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Monday, May 16, 2016

Farm Diary. #1..


Good Evening my dears... 
I hope you had a great weekend.. 
It is Monday once again and a rainy cool one here in Eastern Canada.. 
Terry and I went up to the farm this morning.. 
We arrived there around 10 am after stopping for a Tim's coffee on our way.. 
A nice way to start the week with the rain splattering against the window and a hot coffee in hand headed for the farm.. smile.. 

We are not staying there each night.. 
We work away and then come home to sleep and do a few things here .. 
We are not ready to stay yet.. 

Old and slow.... grin.. 
As Terry says... 
"What's the rush?.. 
We will get here when we get here.. 
Just enjoy yourself, Faye."
OK... grin.. 

Terry put a fire on first thing as we were having snow flurries along with the rain and wind.. 
The place was not really cold but the heat felt good, nonetheless.. 

Here is a sweet thing my Mom gave me when we were in visiting last week.. 



A dear blue cookie jar that belonged to my great aunt Emily.. 
I love it... 
Mom said that she knew I would like it and it fits right in there on the shelf in the pantry.. 


When we arrived I put a ham on to bake.. 
At Easter they were on sale so we bought 2 as they were cheap and kept them in the fridge down in the basement.. 
I find a ham makes so many meals for the two of us.. 
We already had ham for a breakfast and a few slices fried up for lunch yesterday.. 
Today, I cut off a hunk or two to make a pasta dish and a bubble and squeak and baked the rest.. 
Then froze the bone with a bit for a soup later on.. 

Then I made up a recipe of no knead bread. 
I had plans for that and just put it to rise.. 

While I was working in the kitchen getting some sewing started I noticed something going across the yard right under the kitchen window.. 


I turned to the other window looking out towards the lane.. 
Which way did it go?  grin.. 


There he goes !!

The Wiley old red fox !!
Do you think he knows there are some chickens coming here to abide?  Oh oh.. 
I love seeing a fox, don't you? Not when we get some chickens here, though.. 

I did a bit of sewing and then Terry was hungry as he only had toast for breakfast... 

A salad is always welcome... 
Terry loves these boring meals !! 
I have been asking him if he wants rice or something else but he always prefers mashed.. 


And onion and ham gravy turns his crank, too.. 
It is tasty and you only need a bit.. smile.. 

This ham was baked in cast iron and kind of burnt where the cover touched the meat.. 
Oh well.. 

Here is an old vintage curtain I bought at the Thrift store.. 


I love old vintage fabrics and spent an hour or two making 3 valances for the back room I was telling you about.. 
We are going to name it ... The Snug.. 
Thanks to one of our sweet readers suggestion... 
Anyway... To make a long story short it was an almost complete waste of effort.. 
I measured it and ripped it across to save time. 
It tore across very evenly so I tore it again for the other two and sewed away to the murmur of rain pattering against the window and  Terry sawing away at some boards for the end eves of the snug.. 

When they were finished I picked them up to iron and as I was lining them up I noticed they were perfect on one side and out about an inch on the other side.. Grrr.... 
They didn't tear straight and for some unknown reason I did not even notice.. 
I am not a great at sewing but normally not that dumb.. 
Well, they will fit the little front entry way with a little adjustments and I found some sweet lace ones when I was digging around in a tote of curtains I had not been through.. 
What a pain !!

I also had these two quilt blocks that I bought at a yard sale or somewhere.. 


Two little cushions for the rocker but I had no fibrefill there so could not finish them either.. sigh.. 


A little pin cushion that I made with a stamper and some brown ink.. 
It was already finished.. grin.. 

I did finish the bread, though.. 

It is only one loaf of no knead but you can divide it in two and get two smaller loaves or one large one.. 

I found a recipe for making a cinnamon loaf in a bread book .. 
 Instead of using their recipe I used the old faithful dough one and made it their way.. 


With the other half I made a French bread.. 


The same book said to turn the oven to 425 degrees F... 
Spray it with water and bake 10 minutes and then turn it down to 375 degrees F. and cook for another 30 minutes.. 
The crust is awesome... 
So crisp and chewy.. 

And Terry loved the cinnamon bread!!




I only had 1 wee slice.. honest.. 


Terry said it tasted like the sticky buns we buy when we are in Alma and I agreed.. 
A great book full of ideas.. 
I will share a picture of it next time.. 

We cleaned up our mess and headed home... 
It is still raining out there and Terry is watching hockey.. 
I will be so glad when the playoffs are finished... smile.. 

I am headed to bed dear girls and will take more pics next time up to the farm.. 

We now have hot water for everything!! 
Kitchen sink, the shower and bathroom sink.. 

