Our October Days...

Hello everyone.... 

So glad to have you visit here today... 

Just an autumn post for you on this lovely October day... 

The days this fall have come and gone with such wonderful weather and blessings from the Lord.. 

I think we only had two frosts which were not devastating as we had several extra weeks for things to keep on growing.. 

We are all well and finally seem almost normal especially where everyone near and dear to me have come through it all with God's help and strength.. 

After all this time Covid has hit New Brunswick big time and it is a scary thing.. 

Especially, when it is your own.. 

But as always God has been faithful and present during the storms of life... 

This is a thankful month and we are... 

Hope you all are as well.. 

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts..

You are in ours... 

Anyway..

Fall has been happening around our house... 

We are just so happy about that!

After a summer of sickness and then a September of unrest we are ready to get back up and keep on keeping on.. 😊 

Terry is back and at it... 

The wood is in and the chimney cleaned and such.. 

The garden is almost at rest and some outdoor painting was taken care of.. 

And me... 

Well, I have been puttering on and feeling so much more like doing it the last few weeks.. 

God is good!  

I know I keep saying such but have such a thankful heart to Him.. 

When you go through the storm and come out the other end it is a wonderful blessing, eh! 

  

Now... 

I have been drying some apples, herbs, a basket of peppers and such.. 

Going for drives and picking flowers that I didn't get to before.. 

Tansy was one of those ones.. 

I love making tansy salve and moth sachets.. 

Although, we were late getting it we came across a patch and it is now dry and ready to go..

 

The leaves have been slowly turning but just now passed their peak and today the wind is whipping around this window in here .. I expect they will be flying around everywhere.. 

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving.. 

We were under covid restrictions and so could not visit but that was ok... 

We have to do what is best for everyone.. 

So... 

It was just the two of us... smile.. 

It certainly was not our daughter's gorgeous table but a little effort was put forth.. 😉

Wild flowers were gathered for a bouquet and a ham was purchased.. 

We decided a potato scallop was in order and I brought a couple of brown transferware dishes from the farm.. 

And old lace napkins... (of course!) smile.. 

Then I tried to make an apple pie.. 

It was not my day.. 

I could hardly get enough crust to make a pie so settled for small deep dish ones.. smile.. 

When I get tired I may as well just give up and say forget it!

But I am too stubborn.. 

The gist of the story is that Terry liked them better and thought I should make them more often... lol..

Anyway, we did get a chance to chat with all of our dear kids and that was that for another year.. 

We have been buying some of the most lovely apples!

What a gorgeous crop this fall.. 

Made this Apple Butter from Kings Landing Historical Settlement..  

In my crockpot.... 

The recipe is here below.. 

As you see there are no instructions and I forgot to not put the cover on and let's just say it took a day or two to thicken up.. 

It is an absolutely lovely apple butter.. (to the left)Salsa on right.

But not for toast... 

Delicious on ham or chicken or a apple and cheddar sandwich on crusty bread.. 

But not toast!  lol...

It has vinegar.... smile.   

I may try to make my usual but have not got to that yet.. 

Still have apples after doing up 70 pounds.. (yikes)

They keep for ages though... smile.. 

Made some laundry soap... 

Here is the recipe I used... 

1.5 cups of washing soda

1.5 cups borax

2 T. salt

1 bar of grated laundry soap

essential oils of choice and amount... 

I love lavender!

Maybe a bit of rose in memory of my Mom... smile.. 

Mix it all up in a big tub or bowl... 

Then store it in something to keep it dry. 

Use a Tablespoon per load or more if soiled badly... 

I don't use this every wash but especially when I do tea towels and such.. 

I put mine in a coffee can and pasted some old wallpaper border around just to make it a bit nicer.. 

I found this bit of info the other day and love the idea so am adding it to the above.. 

Using my own essential oil choices though...

My friend adds Tide so I will be adding a cup or so too..

 

Now... 

I am so slow getting back to you dear girls that my posts are way too long but anyway..

 

Here is a drive from a few weeks ago.. 

Our very first heavy frost and we had to go to Sussex... 

The fog and frost were simply beautiful!  

Just had to share them with you... 

Then a few other fallish drives with the splendor of autumn.. 

