THE BLESSED HEARTH

Saturday, February 26, 2022

February's Ramble and Roll....

Hello dear hearts...

Welcome back to the Blessed Hearth...

It is a beautiful but a bit chilly Saturday afternoon here in Maritime Canada...

Terry and I are having a holiday of sorts.. smile..

Not getting much accomplished but enjoying ourselves..

Spent the morning with our daughter and son in law..

It was so nice..

We need the family a lot more it seems lately..

They are sure a blessing from the Lord..

Terry is watching the Nascar race so I thought I would finish up this

post that I began probably a week ago..

Had myself locked out of blogger..

I must say of all the things that I have lost and miss the most is my mind.. lol...

Anyway, after a bit of traversing back and forth I found my way back here..

Anyway...

As I am calling this a bit of a ramble and roll...

I best get to it..

I have been trying my best to get some make and dos done..

This is a calendar I made..

I just use the paper bags that the stores are packing things in now..

They only cost a few cents and I find them so useful for so many projects..

I bought a small calendar and just used the monthly pages..

Dug out a few of my British Country Living with it's beautiful pics and cut and pasted...

I have been doing my extra large one for the kitchen for years..

I was mentioning it to my sister and she liked the sound of it so I decided to make a small one for her..

The other day I bought another small one to make for my bedroom..

I like the size of it...

Then as Terry gives me new list books every Christmas which I love..

I glued a new cover on this years..

Not that it will last a year..

It only has 750 pages. lol.. He gets them at Staples..

Brown Transferware..

I love it and have a huge collection..

I collected it when we had the cottage in St. Martins..

One shelf at the cottage of Brownware..

My latest felting project..

A cushion cover I think..

It is not finished yet..

Will show you it all next time..

Rolling on here...

I received this wee gift from our youngest son..

A brass kind of bookmark for this booklover.. smile..

It was tucked inside this paper which you can plant..

Sweet, eh!

And a sweet candle...

Made with wild flowers... 💗

The City of Calgary did up a box of hand done work and sold them for gifts..

It was lovely..

Packed right full of lovely things..

I have been doing the usual cooking and a bit of baking..

Acadian Chicken Friguot....

A Maritime dish..

Chicken and Dumplings with Summer Savory..

We had another bit of a storm yesterday... Another Friday storm..

This was Friday's Lunch..

Shepherds Pie

And no knead bread..

Made in a long sweet bread pan..

The Shepherds Pie above sort of recipe..

Just fry up the hamburger, onion and garlic till almost cooked through..

Boil up a few potatoes, drain, mash and whip up.

Add tomato soup to hamburger mixture..

Place in a casserole dish, add green beans (home canned preferably) smile

and your whipped potatoes..

You can put a layer of cheese but I just spread a bit of butter and paprika..

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or till heated through..

Hmmm.

Rolling along..

Or is it rambling.. 😏

I guess I have been making breads....

This is the no knead recipe made into cinnamon rolls and baked as a bread..

One of Terry's Valentine treats... smile..

This is an oat banana bread which did not go over with him..

He didn't like the old fashioned oats sprinkled over the top!

I thought it was excellent.. smile..

Another version of the no knead bread..

Made it different ... Just because... (I know... I don't have much to do) and another banana bread...

He loves that one..

Gee... I made a lot of bread this month..

The regular no knead one..

I think I will make another kind in March... lol..

This one is just so easy....

Rambling along...

This is my winter window sill garden.. grin..

Alfalfa Sprouts which I love dearly..

Cutting the bottoms off of green onions and regrowing a couple of times..

And fresh herbs...

Love the basil the best!

The middle one is an Asian herb but I forget the name...

It is pretty but I don't use it much yet...

And sage, of course..

In the sunroom I have rosemary, thyme and parsley...

Copied this off of Pinterest, I think...

Some wisdom for us...

As usual ...

Trying to tidy up drawers and such..

I am such a messy person..

Oh dear...

Love my cloth napkins, placemats and napkin holders..

Do you use cloth napkins?

A few pics I took on the way home during a storm...

used the edit to make them black and white..

I think I am going to have them enlarged for myself..

And frame them... smile..

Did you enjoy your Valentine's Day?

We went out to St- Huberts earlier in the week and then just stayed home on Valentine's Day..

Made a wee bit of effort...

We have had 51 Valentine's Days together married..

Next month we will be married for 52 years but since it is February I didn't think that counted..

I can't really remember that first Valentine's Day as we were just

getting acquainted..

We met in January at our school carnival..

MY.... it was so long ago but seems like yesterday..

All right old lady!

Keep rolling.. grin..

I made some white sugar cookies with icing too..

I think they were for me..

Love one with my tea and book..

