Farm Journal 2020 Number 4

Hello my friends.. 

How are you all doing?  

I wonder if you are having a heat wave as we are here in Maritime Canada!  

Oh my!  

After a couple or so weeks of this we find it quite a challenge!  

One good thing is that we will be happy for the season change.. 

Generally, I just dread the end of Summer here in New Brunswick but perhaps this year I won't... smile.. 

 Our nights are cool though so that is a help.. 

Anyway.. 

Enough of Canadian weather..

 That is what we chat about the most.. smile.. 

Welcome to another farm post.. 

We head up there quite early in the mornings lately to beat the heat! grin.. 

The cows are waiting for us and even stand up as we drive by.. 

Aren't they lovely!  

They are not ours for anyone new to the blog.. 

A nice farmer leases our pastures perse.... 

We love having them out there.. 

I am getting side tracked here.. 

On with the story.. 

When we were out one day I was so happy to be able to potter about the house.. 

Usually, I have had to be outside in the gardens but now it is mostly Terry's doing out there and mine inside except to do my herbs.. 

I worked in my pantry and changed some things about and did some cleaning.. 

The first pic on the post today was from a previous year..

I decided to change the curtain.. 

The one you see there on the bottom cupboard is a lovely piece of fabric I bought when we went on the 70 mile yard sale in P. E. I..a couple of years ago..  

I had some left and decided to use the bottom of the piece left over for the window instead of the lace.. 

It is not as pretty but it makes it easier to look out and see Terry working and the gardens and cows and such.. smile.. 

I put the my measuring cup collection on the sill. 

I was at a garage sale the other day and in a box I bought was the a tiny wee measure.. 

It is the smallest one on the sill .. 

This was the view when I finished putting it up.. smile.. 

And this is what he was picking.. 

Lots of green beans and our first cucumber ... 

When I set the table for dinner that day I used my new plates.. 

I know.. 

Like I needed more old dishes.. grin.. 

These though are special to me.. 

When we moved here about 35 years ago we met the nicest neighbors.. 

They were older then us but so kind... 

We went to a garage sale their children had of some of their household goods and I wanted something that belonged to her.. 

I saw a box of these lovely old dishes and her son told me they were her good ones.. 

It had to be a special occasion for her to use them.. smile.. 

I think they are sweet in this old kitchen at the farm .. 

Don't you?  

And the old crochet underneath were a treasure too.. 

I have been looking for some for awhile and knew I would come across some one day.. smile.. 

They just go ....  

I can't help myself.. grin.. 

We have been eating Hodge Podge.. 

I do not know if this is just a Maritime Dish or if everyone everywhere makes it.. 

I do know we all have a different recipe for it here in New Brunswick.. 

My mother-in-law used carrots, peas, green beans and new potatoes with cream in her recipe but I grew up with just new green beans and potatoes in cream... 

I do the cooking here.. grin..

We cooks seem to like the best the recipe we grew up with.. 

Right??  

Here are a few pics from the living room... 

homemade cushions from our old cottage and shop.. 

A craft I unearthed in one of the packing boxes.. 

I couldn't part with it when we were selling out.. 

It is an old book and a mouse I made from muslin and painted.. 

The book is ancient.. 

And an old tattered quilt I repurposed as throws on the sofas... 

and another old pillow that I couldn't part with.. smile.. 

Anyway.. 

At the end of that first day he had 2 buckets of green beans and one of peas.. 

So love this time of year.. 

Do you enjoy putting up the harvest?  

I hope I can do it for many more years.. 

My mom is 86 and she is doing up Chow Chow and such.. 

On with the show.. 

Here is a bit of making and doing I like to share with you all.. 

 A new centrepiece for the table here at home.. 

A dear girl that I follow on Instagram creates the most beautiful table settings.. 

She has a gorgeous centrepiece .. 

It is long wire box with vases ... 

I love it and tried to find one on Amazon.

She provides such inspiration!! 

I could not find one exactly like her's but the ones I did find were very expensive.. 

I thought I would do without but figured I might be able to make one.. 

Ta da... 

I found boxes with drawers at the dollar store and a they had sets of milk bottles ...
Removed the drawers and painted and sanded and sealed and here we are.. 

I still intend to connect the two together but Terry needs to cut me out a piece of wood.. 

