When the snow just won't stop...

Well....

 Good evening, everyone..

It is finally over.. The worst storm that I can remember.. 

We have lived here in this house for 30 years and I have never seen this before..  

This is what we woke up to this morning.. 

This is our Kitchen window over the sinks.. 

Seeing is believing.. Right?

See the top of the pine tree there.. That is the top of it.. 

The storm started early Sunday morning and went on until this morning.. 

Blizzard conditions with white outs and high winds..

Yesterday, I was speaking to our daughter on the phone and she was wondering what kind of soup I had going.. smile.. 

The kids kinda make fun of me because storm day is just another excuse to make soup,, eh?  

After awhile I did make this one.. 

Olive Garden\s Zuppa Toscana Soup  

The recipe is HERE..

It is on my Pinterest.. 

I made mine with Kale though... 

First thing today, Terry got ready to go in to help Dustin (our youngest son) with his snow removal business.. 

He had done some snow blowing last evening so he would be ready but when he went out this morning the driveway was full again... sigh.. 

He is not a spring chicken any more and I felt bad about him having to do the drive again and then go and push the snowblower all day.. 

But the Lord sent a special someone to plow him out.. 

We have great neighbours... thank you, sir.. 

While I was waiting for him to actually get gone.. 

You know what I mean.. grin.. 

I decided to feed the birds some leftover bread that I had..  

Yup.. This is our front door.. 

See the drift.. 

Right up to the roof.. 

The birds found the bread though.. 

Crows, actually.. 

And this is our front family room window.. 

I cannot see out at all.. 

But that is fine..

 The house is darker then usual, though but the sun manages to get in around the top... 

I will just double up on Vitamin D.. smile.. 

Terry will shovel it away after today.. 

He just needs to help our son as the poor kid has so many driveways to do and there is just so much snow.. 

Really, we Canadians hardly ever whine this much but this is unreal... 

Anyway... 

On with the show.. 

I needed to do something fun today so I made this wreath.. 

I copied it off of one that I seen in a UK Country Living a while back.. 

And glued the pic on my home made calender.. 

Does anyone know what kind of style this is?  

I don't know but it is pretty and brightens up my foyer on this Winter's day... 

You just tie knots in fabric. I used 4 or 5.. 

 I was blessed to have a pile of vintage quilt blocks in my workroom that I forgot I had..

Tie a red ribbon on a grapevine wreath and then secure the knotted fabrics in bunches around it.. 

Top each knotted bunch with an old piece of jewellery..

I used my glue gun.. 

It was a really easy wreath to make.. 

I had to show my friends who do not live here in Eastern Canada and are fans of Anne of Green Gables just what her house looked like today.. 

I found this on Twitter and it was by Scot Meiklejohn..

A 7 foot tall snow drift blocks the front of Anne's house in Summerside, PEI.

Well, dear hearts this is all for tonight.. 

I hope you enjoyed the snow pics and I look forward to hearing from you.. 

The sun is trying to get through.. 

Just like the storms of life.. 

This too, shall pass.. 

I hope I didn't bore you all with the weather.. 

If you are Canadian that is what you talk about.. 

Some weather we are having, eh?  

No.. really.. that is how we talk.. grin.. 

We have reached the 500 Google Followers so next post I hope I have a little give-away ready for you all.. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and following the blog and liking my FB page.. 

You guys rock.. 

xo

Okay, okay... Just this one last one from the weather station .. 

The guy said he thinks he needs a bigger snowblower.. 

Only in Canada, eh?  

LOL... 

Linked to.. HOMEMAKING MONDAYS..

And were featured at Stephanie's Blog HERE...

Simple Storm Pleasures...

Hello everyone.. 

Well, we weathered the storm.. smile.. 

It was a big one, too but like all storms they do come to an end and usually the next day you wonder what all the excitement was about.. 

If all of our children were home and under our roof and Terry didn't work too far away then I would love a good storm.. 

I actually still do most times but our sons and son-in-law had to travel in it so I was glad when they were all home safe and sound.. 

When I went to bed last night and knew all of our children were home and little problems were looked after, I just laid there and thanked the Lord.. 

He answers prayers in so many situations every week, eh? 

So thankful to know the One who rules the storm.. 

