Monday Musings...

Good Evening to you all..

I would like you to meet Mable..

She is my Mom's.. Not ours..

I am a cat lover but we do not have one at the moment because of Sammi.. (our inherited dog who belongs to our son).. Anyway, he does not like cats so I just enjoy Mable..

One day I went in and she was curled up in Mom's huge crystal bowl on the dining room table.. Of course, I did not have my camera..

Anyway, how was your weekend?

We kind of laid low as this cold is still hanging on.. We did get to church, though which was a blessing and I tried not to pass it along..After church we had some sweet fellowship with some great friends..

Today we had to go to Moncton and my hubby bought me a lovely OLD wing back chair for my Sun room.. It has the highest back and is an Autumn rust color.. I love it and the best part is that it was only $25.00..Isn't God good?.. That is the amount I wanted to pay and I was telling my friend Lynn that I wanted a BIG and OLD wing back and she told me about this one at a thrift store.. I didn't realize what a great store it is..Thank you, Lynn.. smile..I will show you all when I get it situated..

Oh, and they had old and new cookbooks for $1.00 or less.. I picked up an old Country one and a new Homemade Kitchen Gifts one.. Just in time for getting my gift pantry stocked again.. smile..

Then after supper I made another batch of sauerkraut... We love it and the last batch I made a few weeks ago turned out great..

It is soooo good for you.. You can read about the advantages all over the Internet..

This is the link with the RECIPE...

Please excuse my old beat up tins..

This is well worth the hour it will take you to make .. And so good for your family..

Let me know if you make it.. OK?

Don't you love geraniums?

I have to repot a bunch and bring them in for the Winter.. At Kings Landing they are on most windowsills.. Such a lovely old fashioned look to them..

Well, dear mamas that is all for tonight..

Have a blessed week and I look forward to hearing from you..

Welcome to the new followers of the blog, too. 

Hugs..

The lovely harvest season....

Hello..

Just a few reminders of the country pleasures that we enjoy during the  beautiful season of Fall...

Kings Landing, N. B.

Our daughter's decor ...

Preserving that I did while at the cottage...

Our daughter's front veranda...

Kings Landing, New Brunswick..

A farm outside of Sussex, N. B.

An old barn on the way to Prosser Brook, N. B.

Have a blessed weekend...

Hugs...

Joining these lovely blogs on

                      HOMESTEAD REVIVAL BARN HOP  

A really long Friday night ramble...

Good Evening Everyone..

Here it is Friday night again.. Last Friday night Terry and I were at the cottage getting ready for our family to come for Thanksgiving Dinner.. Now, here it is a week later..

I did not accomplish very much this whole week, though.. Ugh... (this stupid flu) ...

Oh well, I went to the blessed doctor today and will soon be on the mend, I am sure..

Thank you sweet ladies for all your prayers and sweet comments and emails.. 

You guys are lovely...smile.. 

It's just that I wanted to get at my Fall housecleaning..It was such a beautiful week here and I could have had so much bedding(quilts, blankets and such) and curtains all out on the line.. My pantry has to have a overhaul every Fall as does my sun room/sewing room and linen closet.. Oh dear...

Then Terry has the bathroom walls finished  and it is just waiting for me to do the finishing touches but I just did not feel up to it..

Hopefully, next week and then I will FINALLY show you all.. I THINK I will like it..

Being frugal really pushes your imagination..

I actually have a whole board of bath decor on PINTEREST trying to be inspired with some CHEAP ideas.. smile..

Also, I have more sauerkraut to make and I want to make some apple stuff.. smile..

I was talking to my 77 year old Mom today and she was peeling away at apples as we chatted.  She was making pies..  Last week she and hubby (he is 80) helped make 60 pies for their church..She rolled out 120 crusts... smile.. My Mom can roll out a pie crust in a heartbeat..almost.. grin..

Well, there are some things I kinda wish I had accomplished.. How about you girls?  

Some of my friends who write their blogs tell of doing gallons of juice, applesauce and so much more.. It kind of makes me feel inadequate..grin..

Our son and friend was here today.. I thought I would make some spaghetti and tomato sauce. It is easy to do and is a favorite in this household.. Well, they were late getting back from biking and guess what?  There was hardly enough left for them.. grin.. Terry loves this stuff.. More sauce on his plate than pasta.. smile.. 

Well, they didn't have time to eat anyway..

I thought you ladies might like the recipe.. 

I am sorry, though that it is one of my pinch of this and that kind of recipes.. But really you cannot flub it up.. 