But this will do for now.. 

Lisa fills her's with the most glorious flowers.. 

Her IG account is called Frenchhandcraft... 

I just want to give her credit for the idea.. smile.. 

I filled it with Queen Anne's Lace as I was making jelly.. 

I like making wild flower jellies for my gift pantry and decorating the jars when I can.. 

an old lace curtain provided the covers this time. smile.. 

The rose petals I have been drying have not all been purposed yet.. 

But potpourris and powder are on the go... 

Here is the recipe I shared several years ago..  

Rose Powder Recipe

In a container with a lid add the following:

1 cup of baking powder 

1 cup of arrowroot 

Whisk together well and then add some rose petals.. 

Place your cover back on and then each day give it a shake.. 

You can double or triple this recipe if you like (gift pantry idea)

In a couple of weeks sieve out the rose petals and add several drops of rose essential oil (this is expensive so you can replace with rosemary or use a even a fragrance from Michael's) 

Rub each drop in until well distributed.. 

Put your lid back on and keep covered .. 

A lovely idea for your gift pantry if you place it in an antique shaker or an old china dish with a puff or whatever.. 

The pic above is of some powder I made when I had my wee shop in St. Martins.. 

I used wide mouthed mason jar and pasted rose papers from the dollar store on the lid..

I will probably do something different with this batch.. 

Will share it with you later.. 

I am really trying to get my gift pantry built up for Christmas... 

I know.. 

It really will get here before we know it.. 

And.. 

I want this Christmas to be really special.. 

I hope I will keep focused on preparing for it and not leave it all to the end.. 

The world is so topsy turvey that I think we as homemakers need to do all we can to make special efforts to celebrate whenever we can.. 

And Christmas.. 

Well.... Christmas is special.. Right? 

This kitchen here at home has been a busy place since the harvest has begun... 

Pickling  ....

Bread and Butters with red onions for a change.. 

And canning and more canning.. 

A new green bean pickle recipe to me.. 

You put them in tomato or clamato juice and such... 

They are a bit hot and I can't wait to try them.. 

I canned them for 10 minutes as the recipe said but you have to wait a couple of weeks.. 

I have canned yellow beans, green beans, peas, tomatoes, mixed green and yellow beans and pickles thus far.. 

This was my kitchen counter this morning when  I came out... 

they have to go to the cold room tomorrow... 

I am not a prophetess but most people expect groceries and everything else to really rise in price.. 

When we go for drives we find it amazing at the number of gardens growing everywhere.. 

The stores have run out of freezers, canning jars and all sorts of preserving stuff ... 

Pickling salt and cider vinegar are even hard to find.. 

We always do this anyway but this year we have doubled up on it all.

Or trying to.. 

Are you doing more this year? 

I am closing after another long post but here are a couple of pics of a beautiful country drive...   

I have added more on Instagram.. 

If you follow my account you may have noticed that someone has hacked or cloned my account.. 

They are messaging the followers and then trying to get them to buy a face book lottery... 

Whatever!!!

I have been trying my best to get it fixed but I am not sure what to do except to report it... 

Oh to be a tecky girl but I am an old gal.. grin.. 

I changed my pass word and profile and all.. 

So here is hoping..

I finally got to visit my sweet sister.. 

We exchanged parcels and she gave me this book.. 

Such a wonderful read.. 

I love love this author...  

And notebook.. 

And chocolate and so on.. 

I love notebooks and this nice orange one is for my harvest record and such.. 

Thank you dear sister... 

I have posted this clip before but worth the repeat.. eh!

Thank you dear hearts for dropping by and reading these long journals.. 

Or not.. grin.. 

Take care of yourselves and your sweet families and trust the Lord with your daily routines.. 

He will bless the work of your hands.. 

I look forward so to hearing from you here and on face book and Instagram.. 

Just make sure it is me.. lol... 

God bless.... 

Fall days...

Hello dearies... 

I am taking a break from the household chores and having a nice hot cup of coffee to get me motivated again and I thought I would drop a note here for you qll.. 

I had these pics uploaded from the other day but had not got back to them so here we are.. 

Just a little catch up on the last few days at the farm before we came back home.. 

Up above is a pic of Charlie in the back seat when we went for a little drive to view Albert County at it's finest... smile.. 

