Morning Routine and Keepers..

Hello everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth this evening.. 

Just a wee post for you all..

This morning I arose early... 

It is a bit dark out but the coffee light was burning.. grin.. 

I love waking up early and doing my thing before Terry gets up.. 

When he first retired many years ago I told him there was one rule.. 

And it was that I needed at least an hour before he could get up.. 

So the first morning he called out to me.. 

"Can I get up yet?"  

LOL.. 

I have laughed about that ever since... 

But really when a couple are retired there are just some things that we need to give and take on and for me this was definitely an important issue.. smile.. 

He has things that I need to respect and if every once in awhile we get up the same time then no big deal but on a regular basis I need my wake up time.. 

I have a routine like most people .. 

I always start the day with a time of prayer to the Lord and am so thankful for the blessings of yesterday and today... 

Praying for protection for our sweet family and to have him guide our steps through the day... 

Then I get my coffee and usually give my Mom a call.. 

Check my emails and such and do my lists for the day.. 

Then he can come out.. grin.. 

Do you girls have morning routines and perhaps a regulation or two?  

On with the story.. 

I made a batch of spiced crab apples.. Terry found a tree at the farm with good apples on it... 

Don't they look good?  

Had some dear company while I finished up.. 

There were 2 bottles of the juice that I put up to have for our Christmas punch... 

So my dears, this is all for now... 

We are having a Keepers of the Home meeting on Sat. morning at 9 a.m.  

If you live in Salisbury or nearby we would love to have you.. 

We are going to be making Mustard Pickles and a bit of Fall decor.. 

Just give me an email at houseofhenry@hotmail.com 

Hope all is well with you all and may God bless you and keep you.. 

xo

Keepers of the Home by the Sea....

Hello everyone.. 

Just sharing a post with you of our little overniter that the Keepers of the Home group had at the old cottage in St. Martins by the Sea... 

Terry and I went down on Wednesday to get things in order.. 

We had to warm the house up as it has been empty for a few weeks as we have moved back home.. 

It was really nice weather and we enjoyed a little nap by the waves.. smile.. 

On Thursday, we decided to do some dinner prepping so that there would not be a lot to do on Friday.. 

The big question was... 

 How many meatballs to make as he was concerned there wouldn't be any leftover.. grin.. 

No fear.. 

It was an old recipe I had received from a friend over 30 years ago.. 

Made up a couple of loaves of Artisan Bread to serve with dipping oils.. 

Fig and Pesto Parm..

Everyone seemed to enjoy this as a starter along with Lemon Cordial Punch.. 

I feel bad that I forgot to take pics of the food and place settings.. 

Oh well... 

My dear hubby helped me gather lots of flowers to put on the tables.. 

So enjoyed having these dear girls over and the sweet fellowship we had.. 

Sitting around the fire and hearing an encouraging devotional on preparing our hearts and homes for another season.. 

A lovely little visitor all the way from the Prairie Provinces of Canada... 

So nice having you, Missy... 

After a wonderful deep sleep (hahaha) we all awoke and sat around drinking tea and chatting.. 

Then we arrived at this beautiful Inn for breakfast.. 

The folks in St. Martins call this place The Castle but actually it is the St. Martins Country Inn.. 

The coffee was delicious and most welcome.. 

The Breakfast plates were beautiful and the staff so friendly.. 

As we were driving down the lane we had more staff come and thank us for our visit... smile.. 

They were so glad we had stopped by... 

Y'al come back now, ya hear!! 

Wasn't that sweet... 

So well trained aren't they... grin.. 

All in all it was a blessed time and so thankful to the Lord for the friendships that God has placed in our lives and the blessings that come our way with this wonderful group of ladies.. 

Thank you to everyone who helped in any way... 

There are some interesting meetings coming up... 

If you live near Salisbury here in New Brunswick and would like to join us please email me and let me know.. 

We are gathering next at a Keepers wonderful log home and learning some great canning techniques and seasonal decor tips for our Autumn homes .. 

AND

We are planning on a day to make and freeze 100 egg rolls for the coming Christmas season..

AND.... 

Well, that is enough for now. 

Thanks for dropping by and your sweet comments are so welcomed.. 

Hope you are having a blessed weekend.. 

xo

Heart Art, Sauerkraut Making and Such...

Hi everyone.. 

Posting tonight on food again.. 

I know ... I know.. 

This is a little project though that is very good for you..

Actually, I have spent most of this day and yesterday doing craft stuff.. 

We had to cancel our last Keepers of the Home meeting due to so much sickness. 

Now we are having it this Saturday and where it is the month of February we are doing some HEART ART.. 

I can't show you all though until after the meeting as I like to surprise everyone that attends.. 

Now back to the story... 

Food... 

Well, I have been concerned about digestive health and did some study on it and found that fermented food is very good for that.. 

Read about it HERE..

So... 

I bought a cabbage and some Greek yogurt.. 

I have made sauerkraut before but for some reason I did not get to it last Fall.. 

I noticed on several blogs that they just make one cabbage at a time and decided to do just that.. 

Also.. 

