It's really September...

Hello sweet friends.. 

When I was pondering the title for this post all I could think about was that it is really September!  

Already!  

The summer fairly flew and now we are on the brink of Fall.. 

A lovely time of year for sure and many people's favourite but I sadly bid adieu to the loveliest of seasons of Summer.. 

But..

That is how it is... smile.. 

How have you all been? 

Thank you so much for stopping by and all of your dear comments last post.. 

It is so gratifying to hear from so many and some of your sweet words really touched my heart.. 

I am blessed with this blog and hopefully as summer gives way to fall I will do a bit better job at keeping in contact.. 

Such a busy time of year, eh? 

Here are a few things we have been doing.. 

Preserving of course is the main activity at the moment for me and for Terry it is the garden harvest and getting wood in the basement for winter.. 

Peaches are lovely this year..  

These ones were grown in Ontario which is a province here in Canada... 

Our weather is not conducive to growing peaches here in New Brunswick.. 

I think I only did up 18 jars but then I froze a few also.. 

So delicious on yogurt and a few nuts added for good measure.. 

But in between picking and pickling we have been trying to get a few day trips in.. 

of course this is one of the places close to my heart.. 

St. Martins, New Brunswick.. 

Where we had a dear cottage and shop for over twenty years.. 

The beautiful Bay of Fundy.. 

I have had a love affair going on with it since I was a child and we would go and visit my Gram and my sweet cousins several times a year.. 

It was wonderful to visit again and I feel good that I do not regret the sale of it all.. 

It was time.. 

My Mom of course grew up there and she so loves to visit there every so often.. 

On this trip I went with my Mom and Step father and a sweet friend Cindy... 

Terry went to the races with our grandson so I was fancy free and there was no where I would rather spend an afternoon.. 

This was one of our meals lately.. 

Our once a week pasta dish.. 

Oh how I love thee.. grin.. 

chicken breasts browned in garlic and onions.. 

then simmered in homemade spaghetti sauce and topped with mozza cheese and a little side of fresh homemade pesto... 

Yup..  grin.. 

I do know that pasta is not really that good for you but it is the food I love best.. 

I tried substituting it with spaghetti squash but .... no.... 

Once a week will be the real deal.. lol.. 

On another day we headed to Buctouche, N.B. 

A beautiful seaside town with parks and dunes.. 

Such a lovely day.. 

And we bought some of my favourite greens.. 

Grown on the marshes.. 

Organic food at it's best.. 

Salty and delicious.. 

Sorry to be talking so much about food.. 

anyway.. 

I have been harvesting my straw flowers at the farm.. 

I can see a wreath in my future.. smile. 

this was a gorgeous day trip a couple of weeks ago.. 

Minister's Island here in New Brunswick.. 

You have to go with the tide of the Bay of Fundy... 

When it is low tide this road appears and you can literally drive on the ocean floor to the island.. 

But you can only stay a few hours and you have to leave or be stranded there for 12 hours, I believe..  

When the tide is in that road there is covered with 15 feet of sea water.. 

This island contains the Van Horne estate which is amazing.. 

They were obviously very rich people and lived accordingly.. 

So much to see.. 

I couldn't begin to show you all there is to see but here are a few pics.. 

This is such a long post that I didn't want to bore you silly but perhaps I will do more another time as I have scads of pics.. 

The house and barn and bath house are glorious.. 

You could google it though and see ... 

Back home we go... 

Before the tide!  smile.. 

Here is a lovely treat that is so good.. 

Zucchini fries.. 

RECIPE HERE/ 

I just made a regular dill dip.. 

Low fat sour cream and low fat mayo... 

add herbs and garlic.. 

I loved these but they were not anything Terry wanted to try.. smile.. 

Canning more stuff.. 

Tomatoes.. 

These are just regular tomatoes ...

And four batches of Salsa... 

Have you been preserving?  

I love this time of year preparing for the winter months.. 