Felted a bunch of stuffed hearts for gifts..

And a few tags... 💕

Rambling along..

We had a huge snow storm or three in February..

The dear man had a lot of cleaning up to do to get all the walks and driveway cleared..

But he did it...

Felt so bad for the birds so made them some cupcakes..

They have gone over very well..

Just melted some lard and added bird food and nuts and such that were getting a bit old..

I usually freeze all of the nuts that I buy but at Christmas I forgot..

I think they enjoyed them anyway..

Here is a book I loaded up on my Kindle..

It was very enjoyable..

Love Marilla...

And finally..

I found this on Pinterest and used it one afternoon for a wee Bible Study..

They have lots of different ones on there so I just take a screen shot so I don't need to keep looking them up..

How are you ladies enjoying these last weeks of Winter?

I know here we have a couple more months perhaps then a lot of you..

But we are used to it..

Trying not to rush my life away just for a warm day..

God blesses us occasionally with a lovely warm one so at least we remember what will soon be here.. grin..

Had one of those days last week..

Thank you so much for dropping by my dears..

In a world full of gloom and despair then we can find peace and rest through our Lord..

Making our homes a sanctuary for our families and our hearts a sanctuary of praise for the One who holds it all in His hands..

That is where I find my peace..

Through Him and his Word..

Hope to hear from you all in the comments here, FaceBook or Instagram..

I know some of you readers are on Instagram and I hope I haven't bored you with double posts sort of..

God bless...

Keeping the world in our prayers..

Trusting God...

Sunday, January 23, 2022

Lovely January Days

Hello everyone..

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth on this wintery January Sunday..

So happy to reconnect with you all once again..

The month of January has nearly passed since last we chatted.

I must say that I have enjoyed the lovely days thus far..

Things are difficult and strange in our world today but here within the four walls of our home it is another winter season..

We have been blessed with good weather..

Snowy and blizzardly a few times and some bitter cold but the furnace is burning and we are puttering around doing this and that...

Terry loves the banana rolls that I wrote about a couple of posts ago.

So this morning before church (online as we are on lock down) I put a batch together...

I just took them out of the oven..

He left to go to the wood lot for a bit so he will enjoy them when he gets back home..

I was looking around in a closet that I keep just for soaps and such and found a box of candles that I had made last year..

I kind of forgot about them unless I saw or read something about homemade candles..

I burned one as soon as I made them almost and was not happy with them at all..

Then the other day I was reading a candle feature and it said that they have to cure.. Ohhhhh.....

So lo and behold they were right..

I dug one out and lit it and it works perfect..

You just have to keep taking your finger and smoothing the wax down so it doesn't flood itself..

Smells of Lavender, of course.. smile..

I still have a wee bit of winter decor here and about..

But not much..

Christmas is all put away and trying to rearrange a few things here especially in the kitchen and family room where we live..

I love a change now and then..

Do you?

We took a country drive her one day up to check on the farm..

We passed the brook and it was so pretty...

Then by the time we arrived at the farm the snow was beginning...

Terry made a fire and I picked up a few things I thought I needed here at home..

Some fabrics, jars and a coffee perk that our son gave me..

I had not used it and brought it home to try..

It makes delicious coffee but I think I will keep it for the wood stove out there..

Then this is what it was like by the time we were almost home..

It was a big storm..

I don't mind the storms and kind of enjoy them if our children are not working and travelling in them..

That ruins any cozy storm for me.. grin..

But they got to work and back just fine..

Thanking God every time they are protected...

My sweet sister gave me a journal for a gift.

I put a cover on it and am using it for ideas and projects that I long to accomplish at some point.. smile...

I never run out of projects and ideas..

I just run out of energy and ambition..

sigh.... grin... old age....

I did get a few little items finished..

Some un-paper towels inspired by JES.. on Instagram..

Also .... cloth napkins...

Love using cloth so much better then paper..

JES suggested just fraying the edges rather then sewing and it is a great idea..

I bought a very heavy sheet at the thrift store so have lots to make for my gift pantry plus a couple of runners and such..

In the pic above you can see this felted candle cozy on a candle..

This is the bag that I felted for my sister..

My good sewing machine is not working so I asked my new granddaughter-in-law if she would sew it together for me..

She has an online business making and selling her homemade bags..

Here is her link..

https://www.instagram.com/mapleandpine.designs/

They are lovely and she does wonderful work..

She so graciously agreed to do that and voila...

Isn't it sweet..

Thanks Ash!!

The plants are doing great..

Haven't really slowed down a lot for winter.. smile..

Some afternoons I make a pot of this potpourri ready on the stove for the next morning..

Just to get me going..

Smells like Winter at Home..

