Farm Journal 9

Good Evening dear hearts.. 

So glad you dropped by.. 

I have finally been here at home long enough to put a post on the blog.. 

We have not moved back home yet and are still at the farm but my heart is yearning towards this place called home.. 

We have had a pretty good summer.. 

It just all went so quickly this time.. 

The evenings are getting shorter and the leaves are so beautiful! 

As usual, this is just a post about our doings.. 

Terry's brother and his wife came for a day.. 

Just two farm lads remembering how things used to be.. 

Checking what the frost has caught.. smile.. 

We had great gardens, though.. 

Thank you, Lord.. 

And the chickens and turkeys are in the freezer.. 

Please excuse the quality of this pic but you can get the drift.  smile.. 

Father and son laughing about something the turkeys said.. Perhaps?  grin.. 

Our oldest son helped do the chickens... 

They are great boys.. 

Made some Chow Chow.. 

My Grandmother's recipe.. 

The wildflowers are all dried and ready to be put together when I get a minute.. 

Terry is pretty proud of his tomato crop.. 

So many large ones.. 

I made up two more batches of soup base that this dear girl below taught us to make.. 

We had a Keepers of the Home meeting and it was fun.. 

Carmen demonstrating how they make a root vegetable flavour base that they make in the old country of Romania... 

She just ground together some carrots, parsnips, celeriac, parsley root and rock salt.. 

Then you place an Aspirin on top to keep the mold away.  

Isn't that neat?  

You only use a tablespoon or so in your soup.. 

I put it in a fish chowder I made and the flavour was wonderful.. 

Some of the girls cut up veggies for Mustard Pickles and some decorated tables for a Married Couples Italian dinner we had that evening..
It was so much fun! 

But to tell you the truth most of our time the last few weeks have been spent at our house in St. Martins.. 

We were there during the full moon and it was simply beautiful on the Bay of Fundy.. 

Fall has arrived in this little coastal village where we have had a summer place for 21 years.. 

As you know my Mom hails from there and we have really enjoyed our days there.. 

Our grandsons were born after we bought the place so they play a big part in our memories of this old house.. 

We spent Thanksgiving there and our whole family were present.. 

My Mom and Gerald were there.. 

It was a lovely warm day and we all had a great time.. 

Everyone contributed to the dinner and that made it a lot easier for me.. 

Trevor likes to cook but his younger brother just likes to watch.. grin.. 

Aunt Shonda enjoys teasing her nephews.. 

The funny part of this picture is not Shonda sharing pics but it is of Trevor in the background trying so hard to make friends with Charlie... (Dustin's dog).. 

I think this was the first time he thought there was a prayer that they could be pals.. lol.. 

I can't help but laugh because the poor kid tries so hard.. 

He feeds him cheese slices and tid bits every time he sees him and then the next time Charlie just starts growling when he sees him again.. 

Terry said there wasn't enough cheese slices in the world to win him over but Trevor persists... lol.. Sorry, Trev... 

So funny... 

Anyway.. 

There is news for you.. 

We have sold our house and little cottage shop.. 

The last few weeks we have been packing and loading the truck and trailer and have brought up 3 loads.. 

Almost done, thank the Lord!

It has been a long process but we think it is time.. 

The boys are almost grown and are too busy to be down much and we love the farm.. 

So... 

That's all she wrote as they say.. 

We have many good memories and made such lovely friends.. 

And I so loved being with my cousins and family.. 

And of course the wonderful Bay of Fundy.. 

We have spent many hours listening to the waves and dropping off to sleep.. grin.. 

So glad the farm is only half an hour's drive from it.. 

I guess this is all for tonight... 

Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving your sweet notes.. 

I really appreciate you all and I will soon be home.. 

I can't wait till this is all over and things are kind of normal again.. 

I request your prayers ... 

This old girl is not the same as the one that moved into the cottage twenty years ago.. grin.. 

 I miss you guys... 

Talk soon and may God bless your sweet hearts! 

xo

Farm Journal 8

Hello there everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth today.. 

I am home and so can get here on the internet and touch base with you all once again.. 

Sorry it has been awhile but as you can see by the pics that Fall has arrived here in Eastern Canada.. 

Sept. 21.. 

Terry's sunflowers are blooming in the garden! 

And when we go for our little drives we can see the changes in the colours on the roadsides.. 

I have refused to even admit to myself that Summer is over until it was over.. grin.. 

No early Fall decor for me as I just wanted to bask in the Summer sunshine and all of it's doings.. 

Now we need a comforter at nights and a couple of mornings Terry has put a fire on in the stove in the back porch.. 

I tell him to just make a small fire as it is not that cold and then I have to open the front and back doors and try to get a breeze going through along with the ceiling fans..

I know the poor guy.. 

I am hard to please sometimes.. 

Anyway.. 

The days of sitting here in this room are almost over.. 

Probably only a couple of weeks left I am thinking..

And then we will be here at home again.. 

Home Sweet Home.. 

Summer is good for a season but when the frost is on the fields and the sunflowers are blooming my heart turns towards this place.. 

smile.. 

Terry and the boys have once again gone to the last race of the season so we are staying here for the night.. 

Looking forward to my waterbed.. smile.. 

Anyway.. 

Back to the story line here.. 

Did up 18 bottles of blueberry jams this week... 