 

TOMATO PASTA SAUCE..

I will just tell you as you go .. OK?

In a large frying pan put about 4 tablespoons of good oil.. olive or canola..

Add a pinch of hot pepper flakes or as much as you like.. I actually used a half of a jalapeno pepper today.. We like mild hotness.. smile..

Then add a bay leaf or two..

salt and pepper ..

Have ready a chopped medium onion and as many chopped cloves of garlic as you like.. I used 2 large ones..

Let this saute for a few minutes and stir.. Don't let it burn and ruin your garlic..

Then add a large can of tomatoes..

I used the diced ones which I put in my Braun and puree for a bit..

Let this simmer away while your pasta cooks..

Meanwhile, chop up a good bunch of basil or parsley.. 

When your pasta is done drain it and add about a 1/2 cup of pasta water and stir.. 

Then at the last add your herbs... 

Sooo good... Serve over pasta along with fresh Parmesan (if you have it) and a lovely salad and crusty bread.. 

Well, to be honest we did not have anything except the pasta and bread... smile.. 

I was good.. I did not eat very much... smile.. 

Oh, do you like my little leaf garland at the top?  That is at least 3 years old..

Just press some pretty leaves between wax paper and tie with grocer string..

A fun little project with the kiddies..

I thought I would add this YouTube of one of my favorite songs that rings so true to my heart.. 

My, this is one long posting...Sorry..

Thanks so much for dropping by and I so look forward to hearing from you sweet ladies..

God bless..

A Homemade Breakfast...

An early morning breakfast...

Homemade no knead bread with butter and homemade strawberry jam and a large cup of King Cole tea..

Thank you, Lord...

Have a blessed day, dear mamas....

Thanks for your prayers...

Feeling a bit better...

Hugs..

Looking out on a Frosty Morn....

Good Morning my dears...

It is a frosty morning here in Eastern Canada ..

For the last couple of days I have been down with a chest cold.. Ugh... I do not like being sick.. Especially when Fall is here and sooo much I would like to be doing.. Not housework.. Don't get confused.. grin..

Actually, I had planned on starting a bit of old fashioned fall housecleaning this week..

It started out okay but as the week has progressed I have been feeling worse ... But I am sure it will soon be over..

Anyway... I was up very early this morning.... 

And as I have not been doing so great posting I thought you might like to look out my early morning windows with me.. 

I did manage to get a load of clothes on the line yesterday but did not bring them in.. I was reading an old history book one day and read that if the old time housewives wanted to bleach their clothes or get stains out then they left them out over night.,,

I am afraid I was just forgot about mine.. smile..

Looking out my kitchen window... The hay fields are covered in frost....

Here we are looking out back at the hydrangea and apple trees..

This is our living room windows..

Frost everywhere...

And here we are looking out of the family room window at the front of the house...

Don't you love the old house across the street there?

Old Lucy Keith used to live there.. That is how everyone refers to her here... Our house is located in her apple orchard..

We did not grow up here in this village... Terry and I went to school together and were high school sweet hearts,, This little village is only 15 minutes from where we went to school ...Terry grew up on a farm just 10 minutes from here while I grew up in Salisbury where we went to school...

We did not know Lucy but have heard so much about her.. Her family built this house and we bought it from them..

See the frost...The hostas did well this year, too..

Well, dear ladies, I need to go and get something hot to drink..

Honey and lemon juice, I think..

Don't worry .. I already had my coffee and had a chat with my Lord... He is lovelier than this Fall morning... eh?

Look... the sun is up...

The view from where I am sitting writing to you all...

The leaves are turning...

Thanks for dropping by and welcome to the new followers of the blog.. So glad to have you...

Looking forward to hearing from you all...

God bless....

Thanksgiving at the Olde Cottage....

Hello everyone..

Happy Thanksgiving, too... At least here in Canada.. smile...

I am afraid I have been missing a bit on the blogging side of things.. Sorry about that.. Kind of a lot of things going on last week..

And then we went to St. Martins to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family... There were 17 of us and we had a nice day...

It was very informal but the weather was gorgeous... We did not even need sweaters.... Thank you, Lord..

Terry set up another wee table and with the kitchen one we could all sit at the same time, which was nice...

As I said it was just a cottage Thanksgiving and our first one there in 16 years..So it was a nice change, I think...

Our grandsons were able to go to the beach and enjoy their clubhouse...

Our oven was not working so the turkey was brought in all cooked, gravy and all.. grin..