You just have to act like you are going to go in the car and he gets right antsy and wants to tag along.. 

Anyway.. 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the farm !! 

The grandsons love being there and decided they should all buy it and split it 5 ways for the future... grin... 

They sure fill a room when they are all there together.. 

So love those boys... 

Yes, I am just a typical grandma... smile.. 

I did get a couple of batches of pumpkin done up.. 

A few to sell and a few for my friend Pam... 

The leaves were particularly lovely this year, I think.. 

Hope these views don't bore you all... 

We had a good amount of tomatoes and so I did up several batches of a soup base that Carmen from Keepers of the Home showed us how to make... 

This is a rice dish that I made and from delicious !  

And here is the link for the recipe if you would like to try it.. 

Here..

We had a great Keepers of the Home meeting ... 

It was all about breads... 

Carmen made a cheese bread and a lovely eggplant spread.. 

And Faye made homemade tortillas... 

It was all wonderful.. 

I did an English Muffin bread recipe... 

I will try to recap all the recipes and such with you at a later post, perhaps.. 

This is a little inspiration photo I copied... 

I have a cupboard a bit like it in our bedroom full of quilts but I think I need to revamp it all.. 

Well I guess this is all for this afternoon.. 

Terry went up to the farm with Dustin to get a few things so I better make haste and get supper in the oven.. 

I made a meatloaf and want to make a potato puff to go along with it and a Caesar Salad... 

My friend gave me a recipe for Caesar dressing and I love it.. 

1 cup of mayo 

1 T. lemon juice 
1 tsp. mustard  (your fave) 

1 T. balsamic vinegar (I used white wine once) 

salt and pepper

Minced clove or two of fresh garlic

Parmesan cheese to suit 

I also added a splash of fish sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes.. 

Whisk together and store in mason jar in the fridge.. 

You won't be buying anymore expensive salad dressing with this recipe.. 

I won't name the brand but you know which one I mean.. grin.. 

Well, have a great week my loves and please leave me a note.. 

I am starting my cleaning from the back door through.. 

I did the closet and laundry today.. 

This is going to be a slow progress, I am afraid.. smile.. 

God love ya all..

The days of March,,

A sweet gift from my Mom.. 

Duck and Chicken eggs... 

Quick Banana Bread

1 cup mayo 

1 cup mashed bananas... 3-4

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

Mix together and put into a greased and floured bread pan.. 

Bake at 350 degrees F. for at least an hour or until cooked through.. 

This was so quick and turned out lovely... 

Good Evening my dears.. 

Hope you are doing well this week.. 

We are having some spring like weather here in Maritime Canada.. 

Hardly a speck of snow to be seen although we did have a bit yesterday but it did not last long.. 

Above are some more pics from a day at the farm.. 

A few of our grandsons came up for the day and we had such a great time.. 

They went out hiking and target practising and such.. 

Grandma stayed in the old farm house and baked and cooked.. 

It was so much fun trying to fill those empty bellies... lol.. 

Between home made breads, soup, salad and goulash I think it was finally managed.. grin... 

It is March break here in New Brunswick and so everyone is busy..

As you know one grandson, Carter is in Africa... I thought you might like to see a pic of him over there.. 

Isn't he gorgeous?  

Yes, I am his grandma... lol..

He had a couple of rough days though when he contacted food poisoning or something but all is well now.. 

We will be glad when he is safely back home again... 

I happened to be going through pins that had been pinned from my blog and noticed that the pic below had been pinned by Rust-Oleum US ... 

Link to the pin.. 

https://www.pinterest.com/rustoleum/kitchen-projects/

I thought that was rather neat.. eh?  

The link to the post is HERE..

I need to take some pics of it now that it is not decorated for Christmas.. smile.. 

Have been working on a few projects for it.. 

Painting a mirror with copper paint and such... 

Well, this is all for tonight.. 

I do have a couple of blog post ideas for you as soon as I can.. 

We seem to be spending several days a week at the farm lately.. 

Hopefully, we are accomplishing a few things..

Oh, I did find my way to Instagram... 

Love to follow my grandsons.. grin..  

Thank you so much for dropping by and I know I am not being a very good blogger lately.. Please forgive... 

And leave me a note.. smile.. 

God bless you my friends..