Do you?  

Our sweet daughter had a birthday.. 

This was a pic taken when she was a wee thing over on Prince Edward Island.. 

We used to go camping there every summer.. 

The kids loved it and still do.. 

And this is her now taken a few weeks ago in Boston.. 

Shonda... 

Forty nine years old now!  

Where has the time gone.. 

So love and am so proud of our only daughter.. 

Thankful that the Lord has kept her and she has chosen to allow Him to direct her life and home.. 

And just one more food pic... grin.. 

Two ingredient foraccia bread.. 

Recipe here.. 

Well dear hearts this is it for another time.. 

So glad we could get together 

I look forward to hearing from you again.. 

Love your notes.. 

Next post I will try to do a farm one.. 

I have been busy here at home doing my canning.. 

I didn't want to use my old stove at the farm as it is precious to me.. 

It is hard on a stove doing all the canning so I am home mostly.. 

But I still hope to get out there for several days yet.. 

I still have a lot of harvesting herbs and such.. 

I love this verse, don't you?  

God bless and sending you hugs.. 

Faye.. 

PS.. 

As I read over this post I find it rather haphazard and sketchy.. 

Sorry.. 

I guess I am feeling a bit tired but it will do for now I guess.. 

Also in answer to a couple of question last post.. 

As far as the Wild Medicine sites that I use.. 

I use quite a few different ones.. 

Farmer's Almanac is one I trust.. 

Also the Milkweed is not anything I am sure of yet.. 

Just learning about it.. 

All I read is quite promising for me to try next year .. 

It is more of a food source though then a medicine, I think.. 

I really hope to study up on apothecary recipes and such this winter.. 

a project shall we say.. 

For now I have quite a bit thus far.. 

Red clovers, Horsetail, Nettles, Jewelweed, Yarrow, Violet, Tansy.. 

That are a few I have dried and such.. 

xo

Saturday Night Ramble and Roll.. ...

Well hello there dear hearts.. 

It has been awhile since I have been here.. 

Face Book informed me today that it has been 28 days since I had posted.. 

I could hardly imagine how fast the time has flown.. 

I have shared with a few friends something I had read in a book the other day.. 

The author wrote that time had just flown by while she had been  busy doing something else.. 

So true.. 

But anyway welcome to the Blessed Hearth tonight.. 

So happy to have you and thank you for being so patient with me when I seem to disappear at times.. 

Hope you are all well and enjoying the passing of the season.. 

Another little ramble and roll for you on this Saturday...

So to ramble on here a bit.. 

 Just when I think my preserving chores are through along comes another one.. smile.. 

We bought a fifty pound bag of lovely carrots last week.. 

So... 

Peeling, chopping and canning have been going on.. 

Such a satisfying bit of work.. 

I did a batch of Mexican Pickled Carrots just to see if we would like them.. 

Terry approved so I may do one more batch.. 

Link Here 

Our days are busy just like everyone else but we still have time for a bowl of homemade soup for lunch.. 

This is an Acadian Recipe called Chicken Fricot.. 

HERE

I put a teaspoon of summer savory in the dumplings, also.. 

I even made bread and apple turnovers one day.. 

I posted it on Instagram and explained how it takes me all day to complete something that should only take a couple of hours.. 

Awww ... the life of a senior .... grin.. 

We also bought a fifty pound bag of apples and squash.. 

The apples unlike the carrots are only half finished but they will keep for awhile.. 

A batch of apple butter is finished..

And... 

Our favourite roasted apple sauce... 

Thanks to Storybook Woods blog recipe.. 

This was the Apple Butter... 

It is an old recipe where you make jelly and then make butter from the puree..

I did not want to make jelly that day so just put the peelings in a cheesecloth and simmered them together.. 

Turned out pretty good..  

On another day I spent time with a sweet kindred spirit... 

It was such a lovely day.. 

She is so talented and taught me to do Needle Felting.. 

