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 ...

Sunday Night Blessings...

Hello everyone..

Surprise.. surprise I am posting on a Sunday evening..

We are generally in church and I seldom am on the computer much on a Sunday but tonight we are having a car problem and had to stay home..

I intensely  dislike car problems.. mine or anyone else's.. If we are driving by someone and their car is parked on the side of the road I always say a wee prayer for them that their car will be easily fixed.. smile...

We had just left church this morning and the car was making a weird sound.. Oh no... Now what?  Aren't we so predictable?

We always panic before we even know what is wrong.. OK.. I.. always panic... grin..

Terry said that sounds like a wheel baring..

Well, to make a long story short... He went and bought the part at Canadian Tire store but he has to go home where the tools are to fix it.. So for tonight we are here at the cottage..

And so...

I thought I would show you another wee scenic pic here in the village of St. Martins..

One of two covered bridges ..

Beautiful, eh?

This pic is the same street going the other way..

This takes us back to the cottage and past the harbour..

Home to a Sunday night Supper..

Delicious Mussels cooked in garlic, onion and chicken broth..

Some toasted bread rubbed with garlic to sop up the juices..

And then a bowl of hodge podge with our new green beans that Terry picked at home and brought down..

Then later some blueberry ice cream..

Yup... the diet starts tomorrow.. grin...

Anyway..

My Open House for the shop is coming right up in a couple of weeks at the House of Henry here in St. Martins, N. B.

I am planning it for the Labour Day Weekend so that I can go home earlier this year..smile.. There is no place like home..

With that in mind I am making plans galore and hoping to get much accomplished in the next few weeks.. With the help of the Lord...

Guess what I am planning on making with these..

Lovely Rose petals that my sweet husband picked for me..

And these...

Pearly Everlastings that are in bloom here right now..

And lots of these...

Rose hips to ripen and dry...

And of course... Oranges...

They need to be sliced and put in the dehydrator...

Did you guess? 

Right... Homemade Potpourris..

Cinnamon Orange .. my best seller..

Pumpkin Spice...Crows in the Apple Trees, Blueberry Fields and the Sandalwood is all made...

Then there are lots of these done but much more to make..

Dill....

Sweet garlic dills and Garlic Dills and ..

Sandwich Dill Slices...

Did I mention that Terry has cut me out a bunch of different wood pieces that need painted and primmed up...

Along with homemade salves, deodorants,  foot powders, hand salt scrubs, healing balms, and more..

Several old tables, cupboards and stands to be painted and distressed... grin..

Oh, I hope I get some prim sewing done..

Yeah.. I know.. I am crazy..

Hope you will all plan to come out and see for yourselves...

You can have some Hot Apple Cider and  try some pickles and sniff the potpourris... OK?

Now I am including a pic of something that I hope to do a post on tomorrow or soon anyway..

A flower that grows rampid here in Eastern Canada and a lot of North America...

TANSY

It is a wonderful herb that is free and has so many uses..

I know you probably get tired of me talking about herbs but they are so good for you.. God planned on us using them... He gave them to us for our health.. Come back and check it out.. OK?

I wanted to mention before I go about all the wonderful customers and friends that we had at the shop this past week..

It was so good to see some friends that we had not seen for ages..

God has so blessed us with friends.. It was lovely to see you all and the new girls that came in and told me they read my blog..

So sweet... Thank you...

Well, dear ladies that is all for tonight..

I hope you stop by again and thank you so much for your comments last posting and such dear emails...

Blessings to you all.. Remembering you all in prayer...

MAKE YOUR WAYS KNOWN TO ME, O LORD,

AND TEACH ME YOUR PATHS.

LEAD ME IN YOUR TRUTH AND TEACH ME

BECAUSE YOU ARE GOD, MY SAVIOR.

I WAIT ALL DAY LONG FOR YOU.

PSALMS 25 - 4 - 5..

from Faye Henry...

Old FAshioned Idea Week... Prim Jar Tutorial and more..

Good Friday Evening, sweet ladies..

This is my last little installment on my week of old fashioned ideas..

There were quite a few prim ideas in the notebook so I picked this one to share with you. 

