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Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A Day at our olde farm.....

Hello everyone..
Just a fun posting tonight of some pics  of our day at the farm..

We had a quick breakfast and Sammi and I are in the car waiting to go.. smile..
We haven't been there for awhile and we are looking forward to spending the day..

Shortly after we arrive I decided to mix up a loaf of bread...
A little hint that perhaps you already know..
If you have flour and you don't use it up quickly then add some bay leaves to keep pests out of it..
Anyway...
After a bit of tidying up and puttering around I put  dinner on to cook..
And set the table..

Farm dishes on an old harvest table...

And here's an old farm day meal...
Garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, fried saurkraut and hamburger patties with onions...
And spring water.. smile..

It's all ready.. Where is that man?

Still painting..
Come on my dear... It's getting cold.. smile..
What a man..

We just start our lunch when we hear someone coming down the lane..
Company ...
All the way from Prince Edward Island.
They are on a little field trip to see the windmill farm just up the road..
"Come on in"...smile.


After they left I cleaned up the dinner dishes and cooked the bread...

The dear man is still painting..
He takes such a nice picture... grin..

Time for a cup of tea and working on my little lesson for Keepers of the Home which is on Saturday..
We will be having a Fall Day...
Making some fall decorations and recipes..

Well, the sun is going down over the Kent Hills..

And setting over the old barn.. Another day almost over..

Time to turn off the lights and head home..
Another day of blessing.. Thank you Lord..

The little church just down the road is lit up tonight..
Isn't it lovely?

Thanks for visiting the farm with us today..
Looking forward to hearing from you all..
God bless..
Love to you all..

Last Ditch Refridgerator Pickles

Good Morning everyone..
Sorry I did not get to this yesterday as promised but I started a project and things got in the way of it.. smile..
Anyway..
Here are a few veggies that we picked up on our way home plus at Kings Landing they had baskets of the cukes that you see.  You could buy as many as you could get in a bag for $3.50...
A good deal, eh?
So....
I will give you the recipe that I made with the cukes and peppers first.. ok?
I call these my 

 LAST DITCH REFRIGERATOR PICKLES..
Uusally because they are the very last pickle I make before they get too big to do anything other than mustard ones..
Here is the recipe..
3 cups of white sugar
2 cups of cider vinegar or whatever you have
2 tablespoons of kosher salt 
1 tsp. tumeric
1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed
3/4 tsp. celery seed.. 
Put this in a large container like a gallon jar or large ice cream container.. 
Stir well..
And then.... 
Slice up a pepper or two..
You use can use red and green or
I added a green pepper and 1/2 of a jalapeno one..
We like a bit of hot but not too much.. smile..
Or you can use sweet red pepper..
Whatever you have or like..
Also 1 large onion in slices...
Put this all in your juice and stir..
Then..
6 good cukes the longer and thinner the better..
Slice these thin..

I was blessed to have this old mandolin from the seventies which I still use but a good paring knife will slice thin, also...
Add these to the juice to fill up the container to the level of the liquid..
Let stand for a few hours and then they shrink so you can add more if you have them..
Put on a nice tight cover...

As you can see I used an old water filter container which I have going to buy a new filter and haven't yet.. It is perfect because it is skinny and takes less room in the refrigerator..
Oh.. I forgot to tell you that these stay in your fridge and you don't have to heat the juice or anything.. Easy.....
My sweet husband LOVES these pickles... I need to hide them at the very back so it is hard for him to get to.. grin..
They stay in the fridge for 6 months if they last that long..
ENJOY...

Thanks for dropping by and a big welcome to the new followers..
Guess where we are going today...
Yupppp... to the farm..smile...
So, I will check in with you all later...
And I will show you what I did with the cabbages...
Blessings...


A little song that I woke up with on my mind ...

I feel my need Dear Lord of a closer walk with you..
I feel my need Dear Lord if I ever make it through..
After I've run this race...  Don't let it be in vain..
Here's my hand Dear Lord.. Help me the victory gain..

And that is what He wants.. Our desire to walk closer to Him.. 

Love to you all...


Monday, September 26, 2011

A lovely 1800s Day...

Good Evening my dears..
Hope you had an enjoyable weekend..
Terry and I took Saturday and had a lovely day visiting and 1800 village a couple of hours away..
I took a lot of pics but I promise not to bore you with them all..
Here are a dozen...OK?  smile..

It is located on the famous St. John River...
The fireplaces were all lit and they were cooking lunch when we arrived...
This house is almost my favorite one..  I think..
One day they served the Keepers of the Home apple pie and tea...
It was cold and they were so kind to us..

Homemade Dill Pickle Spears which they will sell at the Thanksgiving weekend..
Don't they look delicious?

So many windows had red geraniums in them..
This pic has the horse team working outside..
Look close and you will see them.. smile..

I love the shades in this parlour..
And the dishes are wonderful...

Sometimes this window sill has vinegars but the lady of the house told me they had all been put away...

My darlin' of a hubby took me out for lunch at the Kings Head Inn..
We had corn chowder and the bread basket..
biscuits, brown bread and baguette..
Homemade butter
AND
Fresh tea and a Berry Desert with whipped cream..
So very good...

Every house had their wood all cut..

The horses taking a breather...
One of my favorite pantries with fresh herbs in pots..

Some handwork..
braided mat...


It was apple fest on Saturday and all the homes offered us a different type of apple treat..
They had homemade apple butter, apple and cinnamon bread and an apple cake here..
There was also apple pies and squares...
Tiny pieces so we could try everything.. grin..
On the way back home we came the old way down by the river and stopped at the big veggie places..

I will share a recipe tomorrow with some lovely veggies we picked up...