The slow cooker cooked the ham, though and along with lots of veggies and salads and desserts it was lovely..

How was your Thanksgiving?  I know the USA is not until later, though...

Terry and I had a vacation day yesterday and took a day trip...

Everyone was telling me how tired I looked so my husband decided to treat me..We just went across the border... It was nice..

But...

We had a flat tire on the way home and no flash light... Thank the Lord for cell phones.. smile... The back of the VW was loaded with stuff like 2 frozen turkeys and 2 huge bags of frozen stuff from our freezer at the cottage... Oh  dear...

We had to unload all of that and the dear man had to get out the tire and put it on in the pitch dark... God is so good,  though and the phone shone enough light that he did get the other one on..

Home never felt so good when we finally arrived here... smile..

Today I made a soup with the left over Thanksgiving ham..

It tasted really good and so easy to do..

Just add some chicken broth and water to the bones and simmer for a bit.. Then add the leftover meat, onions, celery, carrots, potatoes and seasonings...

I added 2 bay leaves, 6 cloves, 2 tsp. herbes de provence and salt and pepper..

Nice tasty lunch...

Well, my dears I only meant to say a few words but as usual I ramble on.... Sorry, about that..

Hope you all had a wonderful blessed Thanksgiving..

Peace to you all...

Homemade Cough Syrup from the by gone days....

Hello everyone..

Another rainy but warm evening here..It has been a busy week so I am kind of slow in the posting department..

I thought I would tell you about a recipe that I picked up at Kings Landing last week..

It is for Homemade Cough Syrup..

The lady of the house was making it while we were visiting..

It is very easy to do and I couldn't wait to pick some white pine needles and give it a try..

Of course, I don't need any right now, thank the Lord  but when I do it will be ready.. smile..

You just take some white pine needles and pound them with a wooden tool on a bread board ...

Then place them in a covered jar with honey..

I believe she said 1/3 needles to 2/3 honey...

Now, that was her recipe but I think I would place some of it in a cup of boiling water with some lemon juice and sip away..

What do you think? 

If a person didn't want to use the pharmacy stuff this would make a wonderful substitute, I think...

Hope you are all having a great week and thanks for dropping by..

Welcome to the new followers and God bless...


LINKED TO HOMESTEAD BARN HOP

Keepers of the Home Meeting... It's all about HOME...

A blessed Sabbath to everyone...

Just a short posting today..

We had a lovely Keepers of the Home meeting yesterday and just thought I would tell you about it .

We only had 7 but one was a new visitor and we loved having you Laura..

We started the morning off  preparing our breakfast together..

We were on a Fall theme so we had pumpkin spice french toast and syrup.. Along with coffee topped with whipped cream and sprinkled with the same spice..

Also some juice and a dear sister in the church  sent us a banana bread... Thank you, dear Sister Ann...

Anyway...

After prayer and breakfast the girls listened to a little something that the Lord laid on my heart..

We talked about the HOME..

We discussed what is so essential to find behind those closed doors when our sweet families come home.... Like love and laughter, trust and security and worship and guidance..

We also talked about the SEASONS OF THE HOME

SPRING... everything is young and new... just the two of you and getting to know each other.. getting through the rainstorms of adjustment..

just like spring.. everything new..

SUMMER  .. there are probably children, you have adjusted to each other, good times together as family, working and playing, enjoying good health.. the best time of your lives...

just like summer.. vacation time..

FALL.. children are leaving one by one, it is a time of adjustment and preparation of empty nests and learning to lean more on each other and filling the empty places left from your children leaving..

looking after your parents.

 Just like fall... preparing for winter...

WINTER...just the two of you again.. children have flown..good times still with family but must be scheduled... you start downsizing and getting ready to leave this old world..perhaps health issues..your children start helping you... 

Just like Winter.. everything fades away... 

That certainly is not the end of Home ...

When we know Christ we go HOME forevermore..

Isn't God good? 

Well after that we got into making a few crafts...

Pumpkins that I found on Pinterest...

Here are some of the girls holding up their efforts... smile..

They also made some prim bags to hold some dried flowers that they will go picking with their children,..

A fun task to do..

They can hang them on a door somewhere...

We didn't get every one's photo because I forgot all about the camera till later, of course..

This is PUMPKIN PIE SPICE..

My sweet friend Donna over at MERRY HEART CRAFTS BLOG shared her recipe with us..

PUMPKIN SPICE RECIPE..