We are getting there!.. 
I have to look up dates to order our chicken, ducks, geese and turkeys tomorrow, Lord willing... 

Thanks for dropping by and have a great week.. 
Isn't God good?.. 
xo


20 comments:

  1. Oh Faye! I felt like I was right there with you in the old place.
    Such a lovely place to be, but I would wish Mr.Fox would high tail it someplace else.
    As for the curtain thing, that sounds like what would happen to me too!
    That bread and rolls, mam oh man, those look good.
    Love the pink keep, and the salad, yum.
    I have ham in the freezer, already cooked.
    We don't have it often, but it makes me think of Momma, she always baked them for family holidays.
    Hope to see more, as you have the time to post.

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  2. I love your posts, Faye. Every time I read one I want to bake something! :-)

    Sounds like a perfect day.

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  3. Yum....ham, fresh bread and sweet cinnamon rolls and a beautiful salad! Your posts and pictures always have me wanting to get in the kitchen and cook/bake.:) I think the blue cookie jar is beautiful and it looks like it fits right in. I can also feel your frustration about the curtains, very good post. Thanks for taking us to the farm today with you. Have a wonderful week. Looking forward to your next post already! God Bless. Linda

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  4. Wow Faye, I had to go find your other entries because I missed the news about moving to the Farm. I have been following you for awhile since I found a recipe for pumpkin preserves on your site. I discovered you had the craft shop in St. Martin's that I bought a doll from back in the late 90's when I was a young bride. I was going to try to visit your shop again. I am curious where your farm is, the hills look familiar and you mentioned going over Cadillac Mountain. We live in Moncton but have built a cottage in Waterside the last couple years which we love and love that Bay of Fundy air you mentioned. Maybe will see you this summer travelling the roads or at the Alma sticky bun shop :). Your baking and cooking looks like it could rival any bake shop or restaurant though. God Bless!

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    1. oops! Meant Caledonia Mountain :)

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  5. Everything is lovely. I smiled when I saw you made another pin cushion. I have one that you gave me about 38 years ago. It is small white one and you embroidered Robins on it.. :) I always think of you, dear sister , when I use it. The food looks great also and I hope to make in the morning.. It is going to be so lovely and comfy.. I can't wait for you to go up.. God bless and Keep xoxo

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  6. A few weeks ago I made a valance for my kitchen window and after hanging it realized it was 2 inches longer in the middle. Same sort of silly mistake. I had to remake it. We are to have rain all this week and through the weekend here in the southeastern US. Why do cookies taste better from those old cookie jars?

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  7. I'm so happy for you Faye, I can't wait to follow along with your adventures this summer.

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  8. Yes, friend, God is good. I always enjoy your heartfelt posts, friend. Will you show the valences you made, pretty please? And a giggle concerning the wily fox...hmm...looking for trouble, I imagine, smiles.

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  9. It's so disappointing when sewing doesn't go quite right, but hope you can use the fabric somewhere else. The blue jar is charming.

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  10. Such a shame about the valances. I loved the pin cushion such a simple but effective idea. I love to cook a ham, it is such a tasty meat and so economical. As always your bread looks a real delight. I think I have told you this before but I do cheat and use a bread making machine. Looking forward to your adventures at the farm.

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  11. Faye I just love your posts. I recently had a red fox family move out from under my shed. The babies were just so cute. I enjoyed watching them grow and play. They were there for quite some time but I am glad they have moved on. : ) Your breads look so delicious.

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  12. Olá amiga, passei por aqui para desejar-lhe uma
    abençoada continuação de semana.
    Imagens lindas e inspiradoras...o pote azul é uma preciosidade!

    Doce abraço, Marie.

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  13. The bread looks wonderful! How exciting to be working on a farm! Your husband has a wonderful attitude, I need to adopt that attitude at times.

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  14. Faye, just lovely. I love how you share your days. Your posts are inspiring and heartfelt. Have a blessed day my friend.

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  15. Did you add anything extra to your ham...it looked so moist and juicy. What is your secret?

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  16. You are always so busy homemaking and it is so wonderful to hear about! The cinnamon rolls look delicious!

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  17. I hope Mr. Fox stays away from the chicken house when you get them! The cinnamon rolls look so good and yes, they do look like the sticky buns from Kelly's Bakery! A lovely farm post Faye. It will be fun to hear the goings one there this summer.

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  18. Hello Faye,
    Just 'popping in' to say that I am still following along and that I enjoy reading your lovely blog. Have a real nice week and I look forward to hearing about your future barnyard stories.
    Take care.

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  19. How exciting to see everything coming together, sure hope that fox stays away once the chickens come

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