I found that some recommended fermenting it with whey.. 

Hence... 

The Greek Yogurt.. 

All I did was to put a piece of cheesecloth into a strainer over a bowl and place the container of yogurt in it over night.. 

In the morning I had a lovely cream cheese that you can mix with jam or honey and use on your toast or bagel.. 

It would be good with herbs, too.. 

The next day I shredded the medium cabbage up and added 2 tsp. of sea salt and 4 T. of the whey.. 

Put it in a bowl and pound down with a meat hammer or such for about ten minutes to get the juices going.. 

Then place in a jar and keep in the fridge.. 

I found the recipe for it HERE..

There was still some whey left and I plan to use it in some biscuits.. 

You can freeze this until you need it.. 

Don't waste it as it is as good as buttermilk.. 

Then last night I made kind of a Bubble and Squeak Recipe.. 

Anyway..  

Here is the recipe for Sauerkraut Bubble and Squeak.. 

In a large frying pan add as much chopped bacon as you think you would like.. 

I used about a quarter of a pound for the two of us.. 

Let it fry up a bit and then add a couple of peeled and sliced potatoes and one sliced onion..(or however much you need)

Let it fry up and turn a couple of times only.. 

You want it to brown a bit.. 

I added pepper but no salt as there is enough in the kraut..  

When almost tender and browned add your jar of sauerkraut.. 

If you find it too salty then rinse it in cold water and drain.

Heat through and enjoy.. 

I make this recipe usually with fresh cabbage but it does not have the nutrition in it that the kraut has and I always add fresh parsley and lemon juice .. 

I didn't add parsley to the sauerkraut one.. 

We both liked it as well as the original so from now on I will take the few minutes it took to make the jar of kraut.. 

And I love having the whey.. 

Now when I buy a cabbage I will also buy an extra one for doing this.. 

Do you eat fermented veggies? 

Thank you so much for dropping by again.. 

If you live in the Salisbury area and would like to attend our Keepers meeting please let me know.. 

We would love to have you.. 

What are you doing for projects these Winter days? 

Take care, dear hearts.. 

Winter days and Winter nights..

Good Evening dear hearts.. 

Hope you are having a great week.. 

We are having a January thaw here in New Brunswick which is lovely, although it has caused a bit of flooding in the area.. 

Otherwise everything is good here on the home front..

We are just doing Winter things like baking bread, making soups, cleaning the freezer and cold room and such..  

Then we have a nice supper and enjoy the long evenings.. 

I go to bed earlier in the Winter and read for an hour or so before I go to sleep.. 

Do you read before snoozing off..

Something woke me up in the middle of the night.. 

As I lay there I heard someone walking under our open window..   

I could tell that it was something bigger then a cat so I jabbed Terry in the ribs and whispered that there was something outside.. 

It took him a minute to wake up but then he said it was just deer.. 

How could he know that...

I heard it again and gave him another jab.. 

I guess he decided he may as well get up and look .. 

The moon was bright and he could see 2 deer plainly.. 

He said one of the deer had a bad leg and it looked like it might have been broken.. 

I expect all the ice on Saturday probably caused lots of injuries in the deer population.   

The poor things.. 

We could see lots of tracks around the apple trees this morning..

At least they found something to eat.. 

I wonder if they will come back tonight.. smile..

I have been informed not to wake up Mr. Henry again as it took him sometime to get back to sleep.. 

He said my shivering and shaking kept him awake.. 

Oh brother... LOL..

I am preparing for our Keepers of the Home meeting which will be held on Saturday morning at 9 am.. 

If you live near Salisbury and would like to join us we would love to have you.. 

Just let me know by email or twitter.. 

houseofhenry@hotmail.com 

 or

HERE  which is my twitter account.. 

That is all for tonight so please keep warm and safe.. 

I hope I am not boring you and you all come back.. OK...

I look forward to hearing from you . 

God bless and keep you.. 

Hugs..

LINKED AND FEATURED AT..

 SATURDAY SPARKS LINK PARTY...

An Old Fashioned Kitchen Day at Keepers of the Home..

Good Afternoon everyone.. 

Another Lord's Day has rolled around and I am glad in it.. 

Yesterday we had a Keepers of the Home meeting.. 

We decided to change it a bit and held it from 10 until 2 .. 

All week long I puttered away trying to get things together.. 

As we were centering our attention on the kitchen we did kitchen stuff.. smile.. 

There was some delicious coffee made when we arrived (thank you, Pastor) and one of the Keepers made a couple of lovely batches of muffins.. 

As this was happening there was a little lesson on the Kitchen and how it is the heart of the home.. 

The place where memories are made that are so important to our families.. 

We used our five senses to see how we could improve our own spaces.. 

What makes a kitchen cozy and warm.?. 

The lovely scents and tastes of home made bread and coffee brewing are great but there is not always time for that so we can also use simmering potpourri or a plug in to make it all smell great..

We all agreed that we love to see our kitchens clean and organized and I confessed to everyone that this is where I need help.. 

Divine help, that is .. grin.. 

We discussed ways that we can make sure that Christ is at the centre of this busy room.. 

