate that also.. Thank you to everyone...

Anyway there is more.. 

These are Spanish Lavenders and some chives and mint that will also go into some pots for both places..

Then there are these ones that are waiting for us to get a bed made for them...

I always make pots to put on the window ledges Terry made me for the barn and also for the deck.  I got this duck at the Christmas Tree Shop in Maine..

So girls I hope you are having a great weekend and your date night has been better than mine... The evening isn't over yet, though..lol

We are planning on going home so we can be in our own church on Sunday.. In all this busy summer with so much to do and places to go be sure and put the Lord first in your home and in your excursions..

You still need time with Him...

Keep checking back.. I might find something that you will find interesting one of these days...

The Lord Bless and Keep You All..

Hugs..

Faye..

Mix Recipes for Summer and a Keepers of the Home Meeting...

Good Evening All.. I guess you could say that I have been missing in action as to posting.. I am sorry but the crunch is on as far as getting my shop ready.. One thing gets finished to discover a few dozen more things on my to do list...lol.. Oh well, I am sure it will get accomplished by and by with the Lord's help...

We had a Keepers of the Home Meeting on this past Saturday.  It was really a good time.  I hope it blessed the girls who could make it.   It was a beautiful day here in N. B.  A perfect day for the BBQ that Carrie provided for us.. We want to thank her for that.

The day started out with all meeting at the Tim Hortons and having coffee... Value Village was right there also so we did a quick scan of that... Several of us found a few treasures.. I bought an old iron with a green handle which would make a wonderful door stop for a laundry room.. an old oil lamp and a book on herbs.  Then it was on to the Bulk Barn.  This is a wonderful store full of flours, sugars, mixes, herbs, spices,nuts, soap making fixins, candy and pour your own peanut butters, honey and syrup..There is much more...

You have to be careful with how much you put in you bag because it can really add up.. I have found out the hard way to weigh and price my macadamia nuts for instance.. Sixteen dollars is a wee bit too much to pay for an ingredient for a batch of cookies...lol..

We then gathered at Carrie's beautiful home to learn about some mix recipes  with the bulk barn purchases..

There were dressing mixes that were delicious... Country Home-Style , Caesar and French that would be great to have in your pantry ready to mix up for salads this summer..We also made a salad seasoning mix that made a wonderful dip and could be used on toasted french bread, baked potatoes, pasta and veg salads.. I think the dip was a hit!  We tried it right away with corn chips..

Here is a fruit dip mix that we also made.... the girls liked the strawberries best I think..lol..

I will give you the recipe as it is very different..

Gingered Fruit Dip Mix

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 Tablespoons candied ginger finely chopped

Mix these ingredients together and cream with 8 oz. cream cheese..

It is good to use a whisk or beaters..

This makes 2 bowls of dip...

After all of this learning we needed to have a bit of fun..It was a beautiful day to be on the deck and have some great fellowship together..

Some of us didn't mind having our pic taken...lol..

Anyway, ladies if any of you would like some of these recipes please just email me and I can forward them to you...Anyone who reads the blog are welcome to them... You don't have to be one of the Keepers group... We love to share...

We also learned from Linsay a great mix that she uses often for pancakes, pudding, coffeecake and more...

And a Spanish Rice one that you put in a mason jar.. You can use 3 ways and it comes in handy if you need a quick gift for someone...

Well, I guess that is all for tonight.. Next month we will be having our third annual sleep-over here in the cottage in St. Martins... We have a blast and everyone looks forward to it.. During the year the meetings are a bit more serious but in the summer we try to have a few fun outings...

So good night my dears... I will be praying for you and your lovely families... Please keep me and mine in your prayers too...

Hugs..

Faye. 

Come in and have a cup of coffee....

Good Morning my dears... It is simply a beautiful morning here beside the Bay of Fundy... The sun is shining and it is quite early... I thought it would be so nice if we could have coffee together... so let's imagine that you are here.... Come on in... The coffee is on...

I have made several dear friends here in St. Martins... I met them in my shop... Such dear girls... Well one of them is Janelle and she gave me a little tip I thought you might like...

That is when you put your coffee in it's filter then just add a pinch of cinnamon.. It is really good.. I usually put salt to cut the bitterness but cinnamon works perfectly.

The other evening she had me over for a visit at her new treehouse as she calls it... Beautiful.. But anyway she served me coffee with whip cream and pumpkin spice sprinkled on top,  My, it was delicious!   We thought we were at Starbucks...LOL.   

Would you like some applesauce?  I make this in the fall and freeze it.. I will share the recipe with you later when apples are plentiful again..  It is so good and is made with real butter and vanilla... You can use my new cinnamon grinder..LOL.. It freezes wonderfully and we love it for breakfast...or whenever..

My mom always likes a boiled egg with her breakfast so I thought you might like one, too.

Terry always laughs at me because I tell him I like my egg with soldiers... When our grandsons come for a visit overnite I serve these to them... You just cook your eggs soft well  medium soft...