Storm days seem to be kind of laid back here with just the two of us.. 

I made a big pot of soup and puttered around and did not accomplish too much, I am afraid.. 

Love having the fire going...

Please don't mind my messy hearth... 

I was trying to burn up all the greenery that I missed when I did the Christmas clean up.. smile.. 

I was visiting my Mom last week for a while.. 

The poor dear has the cold that is going around and didn't feel too good.. So, I went in and made her some chicken soup.. 

While I was there she gave me a lovely box of goodies.. 

Old doilies galore and vintage fabrics and an old Indian basket.. 

Sitting in front of the fire and going through the box was just a simple storm pleasure... smile.. 

There are enough blocks already cut out in it to make a small quilt, I think.. 

They smelled of the ages.. 

Do you know what I mean? 

I love stuff like that although heavens knows I don't need any more doilies or fabric but I just could not resist.. grin

Are you ladies like that? 

You know you don't need it but come on it was vintage.. 

Right??

This was the scene out of the family room window early on before the storm really got going.. 

The dear wee birds were feeding but when I went to take the pic they were gone.. 

I wonder where they stay, exactly, when the wind is howling like it was.. 

My friend, Pam did not like the wind but I must say it still was not too much for me.. 

I slept like a log both nights.. 

Mom also gave me this.. 

A beautiful old but tattered quilt.. 

Do you know the name of the pattern? 

I am not a quilter but a collector of quilts and do not care in what condition they are in.. 

I love them.. 

Terry made over an old wardrobe for me into a quilt cupboard and it is full.. 

Some of the quilts are kind of priceless in the fact that my dear Mother-in-Law made them or my Great Aunt Emily owned them..

There are a lot, though that are just old and tattered but were loved even before I picked them up..

I like making things with old quilts and my Mom attends an auction most weeks and gets me one every once in awhile for just a couple of dollars.. 

Pillows, table runners, lamp cloths, bags, and I even a Christmas tree skirt can be made from an old quilt.. 

Do you have any ideas to reuse them ? 

 I would love to hear from you.. 

Here is a little recipe for a ham glaze that we had for supper.. 

Maple Mustard Glaze for Ham

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. Dijon Mustard.. 

Whisk together and brush over ham or slices..

Then just cook your ham..  

We really enjoy this.. 

When we buy a ham on sale I usually cut off a few ham steaks before I end up roasting the rest a few days later.. 

Then I freeze the bone and a bit of the meat for some kind of soup in a week or two..

Don't want to get tired of it all at once.. smile.. 

I know a lot of the readers of the blog are from New England according to my stats and I was wondering how you did on your storm day... 

Did you lose your power? 

I was so glad that we didn't... 

We would be fine but I love having the power on. 

Also, a wee reminder for the Keepers of the Home ladies.. 

We are having a meeting this Friday night at 6:30 pm in the fellowship hall at the church.. 

A dear friend is going to teach us to knit a scarf in an hour on our arm.. 

No needles.. 

I can't wait to see how they turn out.. 

Also, Carmen who is from Romania is giving us a little info on herbs and such.. 

Oh.. 

And coffee.. Lots of coffee and something to go with it.. grin

If you are interested in attending and you can get to Salisbury please email me at houseofhenry@hotmail.com.. 

I will give you all of the details.. 

Looking forward to another meeting after all of the Christmas rush.. 

Thank you all for stopping by and I love your little notes you leave me.. 

Also, welcome to the new followers.. So glad to have you and to you have liked the Face Book page another sweet thank you.. 

Praying that God will bless your lives this week with love, joy and peace.. 

Take care of your sweet families and we will chat again soon.. 

Hugs.. 

Linking up with JES at HOMEMAKING MONDAYS..

AND featured there, too.. 

Family Time...A long post..

Good Day Everyone.. 

This is what we woke up to this morning..

A lot of snow.. 

There are 30 - 40 cm. about in the province so far .. 

This afternoon it is still coming down.. 

Church services have been cancelled and such.. 

Yesterday, we had our wonderful family Christmas day..

Shonda and her family came Friday night and stayed overnight.. 

We had a lovely time and then woke up and had breakfast.. 

They enjoyed the no knead bread recipe that I share HERE..