A couple of farm pics, too... 

Some are in Albert County and some in Kings or Westmorland!

We are so blessed to live in New Brunswick.. 

Would not want to be anywhere else!  

(says this old lady!!) 💖

One day we came home and had a Maritimer's Supper!

Fish in a sauce and baked potatoes and peas and homemade pickles... mmmm.. 

Sometimes I still make cookies and freeze a couple in individual bags for our drives with our Butternut Ridge coffee.. 

The best coffee around.. I may be prejudiced!  smile.. 

Although all is well and even with restrictions and virus and such life goes on... 

There is happiness and there is still sorrow... 

There are times in your life when you are younger that there is not a lot of people you know passing on..  

But the older one gets it seems to happen a lot more.. 

Terry and I have been blessed with dear friends and family.. 

Sometimes, we have made relationships with some that are special.. 

You know what I mean.. 

We mostly all have best friends and friends that you love dearly even if you have not seen or chatted with them for eons.. 

The minute you lay eyes on them it is exactly like it was yesterday or forty years ago.. 

(This may be a wee bit longer post but like I always say.. 

Just scroll on by.. )

Many years ago when Terry and  I were in our young twenties, we moved from the city to a small farming area..

We had moved to St. John when we were married and were there about 8 years... 

In our seventh year we had found the Lord again after going our own way for several years... 

In giving our lives back to him , we wanted to be closer to our church and get away from the city.. 

So we moved to Sussex.. 

To be honest I regretted the move for awhile.. 

It was different then what we were used to and it was not what I had expected.. Whatever I expected.. smile. 

But.. 

One day after the kids were in school I decided I would try selling a household product to my neighbors.. 

Knocking on a door up the road from me a dear sweet lady answered the door and invited me in... 

It was such a lovely surprise... 

I knew right away that we were kindred spirits... 

The stew was cooking on a wood stove, bread was rising on the counter... A wee boy was playing with pots on the floor.. 

There was a pile of magazines and books on the table and she had the ironing board out making a craft.. 

I think she was waxing fall leaves... smile..

and cats!! I love cats!

 

It was a visit that changed my circumstances of living there.. 

The tea was put on and there was bread and cheese and real butter.. 

It is a precious memory to me of how our friendship began about 45 years ago... 

She was a bit older then me but it never mattered in the least... 

She taught me just so much about home and making and doing..

I loved her dearly! 

 

Then, a couple of weeks ago she left this world.. 

I was so sad.. 

A few days before that I had lost another dear friend from my youth and it seemed like a lot!!

God gets you through these times though..

He really does! 

I wanted to remember in my own special way.. 

So one night I made a nice supper for us.. 

One of Deanna's recipes that she had given me.. 

It is really good... 

I hope you enjoy it.. 

They were special friends and I was blessed to know Deanna and Elva... 

May God bless their families... 

I haven't done a lot of fall decorating this year.. 

Just busy trying to catch up with the preserving and winter preps... 

Getting back into a bit of felting, too.. 

My friend Dawn and I were talking about growing older and Christmas... 

She thought we should do a little bit every day and then we won't be overwhelmed.. 

I agree.. 

But you know me.. 

I need inspiration... 

I thought this might help get me in the mood..

I read this in a book years ago and took a pic of this page.. 

I believe the writer was Rosamund Pilcher but not sure... 

Glad I saved it.. 

I expect I will read it a few times before December 25... 

With all that is going on I hope to keep it sweet and simple and fresh but lovely... 

How about you.. 

Can you get your mind wrapped around it all yet?  

I will ask you again next time.. smile..  

Well dear girls, I am about done.. 

Such a long long post but it was nice to connect with you all.. This is a little church down the road from us.. 

Aren't the sheep darling? 

So glad to know the Good Shepherd.... 

I post on Instagram quite a bit more then here and sometimes think I should just try and do it 100 percent then do this and that either one very well.. 

But here I am again for now.. 

Meet me over there anytime you like.. 

MY INSTAGRAM LINK   

Just click on here .. 

It is private but I will accept your request to join my account... 

Thank you loveys for stopping by and I do love to hear from you.. I read every comment although I am pitiful about getting back to you sometimes... 

I do read and appreciate each one.. 

