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..  

Here at Home Getting Ready for Winter..

Good Evening my dears.. 

Here I am here at home... 

Finally... 

Ready to post.. smile.. 

Before I forget.. the pic above is what I see out my kitchen window most  early mornings.. 

A mama and her two babes... 

I am so sorry to be so slow getting up a blog post...  

Sometimes I don't have much to share and I am scared of boring you all to bits so I wait and hope I come up with something.. 

Today is just a short one... 

I just seem to be doing the same thing everyday!  

Pickles... pickles and more pickles... grin.. 

These ones above are the Hot Mixed Veggies that you see me make every year.. 

I do so love these.. 

Almost as much as dill... 

So glad that I had gathered my basil for pesto.. 

We had a really early frost and it killed what was left.. 

Oh well.. I have enough.. 

Then every year I make Terry's mother's Mustard Pickles.. 

They are the family favourite mustard.. 

It is funny how one only likes the kind they grew up with, eh? 

I did lots of others but will not make you suffer hearing about them all.. 

Our cold room is getting filled, though..  

What a lovely feeling.. 

I do love preserving for the Winter season.. 

I know that really we could buy a cucumber and red onion from the supermarket and just make a brine and have pickles for supper and look in the cosmetics aisle for face cream or buy a bottle of dried oregano for pizza or a jar of pesto for pasta sauce or a bottle of dills from Costco...  

We could do that.. 

 But for me it just is not the same..

Preserving is not just frugal but rewarding..  

I enjoy all things that are connected to the harvest season.. 

Gathering herbs and flowers.. 

Picking veggies from the gardens..

Peeling our own grown garlic just smells so heavenly.. 

And it was not grown in China but in our own garden.. 

Gathering wild rose petals for soaps and lotions, Tansy for my arthritis,  making vinegars with herbs, garlic and peppercorns, collecting rose hips to make a moisturising oil for my face, combining herbs from the garden with oils to make salves for dry skin, itching, sores and bruises, and of course pesto from basil, garlic and cheese, making pickles, jams, jellies, canning green beans, zucchini and tomatoes, freezing bags and bags of spaghetti sauce, making potpourris for gifts and to scent our rooms, dehydrating veggies for soups and stews, hanging herbs everywhere to dry for just so many things... 

Well.. 

I guess you see what I mean... smile.. 

It is work for sure but also just so interesting and that makes it all so satisfying..

Terry grows the garden and I like to do my part by not wasting it.. 

I did these on Friday...  

Big Batch Zucchini Breads to freeze..  

Or so I thought... 

Someone really enjoys fresh breads but I rescued them before they were all devoured.. 

Hope to do another batch this week... 

Here is the recipe as it is a really good one.. 

Bulk Batch Zucchini Bread

3 cups oil
9 eggs, beaten
5 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla
9 cups unbleached flour (can include some whole wheat pastry flour)
6 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp. baking soda
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or a combination

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray four bread loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour, zucchini, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nuts and chocolate chips. Stir until just mixed. Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To freeze: Once cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a large freezer bag. Remove excess air and freeze. Can also be sliced before freezing.

This recipe is from Good Cheap Eats..  I changed the amounts of baking powder and soda from their original. 

I also made a tray of these granola bars for our grandsons... 

Recipe Here..

Cut them and then wrapped in parchment paper twists.. 

Delivered them this morning at church.. 

So as you can see it has been pretty typical around here for the time of year.. 

So many homes are the same.. 

So lovely to see on Instagram that there are so many younger ones following the old ways.. 

They say they don't mind sticky floors and cluttered counters so long as they get the stuff put away before it spoils.. 

I do understand.. 

This week I hope to be finished with the veggie end of things and move on to some Fall decor and concentrating on the cosmetic stuff like lotions, salves and oils.. 

I have made up my mind to make a different type of soap.. 

Hope it turns out but that probably won't happen till next week if the Lord wills... 

Then there is the house cleaning and a bit of painting to do.. 

My hydrangea are ready for picking.. 

I just gather big bunches of it and stick it in any large jug, vase or basket that I can find and just let them dry ... 

Then hopefully I will get a few wreaths made.. 

and so on.. smile.. 

Dear old Charlie is pretty good company these days.. 

He is just such a good dog.. 

This afternoon after church we drove up to the farm to get a few cabbages, turnips and more herbs... 

I looked in the house for this old recipe book and found it.. 

from 1953... 

It has some excellent preserving recipes .. 

I love to try something new each year and as I grew celery I want to try the celery pickle recipe.. 

My friend from Romania is on vacation in her homeland .. 

As soon as she returns we want to get together to make a few Romanian recipes... 

Love getting together with her and learning... 

She is just so smart... 

Here is a purchase I made for Fall decorating.. 

They are at the Great Canadian Dollar store for only twenty dollars.. 

It is metal and glass and even comes with the batteries for the candles.. 

I want to fill the bottom with some wee pumpkins.. 

Will share it all with you girls as soon as it gets done.. 

Next week... smile.. 

Today is this dear man's birthday!  

I so appreciate him and am so thankful for the life we have built! 

He is a great husband, dad and gramps... 

We all sure do love him... 

Happy birthday, dear..

Anyway... 

Thank you so much for visiting and your lovely notes.. 

I try to answer the ones on Facebook.. 

I find when I answer them here on the blog itself that not many come back to get the answer..

I did want to answer any questions you asked but when I went back to your comments I could not find the questions.. 

sorry..

If you have any questions please leave them here or on FB and I promise to answer them here or there.. 

K?  

God bless you all and have a great week... 

The Lord commands his mercy during the day, 

And at night his song is with me--

a prayer to the God of my life... 

Psalms42-8