I so loved doing it.. 

This will be a sock with a snowman felted on it.. 

I just have to blanket stitch it and it will be finished.. 

Barb is an antique dealer with a darling shoppe in Sussex.. 

She is also a lovely cook and we had a delicious lunch together.. 

So thankful for such dear friends.. 

Then Mom and my Step Father were over for supper.. 

I so love making a meal for them.. 

Mom loves to come here for supper... 

She was craving a turkey meal and I had cooked one of our large home grown turkeys last week... 

She taught me years ago to freeze turkey or chicken in portions that are wrapped first in the skin of the bird and then put in freezer bags and freeze.. 

When you reheat in the over be sure to add some broth and cover.. 

It was very moist..

We still have zucchini so I am trying to make more breads like I posted a time or two ago.. 

I keep giving them away.. smile..  

I love making that recipe because you can do 2 breads each with chocolate chips, nuts or raisins..

Terry keeps encouraging me to make more.. grin.. 

This is what we woke up to this morning.. 

Very slushy snow.. 

And tonight the wind is whistling for sure.. 

Last weekend our province was hit with a huge wind storm and some people went for days without hydro.. 

We were fortunate that ours was only off for 3 hours.. 

Winter is on it's way here in Eastern Canada.. 

Not my favourite season for sure.. 

Rolling along... 

Enjoying my geraniums from Summer ... 

Do you bring your's in for the winter?  

Another little fall chore was drying a few pears... 

We will eat some of them but really I dry them for crafts.. 

I get about 3 slices per pear for crafts and then we enjoy the rest for a treat.... 

This was some packages I made a few years ago.. 

I have these ones glued on tea dyed luggage tags but I couldn't find my spray glue or glitter.. sigh.. 

Must be down in my workshop... 

I will try to finish them next week.. 

Rambline along here.. 

This is a bit of a page from a book I was reading.. 

I sent it to Shonda.. 

She is thinking of putting a tall tree in her vestibule as it reaches to the second floor... 

Isn't the author's description just so lovely and old fashioned  Christmas like?  

The author's name is Rosemunde Pilcher and she is one of my go to authors that I sometimes just need to read.. 

She is not a spiritual writer but she is an old fashioned home like author that I love.. 

I do not agree with everything she writes but love her descriptions of home and family.. 

Do you read any of her books?  

I love her short stories best.. 

The Blue Bedroom for example.. 

The one above is Coming Home..

Christmas is not too far away so am trying to get some ideas together.. 

Terry bought me a lovely thick steno pad from Staples.. 

It is so thick.. 

I love it.. 

You know me and my notebooks.. 

I decided to put a pretty cover on it.. 

Just glued a pretty page from Country Living UK on the cover with a glue stick then a swipe of sealer with a sponge brush... 

I am making a few journals for gifts which I will share when they come together.. 

Love paper crafting.. 

We are still rolling along.. grin.. 

I was tidying up the fridge yesterday and found a jar of green beans that I had fermented... 

Oh my goodness!!!  

Are they delicious or what?? 

Oh I wish I had done a lot of them but was not sure of the recipe.. 

Will be doing many more next summer, Lord willing.. 

Oh and one more food idea.. 

Sorry about so many ... smile.. 

But you will love me for this one.. 

Terry does.. lol.. 

Just looks like a pan of Rice Crispy Squares, eh?  

Wrong... 

These are the best Rice Crispy Square you will ever eat.. 

The difference is browned butter and salt.. 

Yup!  

Makes all the difference!  

Thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the recipe.. 

Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Squares

Perhaps you have been making them for ages but I just found the recipe.. 

Well, my dears I guess this is it for this time.. 

Hopefully, I will start posting some Christmas stuff.. 

Trying to get inspired so I can really enjoy the season.. 

I am not a person who puts the decor up before the first of December but I love making and doing for it all..

What are your plans.. Anything exciting?  

Would love to hear from you all.. 

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day once again.. 