I made 2 loaves on Friday and decided to make another one early on Saturday morning..

She was a great help.. 

Setting the tables and carving turkey and all those little things that needs done.. 

I love doing the cooking and she is a great organizer as her Dad told her.. smile..

Thank you, Shonda.. 

Her and I are a bit excited because we are planning a homespun Christmas next year.. 

And... 

They are planning on being here on Christmas Eve and staying over...

 Oh joy... 

On with the story...

Turkey was done and a ham was in the slow cooker.. 

Gravy , roasted root veggies, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, stove top dressing and a big pot of fried rice..(the rice was mostly for my in-law children..smile)

Cranberry sauce, pickles, bread, and such.. 

Here is someone's plate.. grin..

I know it is Dustin's because of the end piece of bread.. grin..

There are 7 boys but their table was not quite so fancy, I see.. 

They seemed to be having a great time.. 

And then there was dessert.. 

AND a line up... grin..

This is their all time Christmas favorite.. 

Did I hear that someone was back 3 times.. 

A grandson....smile..

Homemade Ice Cream Cake.. 

Here is the recipe.. 

An extra large lasagna pan.. 

You need 24 ice cream sandwiches.. 

Put 12 on the first layer.. 

Then cover with a large container of cool whip.. 

Another layer of ice cream sandwiches.. 

Another layer of cool whip.. 

Spread around and swirl some good caramel ice cream sauce and sprinkle a half package of skor bits.. 

I always put in toothpicks.. 

Cover with plastic wrap and FREEZE FOR 24 HOURS.. 

Then we had some cheesecake from Costco.. 

And dear Veronique brought her blueberry cheesecake special..

Thanks, dear.. 

Some pumpkin pie, tea and coffee or punch.. 

That just about wrapped up the meal.. 

Taking our coffee or whatever to the living room we all opened up our gifts for each other.. 

So much fun.. 

It was the first Christmas with us for 3 of them.. 

I wonder what they thought.. grin..

Wrapping paper and tissue and laughter.. 

Such a dear family.. 

We all loved everything.. 

One lad got a huge bottle of French Mustard from Gramps.. 

You never know what might be coming your way.. 

Then it was time to relax although the dear girls did all of the dishes.. 

Thank you Tammy and Shonda..

Someone thought to bring Grandpa the paper..

And someone decided to enjoy the comic section.. 

Sweet, eh?

Then it was time for them to go...   

Good bye dear lads.. 

Yuppp.. 

You will remember this as the year that Mom fell off the chair... (That's another story)..grin..

And now today I am thankful.... 

Not for the presents..

 nor the trimmings on the tree..

 or even the food on the table..

Although..

 I am thankful for all of those things..

 But today I am more thankful for the dear memories that have been collected, labeled and stored away in the compartments of my heart..

To be taken out and looked at and to marvel upon whenever I need to..

Days when I miss my children and grandsons then I will remember..

The sweet hugs and kisses... 

the laughing and the chattering all through the house.. 

the sound of Grandpa teasing those boys.. 

the smell of the turkey and the clatter of dishes.. 

our bowed heads while the blessing is being spoken.. 

the sweet warmth of the fires... 

the feel of an arm on my shoulder and a whisper in my ear.. 

the look on my child's face even when they are all grown up.. 

my Mom being here.. 

even falling off a chair while my sons try to rescue me...

and for the love that is so special in a family.. 

Thank you my dear Jesus.. 

I do so appreciate it all.. 

Then when they had all gone.. 

Terry and I sat down and talked about our day.. 

What had been said and done  and how good it was to be all together.. 

And now today.. 

It is just Grandpa and I again... 

Oh, life is wonderful..

And a whole new year around the corner...

What are you sweet ladies planning?  

Sweet hubby gave me these.. 

He truly knows the way to my heart.. grin.. 

Now all I need is a cup of coffee and I can start making my list of projects and as my dear son -in -law mentioned we had best make our new year resolutions.. 

smile.. 

So from our house to yours may the richest of God's blessings be upon you and your dear families.. 

May he guide and protect you with his love.. 

And may he reign supreme in your lives..

Thanks for stopping by.. 

Leave me a note.. Please.. smile.. 

Luv ya all..