And bless you new followers.. 

Hope to get to know you.. 

If you leave an anonymous comment could you leave your initials or first name then I will remember you were here before.. K?  

Hugs from the Blessed Hearth... 

 

Monday Morning Christmas Inspiration....

Good Morning my dears.. 

Here we are at the  beginning of another week and closer to Christmas then the last time I posted.. 

The weeks will surely fly by so I thought you might like a few images from the web and some of my own that turned my crank this week.. smile.. 

Christmas is all about Christ and our dear families that he has gifted us with, eh? 

It is nice to receive gifts but what blesses this mama's heart is the dear faces around the Christmas table.. 

Well, on Christmas Day or a day or so later once our children leave the nest... smile.. 

Such a wonderful time of the year to really celebrate!

The greatest gift He gave and the love we share with our families and friends... 

Looking forward to making and doing and planning and decorating.. 

Where is my List Books??  lol... 

So here we go.. 

Love love this wreath.. 

Went with some friends this weekend to a lovely Christmas event at an old train station and bought a homemade fir wreath from a sweet friend.. 

All I need to do is add a set of lights, a few pine cones and one of my little Christmas churches.. 

Ta da... 

This is a vignette from the little room that I used to decorate for my grandsons when they were little.. 

I would love to be able to do this again but one Christmas a couple of years ago we were short a chair for the dinner so someone brought this old red chair out.. 

After dinner they put it in the Sun Room and I was in there talking to our sons and just sat down on the chair.. 

It was old and dried out from the wood heat and when I sat down it just broke in two.. 

I landed on the floor and that Christmas is remembered as the Christmas that Mom broke the chair and landed on the floor.. 

lol.. 

I found this one on the web and it was entitled:

 The year I couldn't afford presents and made my own.. 

Loved the thought and expect the recipients were more then pleased.. eh? 

This is another idea for gifts or myself.. 

Little Rosemary wreaths.. 

I brought home a bunch of Rosemary so this is an easy one.. 

Just wiring on the branches and a bow.. 

You could buy enough herb at the super market and make one of your own.. 

This was our mantel in the family room a couple of years ago.. 

Not sure how it will be done this year.. 

We will see.. 

And another easy one.. 

A small evergreen wreath and a set of battery lights on an old chair placed in a corner some where.. 

My daughter's work.. 

Vintage ornaments from Dave's Mom and an old frame.. 

Beautiful, eh? 

She and I did a craft show together a year or so ago and this was some of her work.. 

She gave me one of the Jingle pillows for my birthday.. 

Love it.. 

I know that a lot of girls who follow my blog are much more modern with the whites, greys and blues but I love the cosiness of this room.. 

For years and years my decorating was governed by what crafts were in style that year.. 

Country, Victorian or Primitive, etc and I had to decorate accordingly in order to sell crafts here at my Open House.. 

A friend asked me this week what my style was now and I was so pleased to say that I just do what I like.. 

I think Shonda said that I was UK Country and I think she was right... smile.. 

This one reminds me of our Living Room... 

Usually here in Canada Christmas means snow.. 

Not every year mind you but often.. 

Snowmen abound here but I am very happy with a green Christmas.. Perhaps since I was born during one... grin.. 

Isn't this sweet.. 

I bought a lovely old pitcher this summer from my friend Barb who owns an antique shop in Sussex... 

I also have those sweet plate candle holders and lots of wood spools.. 

Very farmhouse style but I love it... 

And I think I can find a few preserves here, too.. smile.. 

Yes... 

Christmas baking.. 

I don't do nearly the baking that I used to but it is still fun to whip up some gingerbread and see what you can do with it.. 

Perhaps some gingerbread spoons or such... smile.. 

Keeping my eye opens for a few old fancy jars to make some of these window sill votives.. 

A bit of wire and some candles.. Add a sprig of pine and a few berries and they are done.. 

Simple and easy way to decorate a tree in a little out of the way place in your home.. 

Table settings.. 

Find them HERE..

Notice the mason jars in the first one.. 

There are 32 examples at this site... 

Well my friends this is all for this Monday... 

Hope you enjoyed them.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by and I love your notes.. 

Take care and God bless you today.. 

xo