Our blueberries are long gone and were not that great as we did not have a lot of rain this summer.. 

He found a box on half price and a little squashed at the store but they were great for jam.. 

Our garden has produced very well.. 

He has been digging potatoes and they are lovely.. 

Taste so fresh and kind of waxy if you know what I mean.. 

Been putting away herbs galore.. 

A little line of them here where our new chimney will be going when there is time to put it in.. 

This was a pic I took early this morning out of the Living room window.. 

We had a frost the night before last and I lost some of my basil but that was all.. 

Making some sauerkraut with dill seeds...

Washing bottles and sterilising them for more pickles.. 

The gardener just brought in this box of cukes this morning.. 

They will be mustard pickles hopefully next week.. 

I have done a few things not vegetable related this week.. grin.. 

A sweet lady came into the yard sale we had at the cottage and wanted to know if she could order 6 air fresheners..

So I did get them done so we can deliver them next time we go to St. Martins.. 

Vanilla and Clove... 

Here is the recipe.. 

My favourite room freshener recipe:

Fill a spray bottle with 1 1/2 cups of distilled water and 1/2 cup of white vinegar and as much essential oils as you like..

This one is lavender.  Sometimes, I add rosemary oil to the lavender..

Or you can use just rosemary or sweet orange ...

Clove and Vanilla or Patchouli and Grapefruit are lovely.. 

Add the oils until it smells the way you want it to...

Make sure to shake it well before you spray..

He also brought in a 25 pound box of green tomatoes..  

I haven't done a bit of Chow Chow yet so they need to be done...

Here is a recipe I want to try out on our grandsons.. 

They love grilled cheese..  

Find recipe HERE.

I came across this pic when I was waiting for the blog pics to upload.. 

It is of my maternal grandfather.. 

I blame him for my love of cooking.. 

Notice his apron.. 

He was a cook in the lumber camps here in New Brunswick.. 

I never got to meet him though as he passed away when my Mom

was only five years old and the youngest of 12.

He looks so kind I think.. 

I wish I had some of his recipes.. smile.. 

Well, dear hearts I will say good evening once again.. 

Thank you so much for dropping by.. 

Someone told me this week that they went to bed on Monday night and woke up Friday morning.. That is what it feels like to me lately, eh? smile.. 

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and we are having a picnic after church so I need to go and get a bit of cooking finished.. 

Looking so forward to hearing from you all.. 

My dear sister reads your comments to me over the phone as I will only be able to check tomorrow morning .. 

I really do appreciate hearing from you here and on the Facebook page.. 

God bless... xo

Farm Journal 7

Good afternoon dear hearts.. 

Just a quick little post for you while I am waiting on my laundry.. 

Hope you are all well and enjoying the last days of summer.. 

So sad.. 

I want to hang onto her coat tails.. grin.. 

They do say that our Maritime Fall is to be very warm and nice so that is lovely if it happens..  

I have posted some pics that has been taken since my last time on here.. 

We are like you sweet people.. 

Busy.. 

Being at the farm and making and doing and running the roads.. 

Lots of pickling going on.. 

The gardens are wonderful and the herbs are calling my name each morning when I let the dog out.. lol.. 

I heeded the basil and did a bit of pesto.. 

It looks messy but will freeze in nice little squares and pack them in the freezer for the winter.. 

Love adding it to spaghetti, soups, tomato sandwiches, salad dressings and the like... 

Do you make pesto? 

Made lots of dill bean pickles and canned a lot.. 

Green Beans are one of our fave vegetables and are also lovely added to soups.. 

We have been to the cottage much more often this summer then last.. 

The last time down we had a gorgeous humongous wind.. 

Terry was away and when he came upstairs to bed he said the curtains were straight out and I was all wrapped up like I was in my nest.. The window was up as far as it would go and I was loving every moment.. That was when he decided to sleep in another bed and in another room.. lol.. It was fun!  We also had an evening down by the waves listening to them crash to and fro while we ate a dish of homecut frenchfries from a new take out there.. 

All covered up in throws and snacking away was so much fun.. 

So glad he mostly enjoys my bad weather love affair.. grin.. 

When we came home I made a couple of loaves of Artisan Bread.. 

One was for a gift for a young fellow at our church but he wasn't there on Sunday.. So we had them both.. smile.. 

The wind has been rather fierce at the farm too and disabled our flag.. AGAIN.. So up goes Mr. Superflag.. 

All fixed but not without a bit of praying, as always.. 

God is so faithful, isn't he?? 

Not just in the big things but in the little everyday normal things.. 

And answers us so personally that we know that it is from the Lord because who else knows all about us like He does.. 

We all face troubled times even during the best days of our lives.. 

Life is life and we have our trials.. 

This week the Lord brought back to my memory an old chorus we used to sing when I was just a kid.. 

It went like this.. 

He will calm the troubled waters of your soul.. 

Takes your broken heart and make it whole.. 

When the storms of this life seem dark and cold.. 

He will calm the trouble waters .. 

The dark troubled waters of your soul... 

And he does.. 

He grants us peace that can only come from him..

When we put our trust in the fact that He does all things well..  

The trouble might not be anymore then a couple of broken trucks or overwhelmed by all one has to accomplish in a day but He can pour the sweet oil of peace over us and give us our joy...  

God bless you sweet hearts and will be back as soon as I am able... 

Hope to hear from you all.. 

Peace....