3 T. cinnamon

1 Tsp. nutmeg

1/2 Tsp. ginger

1/4 Tsp. allspice

Blend well.. 

That is all for today, dear ladies..

Thanks so much for dropping by..

 Hope you are all having a wonderful day..

God bless..

Psalms 127:  1-5

Ephesians 6 : 1-4

Proverbs 17:22

A Day at our olde farm.....

Hello everyone..

Just a fun posting tonight of some pics  of our day at the farm..

We had a quick breakfast and Sammi and I are in the car waiting to go.. smile..

We haven't been there for awhile and we are looking forward to spending the day..

Shortly after we arrive I decided to mix up a loaf of bread...

A little hint that perhaps you already know..

If you have flour and you don't use it up quickly then add some bay leaves to keep pests out of it..

Anyway...

After a bit of tidying up and puttering around I put  dinner on to cook..

And set the table..

Farm dishes on an old harvest table...

And here's an old farm day meal...

Garlic mashed potatoes, carrots, fried saurkraut and hamburger patties with onions...

And spring water.. smile..

It's all ready.. Where is that man?

Still painting..

Come on my dear... It's getting cold.. smile..

What a man..

We just start our lunch when we hear someone coming down the lane..

Company ...

All the way from Prince Edward Island.

They are on a little field trip to see the windmill farm just up the road..

"Come on in"...smile.

After they left I cleaned up the dinner dishes and cooked the bread...

The dear man is still painting..

He takes such a nice picture... grin..

Time for a cup of tea and working on my little lesson for Keepers of the Home which is on Saturday..

We will be having a Fall Day...

Making some fall decorations and recipes..

Well, the sun is going down over the Kent Hills..

And setting over the old barn.. Another day almost over..

Time to turn off the lights and head home..

Another day of blessing.. Thank you Lord..

The little church just down the road is lit up tonight..

Isn't it lovely?

Thanks for visiting the farm with us today..

Looking forward to hearing from you all..

God bless..

Love to you all..

Last Ditch Refridgerator Pickles

Good Morning everyone..

Sorry I did not get to this yesterday as promised but I started a project and things got in the way of it.. smile..

Anyway..

Here are a few veggies that we picked up on our way home plus at Kings Landing they had baskets of the cukes that you see.  You could buy as many as you could get in a bag for $3.50...

A good deal, eh?

So....

I will give you the recipe that I made with the cukes and peppers first.. ok?

I call these my 

 LAST DITCH REFRIGERATOR PICKLES..

Uusally because they are the very last pickle I make before they get too big to do anything other than mustard ones..

Here is the recipe..

3 cups of white sugar

2 cups of cider vinegar or whatever you have

2 tablespoons of kosher salt 

1 tsp. tumeric

1 1/2 tsp. mustard seed

3/4 tsp. celery seed.. 

Put this in a large container like a gallon jar or large ice cream container.. 

Stir well..

And then.... 

Slice up a pepper or two..

You use can use red and green or

I added a green pepper and 1/2 of a jalapeno one..

We like a bit of hot but not too much.. smile..

Or you can use sweet red pepper..

Whatever you have or like..

Also 1 large onion in slices...

Put this all in your juice and stir..

Then..

6 good cukes the longer and thinner the better..

Slice these thin..

I was blessed to have this old mandolin from the seventies which I still use but a good paring knife will slice thin, also...

Add these to the juice to fill up the container to the level of the liquid..

Let stand for a few hours and then they shrink so you can add more if you have them..

Put on a nice tight cover...

As you can see I used an old water filter container which I have going to buy a new filter and haven't yet.. It is perfect because it is skinny and takes less room in the refrigerator..

Oh.. I forgot to tell you that these stay in your fridge and you don't have to heat the juice or anything.. Easy.....

My sweet husband LOVES these pickles... I need to hide them at the very back so it is hard for him to get to.. grin..

They stay in the fridge for 6 months if they last that long..

ENJOY...

Thanks for dropping by and a big welcome to the new followers..

Guess where we are going today...

Yupppp... to the farm..smile...

So, I will check in with you all later...

And I will show you what I did with the cabbages...

Blessings...

A little song that I woke up with on my mind ...

I feel my need Dear Lord of a closer walk with you..

I feel my need Dear Lord if I ever make it through..

After I've run this race...  Don't let it be in vain..

Here's my hand Dear Lord.. Help me the victory gain..

And that is what He wants.. Our desire to walk closer to Him.. 

Love to you all...