Then butter your toast and sprinkle salt and pepper on it... not much.. Then cut it into 4 thin slices.. These are the soldiers... We have enough egg cups of all of them... I like the old fashioned way of doing things...I guess... But the boys love having this... My aunt told me it is the English way... I will have to ask my friend Karen ..

So while you are here visiting I hope you excuse my craft room... It is being cleaned and organized .  It took me most of yesterday afternoon and is kind of spilling over into the dining room...

Oh well, hospitality is not about what things look like... it is about the fellowship we are having together... Oh ... Did you remember this morning that the LORD renews his mercy towards us each day when the sun comes up... Isn't that wonderful?..There is a scripture for you to find if you don't know where it is...

I hope you don't mind if I start the soup for lunch... Terry loves his soup and I found a neat little trick I thought you might enjoy,.. We love fresh herbs in everything as I love growing them as you know... But when you buy say parsley or lettuce it sometimes gets kind of wilted in the fridge...

Well, just put it in a bowl of really cold water....

Let it sit for a minute and  take it out and blot on a piece of paper towel and it is fresh as can be..

When I think of how many times I had thrown lettuce out before I knew this little tip...

Also... I  love using this product that you can buy at the grocers...

It is a salad dressing .. this one is sundried tomato and oregano but you can use your favorite.. It is a wonderful marinade especially for chicken breasts or pork tenderloin... Then just bake in the oven ... Or if I need a good flavoring in our tomato vegg soup.. 

I will squirt a bit in...

Well, girls... I really do need to get to work in reality as I hear my hubby stirring upstair...

Here is a dear little card I found somewhere on cyber space...

I hope you can read it... just click on and then click again... It will become large enough to read.,.

Isn't that so true even with our children... They are always and forever welcome back into mama's arms.... Right?

Have a wonderful day and thank you for sharing these moments together...

Love and Prayers

Faye..

A bistro recipe and garden tips...

Good Afternoon everyone...

 The Lord has really painted a beautiful day here today... I thought I would leave a little post... Probably it is too nice to be bothered reading blogs but as I will be away for a few days .....

Yesterday Terry and I went to the city and I got a lot of plants to get in the ground and of course my pots.. I want to plant a new herb bed up at the shop so I was happy when I found them all on sale..

This is the little bed that is on the side here but I would like to make one up there even though there is not much room..We will see and I will show you that one later..

I thought maybe you would like to make a salad over the weekend.. This is our favorite even though everyone has their own version.. We ate this in a bistro somewhere and I loved it .. When I got a chance I did my best to copy the recipe....

Caesar Salad---Bistro Style...

1 head of romaine lettuce.. torn and washed and dried of course

1 cup or so of sliced mushrooms

6 slices of bacon - kind of crisp

1 slice of our bread  (NY Times recipe in previous posting)

Good Ceasar Dressing  ( I use Kraft with the purple cover)

Shredded fresh parmesan cheese

Fresh ground salt and pepper

Lemon slices...

Now after you have the lettuce already and put in your bowl start frying up the bacon... Slice a piece or two of your bread or just some french or country style bread. 

When your bacon is almost done then push over to the side and add your slice of bread.  Just fry on both sides till it is nicely toasted..

Put bacon and bread on  a piece of paper towel...

Slice your mushrooms and cut your bread into cubes...

Add your cheese and dressing when you are ready to serve..

Toss with salt and pepper.

Serve with fresh lemon slices...

Very good or so we think..

I also thought I would encourage you to pick up an aloe vera plant for your home..

A few weeks ago I received a terrible sunburn due to my own stupidy...lol.. It happens sometimes...

Anyway this plant sure came in handy... I notice you can get them at garden centres or even some yard sales...

Just slice a leaf and smooth the gel over any burns or rashes... It is great for your little ones scratches and hurts.. They think it is kind of neat to cut up their mom's plant and it does not sting!!

A natural healer...

I have one sitting here  on the coffee table... It is small but should grow this summer...

It is also time for  you to get your basil in as you will want to make pesto this fall...

I bought mine yesterday and have to get it in.. It should be one of the last herbs you put in as it is very sensitive to the cold here in the Maritimes...I wish I had started mine from seed as usual but I guess I was slack this year...

Well, I guess that is all for today... Please leave me a wee comment so I know you are out there... If you are..lol...

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to put the Lord first in your busy activities this summer...

Love and Prayers

Faye..

A few tablesetting ideas and a craft.....

Hello my dears... I hope you will all forgive me for being a bit slack in the posting department... we went home for a few days..  How are you all anyway?  We have been having a lot of rain for the last while but the sun came out today and lifted our spirits.. It was nice to be back home  over the weekend and to get to church twice yesterday... Our oldest son and his family had been away on vacation to Ontario so it was great to see them all ... Then Trevor and Tammy invited us back to their place for lunch which was delicious!!  A sweet chili tenderloin and chops, baked potatoes and fiddleheads,  ceaser salad and baquette .. some of which our dear son barbequed.... Our 3 grandsons were so pleased with their holiday as they had their friends go along with them.. so much more fun, you know...lol... Grandpa enjoys teasing them all.. I guess this is what memories are made of, eh??

