BACK TO THE FAMILY TABLE....

Good Morning everyone.. 

Today I am very happy  to be a guest over aT

 LIKE A BUBBLING BROOK.

Jaime has a wonderful blog where she posts about Biblical homemaking and whole foods.. 

Today's post is titled BACK TO THE FAMILY TABLE

A few thoughts on the importance of families gathering together for at least one meal a day .. Plus a few table setting ideas and  

makeovers.. OK?  

I hope you will meet me over THERE... smile..

Thank you so much for dropping by ..

Looking so forward to reading all of your sweet comments... 

Have a great day, dear ladies...

HUGS..

Linked to ...TEACH ME TUESDAYS

Arranging things...

Good evening everyone.. 

How art thou?  

I thought I had better get to posting a picture of little gift that my Mom gave me the other day.. smile.. 

I didn't mean to keep you guessing but we were blessed to attend Bible Study last night and then today I was working at a project or two .. 

Anyway... here it is...

A very old print of bluebirds.. 

Precious, eh!

I noticed it in her little den and started making some broad hints.. grin.. 

And as you know she caved in and gave it to me.. 

The dear thing...

 I know I am a pain but she told me when she comes here next she expects to leave with her arms full... lol.. 

This probably would not be every one's taste but I love old stuff..

Actually, before we visited them we had gone to a thrift store and I had bought this little cloth for two dollars..

I am sure that is why I noticed her print.. smile... 

Anyway, I brought them both home....

I tea dyed the cloth because that is how I prefer them..

And then I remembered this little nest and eggs that I had on one

 of the tables.

So... 

I put the three of them together..

This pic does not do them justice.. Sorry about that.. 

But you get the gist... smile..

I had also posted about the bread I had made for our Valentines dinner that didn't happen... 

Well, not here at home, anyway... smile..

I used the THIS RECIPE and just made one large french loaf.. 

Brushed on some olive oil and sprinkled on some kosher salt just after it had raised.. Oh.. I made 3 slashes with a sharp knife.. 

Baked it in the oven for 40 minutes and voila.. 

I had planned on using it for the centrepiece.. smile..

As I had a bunch of thyme I made a small crock of herb butter to go with it.. 

Just mix up a stick of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil, a small crushed clove of garlic and some fresh herbs.. 

Arrange it all  on a bread board and everyone will enjoy the centrepiece.. Right?

I thought you might like this neat little way of fancying up your table once in awhile with some old silver.... 

Lacy napkins and a piece of lace.. 

I saw something similar on Pinterest (of course) and did my own thing.. 

I came up with the idea of using some old music sheets for place mats.. smile..

It is nice to be fancy sometimes, too.. 

We don't have to do bread and butter all the time.. 

Right?

I need to tie up the ends of some of my last postings and questions.. 

A lot of you emailed and asked about the Keepers of the Home.. 

I am hoping you don't mind waiting a bit as I am guesting on a blog about it in a few weeks .. I will answer all your questions then..  OK?

Now, thank you sweet ladies for dropping by and for your wonderful comments.. 

And welcome to all of the new ones who joined the site.. 

I will visit your blogs very soon..

Terry is back home again (thank you, dear Lord) and so my time is not my own.. grin... 

I do have something very important to share with you all tomorrow, I hope.. 

So.. check back if you can.. 

I am not trying to be mysterious but it is too complicated to go into now and I need to check out a few things before I mention it.. 

smile..

Psalms 117

1.  O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

2.  For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.. Praise ye the LORD..

LOVE TO YOU ALL..

A few tablesetting ideas and a craft.....

Hello my dears... I hope you will all forgive me for being a bit slack in the posting department... we went home for a few days..  How are you all anyway?  We have been having a lot of rain for the last while but the sun came out today and lifted our spirits.. It was nice to be back home  over the weekend and to get to church twice yesterday... Our oldest son and his family had been away on vacation to Ontario so it was great to see them all ... Then Trevor and Tammy invited us back to their place for lunch which was delicious!!  A sweet chili tenderloin and chops, baked potatoes and fiddleheads,  ceaser salad and baquette .. some of which our dear son barbequed.... Our 3 grandsons were so pleased with their holiday as they had their friends go along with them.. so much more fun, you know...lol... Grandpa enjoys teasing them all.. I guess this is what memories are made of, eh??

Well, enough about that... I have some ideas here for you for decorating your tables for summer entertaining.... inside or out... We eat outside a lot during this season as I am sure you all do...

so perhaps they will come in handy for you all..

This is just an old copper kettle, an oil latern and a candle on a prim mat... but you could use a combination of any old pieces that you might pick up at sales this summer..

Here is a depression  glass jug full of flowers from outside in the yard paired with a candlestick and whatever... the lovely thing about summer is that fresh flowers are there just for the using...lol..

You can also used old milk bottles and fill with twigs for a different look.. just tie on some homespun or raffia .....

Old teapots are in almost every yard sale and are sweet with some ivy or pansies planted in them...

Sometimes when we are having homemade bread for supper... I will use it for the centrepiece... Just place it on a wood cutting board and add crocks of plain butter and garlic butter along with some spreading knives...

I believe I showed this lamp on Primitive Lace before but it is worth mentioning... You probably have one that you can use.. if not they are often at thrift stores, etc... Just add a candle where there used to be a globe... I saw one the other day with fresh flowers in it... I want to try that...

Sometimes Shonda will use a nice old bowl that her Gram gave her and use some floating candles and roses in a bit of water... it is lovely..

Another idea is to put mismatched candlesticks down the centre with different heights and type of candles... trail a pip berry garland through them...

Now here is a little craft you can make that is lovely to use outside when you are having a meal with your family.... and your kids would probably love to help you to make them some rainy day...

All you need is some cinnamon sticks that you can buy at any grocer ..

A bit of raffia from the dollar store or you can use homespun...

A votive holder or even a tin can..

A votive candle or tealight..

Lean the cinnamon sticks around the votive holder while using an elastic to help you place them... When you get enough around then tighten the elastic and tie a raffia bow..

Inside I like to place the candle on top of some whole spices that will help scent the air... \

Kind of fun to do and you can make one for each place or just a couple... Whatever....

Well, I hope you found this a bit interesting... It just makes your family times together a bit more special when you make a little extra effort...

One thing I love to do when we entertain outside is to use my eclectic set of dishes... Each setting is made up of different patterns but all have  a color or theme that blends them together..

They took awhile to collect through yard sales or whatever but it was kind of fun to do..

And more fun to use..

Okay girls have a wonderful week..  we are having a Keepers meeting on the 19th of this month..

A Bulk Barn Run... then a pot luck at Carries... sounds like fun, eh?

We are going to also make up some recipes from our purchases... mixes for busy families and who knows what else...  so if you are interested my email is on the sidebar...

Remember... He loves you....and yours!! 

God Bless.....

Faye..