An old table and it's uses.....

Good Morning all... I just thought I would start out this morning with thanking the Lord for all of you who are so faithful in reading my blog and letting me know that you are out there.   I don't ever want you to think that I am not thankful for your following of this one and Primitive Lace  if you do. 
In this blog I  am with the help of the Lord trying to instill a few basic skills and  ideas for you as a homemaker.  Also, the fact that if we put Jesus as the centre of our homes then only good things can follow.  Our families today need all the help that they can receive.  I am sure that everyone would agree that Satan has been using the family unit as his main objective in tearing down the work of the Lord.  If he can destroy the family then he gets the Church.. 
With this in mind I have been slowly trying to get this blog in order.  As you know, I am not very computer literate...LOL.. My husband only gave me this computer last Christmas so as you can see these blogs are works in progress.
Therefore, I decided to mainly put the primitive decorating and crafts blogroll on Primitive Lace and keep this one geared towards our homes.  I know that decorating is what most of us love so there are still some on this blogroll but I am trying to add others that I hope will be a blessing to you all. 
I have included cooking blogs and a lovely devotional one by Shirley Buxton.  Her blog is called God Things which is on the blogroll.. I hope you will keep checking in as I can only work on this a little at a time as this is such a busy time of year...
Anyway, with this in mind....let  us get on with the rest of the story...LOL...

I thought I would show you my work table here at the cottage...

I mentioned on the last posting that I had to go and pick up some cukes.  Here are 24 litres of Garlic Dills all finished.  Thank you Jesus.... Then you can see some dill and garlic ready for some Sweet Dill Pickles... My husband's favorite... Also, there are apples and pears that I bought in the half price bin to cut up and dry for potpourri.   The Keepers of the Home make stove top potpourri to sell as a fundraiser at times... And I sell it in my shop.  We all love it..

Also, there are vinegars there with the cheesecloth on them  They are raspberry and nasturtiam flower..  They have to sit for 2 or 3 weeks and then I will bottle them up in separate bottles and wax the tops.... They are used on cukes and greens or as an ingredient in salad dressings or marinades.

Then there is the parsley..  We love this herb.  I put it in a lot of my cooking.. Right now with all the fresh delicious cukes I make a salad that Terry requests daily...LOL

Here is the recipe...

1 or 2 medium size cukes...peeled and sliced

1 or 2 green onions sliced thinly or 1/2 chopped red onion or whatever kind you have on hand.

Place these in a nice bowl

In a separate small bow make the dressing...

1/2 cup of real mayo... not miracle whip

1 1/2 T. lemon juice... and of course I prefer fresh lemons but you can use the lemon juice in small plastic lemon jars you can buy in the produce department

Sometimes I will use one of the vinegars that I have on hand .. we prefer lemon, though

a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Whisk this together and add to your cukes and onions...

Let sit on your counter until time to serve... only for an hour or so... or put in the fridge if you make it early...

Serve with fresh parsley chopped and scattered over the top of the salad...

Well, my dears that is all for today... Praying that you all have a lovely week.. Try to make some pickles or jams for your gift pantry.... Remember Christmas is coming and now is the time to make these lovely gifts and save lots of money.. I will try to put an idea list for your gift pantries on the sidebar of this blog later ....

I know you are all busy but you can always squeeze and hour here and there.. It is really worth the labor and such a great thing for your children to remember and a fine skill to teach your daughters and sons!!

Actually, my oldest son and his wife are wonderful pickle makers.   He went with me the other day to get cukes and he was telling me his boys ate 48 litres of dill last year....

They must be Henrys...LOL...

If you need any help in this area just email me and I will be glad to help if I can...

May the Lord be with you all this week...

Faye...

A Prim Heart Garland and Gardener's Salve Recipe...

Hello my dears... Another beautiful evening here beside the Bay of Fundy.   I was just speaking with our oldest son who is working in the city and he asked me what I was doing.  I told him I had just come in from potting some plants. He was saying it was very foggy in there so I guess we  must be living right out here...lol... I know we get our share of fog but not tonight.....
You girls have been very patient with me  as I have not been posting but hopefully I am back to normal!!  Okay, as close as I can get to it...lol...
The shop is up and running... Thank you, Lord!!  Each day I need to keep adding and changing but that is just part of the business.  My friend, Lynn says that I don't really work as anyone who enjoys doing what they do as much as I do cannot class it as work... Funny, eh?  She should feel these old bones some nights and perhaps she would change her mind.. Although, God has certainly blessed me with my work and any talent I have comes from Him.... and I am thankful!

But back to the rest of the story... I thought I would show you the little kitchen window in the shop.. The keepers made these at one of our craft sessions and I decided to use it this way.. I believe it is Linsay's idea as she sent me a pic of hers so I copied her.. Thanks Lins....

They are hearts made out of old wool coats and such and then embroidered with the words hope, faith, joy, love and peace I think... We had great fun making them..

The window really isn't quite fixed right here but I do love my little House of Henry stitchery that Christine made for me..

The stars on the bottom can be used as a valance also...

I know some of you girls are home for the summer so I have a little idea here for you to do.. You can make this and add it to your gift pantry... It is not that complicated and your kids would probably want to help you with it...

I call it my Gardener's Salve and I sell it in the shop.  The recipe is so easy and there are probably lots of gardeners on your Christmas list or for a gift for someone...

By the way, the girls in Keepers are reminded to fill their gift pantry with the seasons.. Such as right now they could make jams ... there are so many berries ready right now.. I made 40 bottles of cooked strawberry last week...

As the time goes on I will try to give you some ideas for you to do this summer.. You will feel much better if you do some creative projects especially with your kids and you will be saving money also..

Okay here is the recipe...

Gardener's Salve

2 cups olive oil

2 T. chopped comfrey

2 T. chopped calendula

2 T. lavender flowers

2 T. roses

1/2 C. beeswax

I also added a stem of lavender leaves

lavender essential oil  --a few drops or as much as you like...

Now you put this all in your slow cooker and give it a little stir..

I know.... I can just hear you ... Where will I get the herbs?  Most of them are available from your garden centers and herbs only cost a buck apiece right now... Lots of people you know probably have one of these growing in their gardens and it just takes a few leaves...

Anyway,   I just put this on low and left it for 5 hours while I was working..

This is just an old slow cooker that I use to do this kind of stuff in but it will not hurt your good one if that is all you have..

Ok now 3 - 5 hours later or whenever you get to it....

 in a separate little pot add some water to simmer and in a tin or glass bowl just melt your beeswax.. Just use old beeswax candles if that is all you have.  You can get them at the dollar store sometimes...

Meanwhile, strain your oil mixture into a sieve with some cheesecloth or cotton in it..  Squeeze tight and get all the oil.. Add your lavender oil....

Then just combine the two and pour into little mason jars or such....

This is 2 batches as you can see.  Try not to be as messy as I am..lol...

Let it cool and then cap them...

Then I just put some brown paper and a pic from a magazine and a tag explaining that this is great for scratches, bruises and wee scrapes...

For you girls who live close by I have lots of comfrey and lavender...

Also, there are pics of the shop on Primitive Lace if you are so inclined...lol..

I will be adding more as the days go by...

I hope you enjoyed this little lesson and are having a great summer..

You will find the summers come and go so quickly as you get older.  When you are young you  don't always realize how precious these days with your little ones are.. Really, you will turn around twice and when you look there are your grandchildren coming through the door instead of your own wee ones.... Your grandchildren are lovely but they are not yours... That only comes once.... So enjoy it while you can... ok?

Love ya...

Faye... xoxo