Keepers of the Home Meeting for June..

Good Evening dear hearts.. 

So happy you dropped by.. 

Another first Saturday of the month here in New Brunswick and another Keepers of the Home meeting.. 

It was a lovely morning.. 

I must begin by saying that I kind of forgot to take pics most of the time but we do have a few.. 

Several had left before I remembered.. 

sorry.. 

There was a wonderful turnout for it.. 

Some new girls that we are so happy to have with us.. 

We started off by cooking breakfast together as usual. 

One Keeper blessed us with some homemade muffins which went lovely with our bacon, eggs, and toast.. 

Just an ordinary breakfast this time.. 

But very good..

I took a bottle of dandelion jelly for them to try out.. 

Susan liked it good enough to take the rest home.. smile.. 

Then I had to get them to try my lovage straws.. 

We put them in our tomato juice and it just gives the juice a nice celery flavor.. 

If you would like the herb then I  know you can get them at the Co-op in Sussex.. 

A few others took the leaves home to dry for their soups and salads.. 

There was lots of coffee and tea while we had another little lesson on our Christian homes.. 

We have ventured into the entry way or mud room or foyer... 

Whatever you desire to call it .. 

This is the room that says welcome and we used our 5 senses.. 

Looking the word entryway up in the Bible and in Exodus 35 -15 it talks about the entryway into the temple and how it smelled of incense and oils.. 

We discussed the sense smell..

And how it is the first thing that meets you when you open the door.. smile.. 

Every home has it own smell, eh? 

There are many ways to have a fresh smelling home.. 

You can find some tips HERE..

An entryway contains things like sneakers, hockey gear and such so it takes a bit of work. 

As for the pinterest board I will keep adding to it so keep checking.. 

OK?

We then chatted about our other senses and how they worked in our homes.. 

We talked about sight and how we would try to get some scripture up on our walls . 

Hopefully, in the Fall we will make some crafts with scriptures on them..

Our favorite is the verse .. 

As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord.. 

Joshua 24-15

A nice tidy entryway is certainly on all of our agendas... 

And organized, too.. smile.. 

Here is a link for way back when I first started my blog and it was not very professional, believe me..

Please excuse the poor quality pics and such.. smile.. 

But it is a few scripture decorating tipS and you might like it.. 

You can find it HERE.

The next sense was hearing and how lovely it is to come in and hear lovely music, the laughter of the family or just sweet chatter..

Not a blaring TV or family arguing..  

The entryway can be such a place of blessing as each morning we try and hold hands and pray a blessing for the day upon our children and even their friends as they stand in the door and wait.. smile.. 

I had to share about how touching it was for me to visit my daughter and hear her in her entryway praying a blessing of the day upon her boys.. 

In I Samuel 1- 12, 13 it talks of Hannah praying in the entryway of the temple.. 

Praying for a child.. smile.. 

The only thing we came up with for taste was to leave a bowl of mints somewhere. grin..

Perhaps you have one ???  

But really the one that is not so obvious but perhaps the most important is how your home feels when the door is closed against the world.. 

Do your children feel their mama's arms welcoming them home after a day at school? 

Does hubby feel the love from his family as he closes the door on another workday out there? 

Do friends and strangers feel the welcome of your home? 

The love and joy and peace that only God can bestow on hearts and homes can be felt first in your entryway.. 

Not a very deep subject but just a few thoughts.. 

So...

 That was that and we moved on to making some homemade cleaners.. 

Fabreze recipe 

In a spray bottle from the dollar store pour in a funnel 

2 cups of water

1/4 cup of Gain Fabric Softener

1 T. baking soda

Shake well.. 

It really works.. 

Homemade Spray Cleaner.. 

1/4 cup of dish soap  (Dawn)

1/4 cup of white vinegar 

2 tsp. Borax

3 1/2 cups of hot water 

essential oils of choice and amount to suit you.. 

I love lavender.. 

And perhaps a drop of tee tree.. 

Thyme Disinfectant.. 

2 1/2 cups of water 

handful of thyme 

vinegar

 a squirt of Dawn soap

Simmer the thyme in a pot with the water for a couple of hours.. Strain through cheesecloth or a coffee filter .. 

Pour into a spray bottle.. Add the soap and top it up with the vinegar.. 

I loved the smell of the house while this was simmering away.. 

Reminded me of an Italian Bistro.. grin.. 

It worked well, too which I found amazing as it is a tea color.. 

On one site they talked about the scientific proof of the disinfecting power of thyme.. 

Kind of good to know.. 

There was also a recipe for Homemade Laundry Powder found HERE..

And one for Laminate Floor Cleaner that I found Here..

And the Spray Air Freshner is on my Pinterest Board above.. 

Most of the girls made Fabreze and then a little stamped tag to hang on it.. 

We had also brought plants for an exchange which was a lot of fun.. 

There was all kinds.. 

Even white lilac bushes..  

All in all we had a wonderful morning with lovely fellowship.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by.. 

This is our last meeting for the Summer until we have our annual overniter at our cottage in St. Martins in July... 

Have a blessed weekend and thank you to all you girls who come and help so much with everything.. 

I appreciate you all.  

And thank you for your sweet notes.. 

Hugs.. 

LINKED TO..CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP

and now it is Monday again..

Good Evening everyone.. 

A rather nice but cold day here in Maritime Canada... 

I just wanted to thank you dear girls for all of your sweet comments on my last posting about looking forward to the Lord's Day.. 

We were blessed with good weather in this part of the province and it was a lovely day in the Lord... 

And now it is Monday again.. 

As you girls who have been around a bit you know that I always love Monday and look at it as a day that looks forward to a week of potential.. 

This week we are planning on having some sweet company towards the end of the week.. 

Looking forward to that.. 

So this week I am planning some menus and trying to clear a path.. grin.. 

I find January a month of inspiration.. 

Do you? 

I use this month to search books, pinterest and such for some lovely home keeping ideas.. 

I look for  cooking, crafts, homemade cleaners, toiletries and such.. 

And of course some decor thrown in there.

What inspires you ladies? 

The pictures above include a runner and napkins made from a table cloth when I was a guest on my friend's blog.. 

You can see it  HERE...

Then I am saving some citrus skins to make a lovely basket of fire starters that I found in this book HERE..

Some spice mixtures for some lovely Middle Eastern dishes that I made Terry experience.. smile..

And then my sprouts were delicious in a sandwich with homemade bread.. 

A wonderful breakfast..

I included a couple of pics that I love from Pinterest.. 

Just a wee bit of inspiration from there.. 

I love white ironstone dishes and have a collection.. 

I like the tile on the wall, too.. 

If I only had room for the old window.. smile..

Thank you for dropping by and I hope we get to chat again 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 ...