Last week the hydro was out in Salisbury so church was cancelled.. 

There is a wind tonight but nothing like last week.. 

Looking forward to the service.. 

This is a pic I posted on Instagram last week..  

Romans 16:1 - 2

 16 Phoebe, a dear Christian woman from the town of Cenchreae, will be coming to see you soon. She has worked hard in the church there. Receive her as your sister in the Lord, giving her a warm Christian welcome. Help her in every way you can, for she has helped many in their needs, including me. 3 Tell Priscilla and Aquila hello. They have been my fellow workers in the affairs of Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they risked their lives for me, and I am not the only one who is thankful to them; so are all the Gentile churches.

Can you imagine being referred to in the Bible as a "dear Christian woman".... She must have been a wonderful soul.... 

Thank you so much for visiting and I look forward to reading your sweet notes.. 

Welcome to the new followers of the blog here and on Face Book.. 

So glad to have you.. 

Also for  the sweet emails... 

I am wondering if some of you are having problems getting your email post? 

Please let me know if you are ... 

Thanks and God bless..  

Today was Mother's Day....

Hello there my dears.. 

Today was Mother's Day here in Canada.. 

We woke up to a lovely sunny day with a brisk breeze and just a bit cool... 

May is such a lovely month, don't you think?  

The flood waters are receding here in New Brunswick, thank the Lord!  

Grass is green and the dandelions are out... 

Spring has finally arrived... 

This week I made a wee craft to go with my Mom's Mother's Day gift... 

Last Summer I put together a Rose Potpourri which is my mother's favourite scent.. 

I had already gave her some but she was saying that she loves it so and keeps moving it from place to place.. smile.. 

I had some left so I thought I would make her a basket to put some more in... 

I found a recipe to starch the doilies.. 

You can find the link HERE

You only use sugar and water.. 

So easy... 

They turned out fine.. 

She loved it.. 

We went to church and after had a bite to eat and then went to visit Mom... 

She was having her afternoon nap in the rocking chair and her cat, Mable was resting in a chair beside her.. smile.. 

Mom and my Step Father love their cat... 

The first pic up top is my Mom at five years old with her cat.. 

She still loves them and always have.. 

I love cats, too!

Terry not so much.. smile.. 

We had only been there a bit when the phone rang... 

It was Shonda wishing her Gram a happy mother's day.. 

Mom really enjoys hearing from her grand kids.. 

Don't we all?  smile.. 

Mom also loves her plants.. 

They are everywhere.. 

On window sills, benches and tables.. 

She has quite a green thumb and has always stuck lemon, orange and pepper seeds in pots just to see if they will grow.. 

I received my love of wild flowers from her.. 

She knows the name of so many wild flowers and shared her knowledge with my sister and myself.. 

There are just the two of us girls and we both love cats, plants and flowers.. 

That is what mamas do, eh?  

Share their loves with their children.. 

The main love she shared with us was her love of the Lord..

He has so blessed our lives.. 

See all the old dishes in the china cupboard...

Yup... me too!!  grin... 

I don't share my pic on here or anywhere very often.. 

I do not take a good photo like my husband and children but Mom and I are getting older and just thought it would be nice to remember this special day.. 

We had our windows down and my hair shows it but never the less.. smile.. 

So thankful to be able to share this day with Mom .. 

And with our children.. 

Last week I was sick and was not sure if I would be well enough today so the plans they made to be together in church and dinner had to be postponed... 

I am feeling better but still on meds.. 

Nothing serious...

They all called though and we are getting together later.. 

Except for our youngest.. 

As you know he is out west but he called first thing this morning and sent home a gift for me...

So love all of our children, their spouses and grandchildren.. 

Shonda and Tammy are wonderful mothers to our grandsons ... 

So blessed... 

This is all for tonight dear ladies.. 

I pray you had a wonderful day and have enjoyed the love of your sweet families.. 

Sending hugs your way... 

xo