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..

Getting ready for Fall Flavors Open House...

Hello my dears... It's a  windy night here in St. Martins with a hurricane forecast for Sunday... Fall is in the air and I am busy getting ready Open House at the HOUSE OF HENRY here in St. Martins Labour Day Weekend which is next weekend..

Tonight I am just posting a few pics that I took around the shop..

This is a little herb lady that I finished today..

She has a pouch of tansy on her back and a line of herbs in her hands..

Here are the lavender fresheners that I bottled and finished ready for sale.. I actually sold a few today as soon as I put them out..

I wrote the words --  Between the sheets on one side of the tag and tied some lavender on them..

Here are some Herb Balms ready for sale, too..

I made the labels out of pages of an old book that I had..

I know you can use a computer but these are unique..

Right?

I also have my Smellie Jellies ready, too..

I just put old lace doilies over the covers and tied on a tag..

And of course there will be wreaths..

I brought down several to put together for Fall..

Everyone loves crows..

A few valances...

Nice for a little window somewhere..

There are LOTS  of dishes... grin..

Vintage ones...

Terry and I made a variety of Sun catchers with old silverware and even  wind chimes with cutlery...

Kind of hard to see but it has old chandelier crystals which catch the sunlight..

Our dear grandsons went home yesterday.. We so enjoyed them.. They are such good boys.. Really... smile.. Not just because they are ours... They really are..

Anyway, last night a friend who grew up with Shonda came with her two kids for a couple of nights.. They love St. Martins and try to come every summer..

I love readers and here is one here...

Isn't that dear?

She helped me at the shop today and this is one of the things we made...

A little journal... the picture is from 1937 of Jo in Little Women..

She is writing in the attic with her pet rats...

Scrabble and his son Sam..

smile..

It was a pic I cut out of a calender years ago and saved for something special..

I love making these journals and now my little friend knows how to make them.. She wrote a list of what she needs to  create her own.. smile..

Her brother is pretty smart too and just loved Sammi..

Sam has not had so much exercise in a long time.. giggle..

He is as tuckered out as I am...

Well, sweet ladies, thanks for dropping by and I really want to welcome the new followers of the blog..

We have met some new ladies in the shop and they have signed up..

Thank you so much..

I love your comments so much and look forward to them each morning..

Take care of you lovely families and come back soon..

God bless...

Tansy , Pinterest and more...

Hello everyone....

Another rainy evening here.. I am wondering if this is all the summer we are going to have.. Hardly any hot weather here in St. Martins although it has been different inland away from the sea..

Perhaps we will experience some hot days after we go home in September..

Anyway.. I had mentioned that I wanted to do a wee posting on the herb Tansy...

It is one of the easiest flowers to dry around... Just pick it and either tie it in bundles and hang upside down or I stuck one big bunch in an old crock here at the cottage..

Or you can tie in bundles from a rack or place on a newspaper in a dry area...Just store in paper bags until you are ready to use it..

It is very fragrant and does not smell as nice as lavender.. smile..

Terry picked this big bunch for me and it was pretty strong smelling ...

Isn't he great?  Always helping me by doing the harvesting of this stuff... I may do the work after we get home but he gathers it as I have a foot problem.. Yes.... and a head problem.. grin..

Tansy makes a lovely homey fall wreath after it dries..

Just break off bits of flowers and glue them on a wreath with your glue gun.. Almost the same method as when I made

THIS DRIED FLOWER WREATH..

It is wonderful in some potpourris but make sure it has dried well so that it does not overpower your other scents..

I include it in my blueberry one and it is great..

The main thing that I like myself about tansy is that it is a

BUG repellent... I detest bugs... really detest them...

So tansy will be shoved into some handmade bags as soon as it dries.. Place them in your dog or cat beds to repel bugs and also if you have ants or flies... Just hang some or lay a nice bundle tied with raffia here and there..

Here is a WONDERFUL TANSY LINK..

It gives some info about how it repels bugs..

Now..

In Finland they use it to make dye... A bright green one..

Most sites tell you not to ingest very much although a lot of old cookbooks have recipes for it..

I personally do not plan on eating it.. grin..

Although, a recipe for tansy mayo had me wondering..

No... I guess not.. smile..The smell is enough for me..

It does have healing qualities though according to many people..

My friend makes a tea with it and sponges hurting joints and such and really believes it works..

Also, according to my herb book folks in Scotland use it for a cure for gout.. One never knows until you try it...

And last but not least my book also says it was well known in bygone days to counteract hysteria.... grin..

That persuaded me... I shall be carrying some in my purse... lol..

Anyway, my dears that is all for my tansy episode.. grin..

Don't hold me responsible for any ingesting on your part...

Just get rid of the bugs or make yourself  a nice fall wreath or bouquet..

OK?

We had some lovely company last evening for supper..

Friends from home came down..

So, I made a loaf of  NO KNEAD BREAD to go with our supper..

I left out the rosemary and sea salt as Terry prefers it this way..

And I made one big loaf instead of two..

They tried several of the flower jellys that I had made and decided that they like the Queen Anne's Lace one best..

Jelly and roast beef don't really go together... grin.. oh well..

Ethel brought down a couple of her sewing projects to show me..

She is a wizard with a needle.... quilts, bags, everything..

Here are some Christmas presents she is getting finished...

Quilted pillowcases...

Aren't they beautiful... And so excellently finished..

Also a little stitchery she has finished..

She only needs to frame it..

I loved this..

And here she is... grin..

My friend, Ethel..

Her daughter comes to Keepers when she can and our husbands have a great time together..

It was so nice to see them and have a few laughs..

Ethel is just learning to use the computer so heaven help me if she sees that I posted her pic.. grin..

That is all for tonight dear girls...

Oh... some of you were asking me about pinterest..

It is a sharing of ideas that is like a pin board ...

You see some idea you like and you pin it on your own boards..

When you want the idea then you just click on the pin and there is all the info...

Here is MY PINTEREST ADDRESS..

I am just learning so it is kind of scrambled but all in due time..

Take care  and thanks again for your visits and comments..

God bless and keep you all ...