Well, enough about that... I have some ideas here for you for decorating your tables for summer entertaining.... inside or out... We eat outside a lot during this season as I am sure you all do...

so perhaps they will come in handy for you all..

This is just an old copper kettle, an oil latern and a candle on a prim mat... but you could use a combination of any old pieces that you might pick up at sales this summer..

Here is a depression  glass jug full of flowers from outside in the yard paired with a candlestick and whatever... the lovely thing about summer is that fresh flowers are there just for the using...lol..

You can also used old milk bottles and fill with twigs for a different look.. just tie on some homespun or raffia .....

Old teapots are in almost every yard sale and are sweet with some ivy or pansies planted in them...

Sometimes when we are having homemade bread for supper... I will use it for the centrepiece... Just place it on a wood cutting board and add crocks of plain butter and garlic butter along with some spreading knives...

I believe I showed this lamp on Primitive Lace before but it is worth mentioning... You probably have one that you can use.. if not they are often at thrift stores, etc... Just add a candle where there used to be a globe... I saw one the other day with fresh flowers in it... I want to try that...

Sometimes Shonda will use a nice old bowl that her Gram gave her and use some floating candles and roses in a bit of water... it is lovely..

Another idea is to put mismatched candlesticks down the centre with different heights and type of candles... trail a pip berry garland through them...

Now here is a little craft you can make that is lovely to use outside when you are having a meal with your family.... and your kids would probably love to help you to make them some rainy day...

All you need is some cinnamon sticks that you can buy at any grocer ..

A bit of raffia from the dollar store or you can use homespun...

A votive holder or even a tin can..

A votive candle or tealight..

Lean the cinnamon sticks around the votive holder while using an elastic to help you place them... When you get enough around then tighten the elastic and tie a raffia bow..

Inside I like to place the candle on top of some whole spices that will help scent the air... \

Kind of fun to do and you can make one for each place or just a couple... Whatever....

Well, I hope you found this a bit interesting... It just makes your family times together a bit more special when you make a little extra effort...

One thing I love to do when we entertain outside is to use my eclectic set of dishes... Each setting is made up of different patterns but all have  a color or theme that blends them together..

They took awhile to collect through yard sales or whatever but it was kind of fun to do..

And more fun to use..

Okay girls have a wonderful week..  we are having a Keepers meeting on the 19th of this month..

A Bulk Barn Run... then a pot luck at Carries... sounds like fun, eh?

We are going to also make up some recipes from our purchases... mixes for busy families and who knows what else...  so if you are interested my email is on the sidebar...

Remember... He loves you....and yours!! 

God Bless.....

Faye.. 

The not so primitive purple bedroom.....

Good Evening my dears... a rainy night here at the cottage on the Bay of Fundy... as most of my friends know ... I love the rain and the wind a lot.. Did you know that wind comes from God\s treasuries?  I read that I think in Proverbs a bit ago.. I thought no wonder I love the wind so much as it is a treasure from the Lord Himself...
Anyway for tonight I thought I would post a few pics here at the old place.. .. our cottage is over a hundred years old and has the ambiance that goes with all aged things....like myself..lol.. 
This room is a pass-through bedroom like they used to have years ago... you pass through to go to the bathroom and then you pass through the bathroom to get to the boys clubroom as I showed you on  http://primitivelace.blogspot.com/  which is my other blog.

I call this The Purple Room and you will see why in these following pics....

As you can see this bedroom is not primitive.... it is more antique-like.. I dislike the word victorian... I did so many of those crafts in the 1990s that I have a hard time with that word...lol...a few pillows I made...

 The antique rod iron bed sits in an old bay with  the trees blowing in the wind right outside the bedroom window... it is kind of like in a tree house...

There is not a new thing in this bedroom... everything is old...lol..   You know me ... so of course there are books somewheres.. You can tell that I did not prep this room for pics..... I just took them as is... There is wax on the mirror which I need to get off somehow... my darlin decided to blow out a candle or was that me?  ...lol ... yes, I think it was me... Well, I need to find a way to get it off... Any ideas??

I sort of collect Mothers old prints so there a few here.... plus I love anything with violets on it... This room definetly needs some prim touches added... when I get to it....

A dear friend of mine made this Lady for me.... I see she dropped her mirror there on the commode... You can click once the twice to see the pics better...

Yes, I need to get rid of these old silk flowers and maybe the paper and prim it up quite a lot...

Now this is an old wedding dress I picked up at a yard sale years ago... Shonda's little bride doll that she didn't want but I couldn't part with...an old crocheted bag and a dress cover that someone had done a lot of stitching to and of course my angel that really should be out in the garden.

When we first bought this place about 14 years ago an old lady came to my door... she had grown up in this house and she was the youngest child... She said this room was her parent's bedroom... It is actually the smallest one... not like today when the master bedroom is the largest, eh?

All in all I guess this is definely a thrift shop kind of room...  

I hope your are all having a good week...

Until next time ... please don't forget to comment....

God Bless.....