Playing Christian music that we can hear and doing devotions at the kitchen table were a few... 

Making sure that the TV does not reign supreme is also important.. 

The kitchen is also used as a place of entertainment whether it be just a neighbor over for coffee or a meal for friends.. 

We want it to be a friendly place where especially our family feels the loving touch that we can give and where our children see their Mom and Dad displaying affection which touches our children's lives for ever.. 

We talked about how quickly time passes and the sweet days of children doing lessons at the table or a project being done soon passes.. 

Then it is just the two of us and the opportunity we had to make an impression on those young lives is over.. 

Therefore, we need as Keepers of the Home to make an effort to create those times in the kitchen influencing our children to put God first in their lives so that when they are building a home they will also endeavor to put Jesus front and centre... 

Many children come home to empty houses because Mama needs to work and that is not her fault.. But.. Whenever there is a chance or opportunity to make it special then take time to make the effort.. 

After that we learned how to make artisan bread as seen HERE  on YouTube... 

Also Michael Smith's Heritage bread HERE..

When they arrived it was baking away in the oven and certainly smelled great.. 

Next, we all sat around with fresh coffee and peeled a whole roaster full of apples and made Roasted Vanilla Apple Sauce .. 

While it roasted away in the oven we enjoyed our lunch..

The girls brought homemade soups, salads, rolls and desserts.. 

Delicious.. 

And the fellowship was so sweet.. 

After lunch I showed them a way to make your kitchen a bit more festive by using Christmas tea towels to make a curtain.. 

As seen HERE ON MY PINTEREST BOARD..

It still wasn't over as we then made a recipe box, menu box, kid's poster box or what have you out of a cereal box.. 

Using paper lunch bags and an Elmer's glue stick.. 

A magazine pic or a bit of scrap booking papers.. 

So easy.. 

Oh yes and some distress ink.. smile.. 

The girls did some very neat work.. eh?  

We had lots of door prizes, too, because dear Janet brought so many.. 

Thank you, Jan..

We put the applesauce into mason jars for the ladies to take home to try... 

I hope they liked it.. 

All in all it was a thumbs up day.. 

We were so happy to have several guests and pray they will come back again.. 

There was homework passed out and if you would like I will email it to you.. 

Please just email me at keepersofthehome@hotmail.com and I will forward it to  you... 

Thanks so much for dropping by today.. 

I need to go get ready for church tonight but I look forward to reading your lovely comments.. 

Take care and may God bless your kitchens and give you a new incentive to turn it into a room where God is centre and joy is complete... 

Hugs from New Brunswick.. 

WE REMEMBER...

Keepers of the Home meeting and other doings...

Good Morning dearies.. 

Just a short post this morning just to say hi and let you know I am still about.. 

You probably wonder what on earth I am doing as I have not posted for awhile.. 

When we came back home from summering at the cottage we decided that there were some things that had to be done before we 

could get on with regular stuff like putting in the winter's wood although Terry works on that here and there.. 

Just for a break, I think.. 

We are replacing all of our appliances and although that sounds like it is just a day or so of work it has turned into a week and still not finished.. 

Last post I told you about moving in the refrigerator which needed cupboards completely removed and the stove which needs a new range hood because of the color.. 

Then the dishwasher had been in there for over 20 years and not used so it was a joy to get out, believe me.. 

Now, the dear man is needing to buy fittings and we haven't started on the range hood microwave yet which needs even more cupboards removed.. 

The floors which he began before we moved for the summer are still not done so all in all we have been in a bit of a chaos, if you know what I mean.. smile..

Still.. 

We make time for enjoyment.. grin.. 

He and the boys took last weekend and went to New Hampshire to the races while I stayed home but took Saturday and left early in the morning for a farmers market in Fredericton.. 

My friend had her veranda trimmed for Fall and I had to laugh at her upstairs window.. 

Books galore.. 

I just can't relate.. LOL... 

We had a fun day, though and came home with lots of fresh produce.. 

The men all returned safe and sound on Monday night and had a wonderful time.. 

I think Terry kept his grandsons amused.. smile.. 

We had some lovely company on Wednesday for supper and then away off to Bible Study.. 

Then last night we had a little impromptu Keepers of the Home meeting.. 

We just wanted to get together and chat about the coming year and discussed how we would like emulate the Proverbs 31 woman in our prayer life for our families and our fellow Keepers of the Home.. 

We need to uplift each other in prayer.. 

These are perilous days for the family and we need to support each other in prayer.. 

We had a little snack that some brought in.. 

Lovely coffee cake and cookies.. 

Thanks so much, my dears.. 

This is the link for the dip we had.. 

HERE..

We also made a little Fall Crock pot Potpourri which I found HERE.

Well, I must get on with my day.. 

I don't usually post in the mornings but I am up a bit before Terry so thought I would get it done for now.. 

So happy you dropped by and so good to hear from you all.. 

Hoping things will get organized here soon.. 

The Keepers of the Home are planning on visiting Kings Landing during the next couple of weeks, too.. 

That should be fun.. 

Take care, dear hearts..