Thank  you so much for dropping by and to the faithful ones who leave such sweet comments.. Thank you so much..
I am going to try and answer your questions here on the blog from now on as my emails are not getting through to some of you..
OK? 

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to our oldest son today.. 
Trevor is a wonderful son and Dad to 3 of our 5 grandsons.. 
Happy Birthday,  dear ... 
We love you.. 

God bless you all...

Thursday, September 22, 2011

This and That....

Hello...
I wasn't going to post today because I thought I had probably bored you ladies enough this week.. smile..
Today I have been trying to resurrect our bedroom..
When we came home from the cottage lots of stuff found it's way into our room.. I don't know why but if there is a room in the house where everything finds a landing place it will be our bedroom..
For forty one years that has been the bane of my housekeeping chores.. Trying to keep stuff out of that room... sigh..
Well, today as I dusted and sorted I found something that I could not find.. grin.. (I wonder why) smile
It is only a rice bag... But it is something that I like and use quite often..

There it was hanging off of our old rocking chair..
I have one at the cottage but this is the one for home..
I thought you might like to make one.. I know the Keepers already know how to make these as we made them to sell one time..
A rice bag is full of rice or flax and you can heat it or freeze it and put around your neck or your knee or whatever is aching...

I personally like it on nights when I can't sleep..
I toss it in the microwave and then keep it close and the scent of lavender puts me to sleep..

Anyway..
Here is how you make it ...
Just cut out two  pieces of flannel or other soft fabric..
18 inches long and 7 inches wide..
Sew together and leave a hole at one end..


In a large bowl place 3 or 4 cups of raw rice or flax...
Add several drops of essential oil such as lavender, peppermint or rosemary.. (whatever turns your crank)  and toss it together..
Let it sit overnite with a plastic wrap on top..
Next day  put the rice in the bag and stitch up the end..

Easy as pie..
To use just place in your microwave for 2 minutes (it depends on your microwave how long you heat it) or place in the freezer for 30 minutes and then use it where you required...
Wonderful for a sore neck or aching knee...

Peppermint is great for headaches..
Lavender helps you relax..
Whatever..
You can look up the different oils and then pick what is best for you...
They also make lovely gifts to add to your gift pantry..
Place in a ziplock bag and add a tag on how to use it..

Well, ladies that is all for this afternoon..

A primitive wreath I made..

Hope you are all enjoying your day.. Thank you for stopping by..
Love visiting with you all..


He is sweeter more precious than silver or gold
His great love for me can never be told...
What a comfort to go to Him daily in prayer
He is sweeter.. more precious
Than tongue can declare..
Jesus..

An old chorus going through my head today..

Blessings...

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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

A FALL DAY...





Hello everyone.. It is real Fall like here today..
The sun is shining and it is warm but you still know that Fall is in the air..
Terry brought home a ten pound bag of beets the other day so I decided that I should get at them..
We put them on to cook on top of the stove (I sometimes cook them in a roaster in the oven if there are a lot).. Then I just cook  them until they are tender..
I peeled them and they were already to do..


Beets are one of Terry's favorites but he is a diabetic and should not have very many.. Putting them up in a syrup is just asking for trouble.. smile..
So last year I decided to freeze some and see how they would turn out.. And they turned out wonderful...
We just heat them up and add butter and vinegar or I make a
I sometimes add purple onion and basil or just parsley and lemon..
Whatever..
I just thought you might like to know that you can freeze them..
I packed them in plastic bags and will put in a separte container so I can find them.. smile..


So much easier than canning them if you have freezer space..
I froze a couple other packages earlier but sweet hubby does not think we have enough yet...
Later, maybe..
It was also a lovely day to bake a loaf of


This time I left out the rosemary and just made a plain big loaf...
I also played around outside with some birdhouses..


Poor Terry is wanting to do some painting and wondering how he is supposed to paint around this stuff... grin..
I am sure where there is a will there will be a way.. right?

I repotted my plants and put them back into the sunroom..

I brought up a few herbs from the cottage to try and keep over the Winter..


The plants do so well outside all Summer while we are away and I don't need to worry about them getting watered as it is shady most of the day back there...
Sorry about the quality of the above pics..

And to go with the bread..

Homemade Chicken Soup ... perfect way to end a Fall day..
Hope you are all having a lovely one, too..
Thanks for the visit and welcome to the new readers..
So glad to meet you all.
Looking forward to hearing from you, too..
May God bless and keep you..
Hugs..

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A touch of Fall...

Greetings one and all..
Hope all is well in your part of the world..
Today I put a few Fallish touches around the kitchen.. Still plan on doing a bit more but am busy getting back to normal.. smile..
I thought you might like to know how to make the little swaggy thing that is there on the wall... Nothing could be simpler and you can also hang it crosswise like across your mantel instead of diagonal like this one..

I had bought some fake gourds awhile ago..
I just took a long piece of homespun fabric and tied it around the stem of five different gourds and then tied the homespun with loops on each end..
It kind of adds a nice touch....

I don't add a lot just a speck here and there..


I think this centrepiece could use a bit of work, though.. smile..


A little pumpkin on top of an old scale..

And what was for lunch?  Potatoes are new and much cheaper now so this is one of Terry's favorites..


Fry up a bit of bacon then add onions,garlic, green peppers and new potatoes, salt and pepper..
A good bunch of fresh parsley thrown on top at the end and some fresh lemon juice..
Delicious...Just don't eat them every day.. smile..

A pic I took on the way home from the cottage the other day..


I was thinking that on the Road of Life I am so glad that Jesus Christ is my GPS...
He is the Way...
I will get where I need to go if I just read His instructions and follow Him..

God Bless...

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