Kinda gets me moving in the mornings...

Are you a scent loving person?

I am... ......... smile..

Here are a few cooking things that we ate this month..

Catonese Salad...

When you only have one small steak left over..

I tried something new...

Turnip Kraut...

Made it just like Sauerkraut but used grated turnip instead..

Our farmer told me about it and so I gave it a try ...

It is delicious!

And of course so good for you..

I had a couple of turnips that were getting a bit old as we bought a 50 pound bag and it was a great way to use them up..

Someone gifted us with a couple of beef tongues..

One day last week I boiled it up and we are having delicious sandwiches with it..

It looks gross perhaps but it is such a tender bit of beef you would ever have..

I posted it on Instagram but deleted it as I figured out it is not a pretty pic to post.. grin..

This was a bit of fried rice and some our home canned green beans..

Terry was complaining a bit about all the jars he keeps taking downstairs.. grin..

We shop in our cold room every Monday and as the week passes the bottles empty.. dahh... grin..

Counting it all as blessing for sure..

With all that went on with our garden we really did get a lot put away...

Terry is still doing well with good health so thanking God for that too...smile..

And of course our fish chowder..

Once a week for sure..

And grain bread to soak it all up in...

💓

Here is one of the books I am reading in January...

It was just published this month..

Laura Franz is one of my all time fave authors..

I found it a bit slow getting into it as I read more then one book at a time..

There is something about January that calls Louis L'Amour's books to me..

Sometimes I will read the same one several times and enjoy it as much every time..

What's with that?

I am not a guy but I love them..

When I read books such as Laura's I keep notes on things that jump out to me..

Ideas ...

like food, colours, decor, celebrations..

All kinds of things!

Then when I really need inspired I will read them over and think to myself...

Oh, I want to make those homemade crackers...

Or ... oh, I could put together a gift of dill crackers, homemade herb cheese and a jar of pickled carrots in a basket with a homemade napkin...

Right???

LOl.. I know... I am nuts sometimes...

My husband would say...

I don't have much to do... lol...

And so dear hearts on that note I will say bye for now as my Momma always used to say...

But look..

I saw this photo on the web somewhere and I saved it..

Doesn't that make your heart rejoice...

Some glad morning when this life is over...

I'll fly away...

I pray you have this hope..

In a world gone bonkers we can look toward heaven..

Our redemption drawth nigh..

Please make your acquaintance with Jesus soon if you don't know Him.. Just talk to Him.. Build a relationship with Him...

He is coming back!

Just like He said...

Love to you all...

Sunday, January 2, 2022

So ever onward!!

Hello dear hearts and happy New Year 2022!

These pics in no particular order.. sorry...

So happy to chat with you all for for a bit this evening...

It is Sunday and everything is over!

Except for the clean up! Smile..

We had a lovely Christmas day with just the two of us..

Then on Monday the family came and then it was truly Christmas!

The kids brought ham and turkey and most of the fixings which was Lovely for me!

I am not the Spring chicken I used to be! Eh!

We had our annual Yankee Swap which is always hilarious ! And our gift exchange was fun too!

Then a wonderful slow Christmas week doing fun stuff.

A few country drives, a bit of shopping, reading

Christmas books, watching old old movies and of course eating too much!

New Year's Day was quiet but still nice..

We did the Chinese take out thing our way! So Good!

In the pics above are some fudges and such I made for a few gifts!

Such a great season !

And now we are into a new year!

God has granted us so many blessings!

We experienced miracles and so many answered prayers last year of which we are so thankful!

Looking forward to another year of His grace and mercy!

And to feeling His presence and the joy and peace that He alone can bestow!

In church this morning the sermon was of the many times that God extends his mercy towards us over and over again!

Of his forgiving power and love when we so don't deserve it!

BUT.....

But because he made a plan whereby we can confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1

So when we look ahead to a year full of unknowns!

It is ever so wonderful to know that he holds my hand, that the government rests upon his shoulders and I can put every bit of my faith and trust in Him! That when all is haywire I can REST in HIM and just relax and fear not!

But when I flounder and fear starts to enter my heart then I can confess that fear and begin again!

Isn't God amazing!!!

Confessing a little something to you sweet readers.....

I am an anxious type of person as my family and friends know..

Especially when it concerns my husband or children ..

Just like you no doubt.

Nevertheless that isn't what the Lord desires for us.

But I have experienced the true rest he gives us when we put our complete trust in Him and pray your will be done, Lord God...

When our youngest son went west I needed to put him in God's hands and when I did I had peace past understanding.

And it is so blessed to feel the warmth of his love during times of stress.

His Word always gives me peace! It never fails to comfort!

So ever onward my luvs!