I made it yesterday in the shop while I was waiting for you all to show up..

I met one today who has been reading my blog and came and looked me up..

It was nice to meet you, Tanya..

Anyway..

This is what I am calling a Prim Recipe Jar..

I think it turned out kinda neat..

You just get an old jar, jug or bottle..

Pick one up at a yard sale or thrift store..

I had this old javex jug..

Please excuse my messy desk.. grin..

You also need some old pages from a recipe book.. or song book or whatever..

I used this old one that the covers were torn off and it was pretty stained..

Then just use some white glue or modge podge and a sponge brush..

Tear out some pages or pieces of pages and with your sponge rub the glue on good and then place them on the bottle..

Rub really well so there are no bubbles.

When you have the bottle pretty well covered to suit you then just let it dry..

Today I used some brown ink (on the desk pictured above) and a piece of cloth and rubbed it all over to give it an aged look..

Then just tie a piece of homespun on it and a tag.. I tore a piece of the recipe page and modged it onto the tag, too..

You can add some sweet annie or just leave it empty..

Hope you like this prim idea..

Or if you would rather you can buy it from my shop.. grin..

Here is another wee prim idea for some of you who has a chandelier that is not quite to your liking..

This one here is in our living room here at the cottage.. We need more important things done here than a new light so Shonda took a star and pip berry garland and wrapped around it..

TaDa... a kinda sorta prim light..

Suits me for now, anyway..smile..

And last but not least again..

My lovely peppermint plant..

I planted it in an old colander..

Natural drainage with all the holes in it..

Make a tea with some fresh sprigs and then dry it and place in empty tea bags that you can buy and have for the winter..

Peppermint is really good for the digestive system..

Well, that is all for tonight ...

I think I do better when I only blog once or twice a week and not bore you all silly by posting every night.. 

As always, thanks for the visit and

to you sweet ladies who comment I want you to know how much I look forward to hearing from you.. 

Take care and God bless.. 

Old Fashioned Ideas Week.... Rosemary and Lavender Herb Balm....

Hello my dears..

Just a little pic there of what it looks like along the coast here tonight..

Kind of a rainy and then sunny but a cool day. 

Tonight I am giving you another idea from my old book.. 

This is lovely and just the right time of year to make it when fresh herbs are so available..

It is an HERB BALM...

It says it soothes aching muscles.. 

Just what I need.. smile..

Very simple, too..

SOOTHING HERB BALM RECIPE

1 oz. fresh lavender

1 oz. fresh rosemary stems

1 pint of olive or sunflower oil.

Put this in a crock pot for a day on very low heat.

Cool and strain..

I use a coffee filter or cheesecloth inside of my sieve.

Then just add some essential oil of either rosemary or lavender to suit your taste..

This is optional..  

Find a lovely jar and sterilize it..

Add your oil.. I put in a few sprigs of lavender, too..

It says to use sparingly..

This would make a wonderful gift for someone like me who aches at night.. and morning .. and afternoon...  just kidding.. smile..

Now...I have written just below this on how to freeze herbs..

Wash and spin dry or use your SALAD BAG..

(Just click on the words to link to that posting..)

Freeze in baggies and chop to use..

I freeze a lot of basil mostly.. 

Then I add it to whatever.. soups or sauces..

But you can freeze others..

Also..

I thought this was worth writing down..

GOD'S BLESSINGS..

MERCY

FAVOR

GRACE

PEACE

PROTECTION

I pray that these will overflow in your life as you turn to Jesus..

And last but not least is a torn page for a recipe for PEPPER VINEGAR..

I do not have a pic of this but I do it every Fall..

Just fill a mason jar with fresh clean chili peppers and top off with distilled white vinegar..

When it runs low then just add more vinegar..

Use it to drizzle over greens, french fries or use it to spice up your salad vinaigrette.

Peppery Vinegar must be kept in the fridge..

And make sure if you give some away that it is sealed tight.. I gave some to one of the Keepers of the Home and she spilled it on her new coat.. Sorry, dear... smile...

Well, dear girls.. I hope I haven't been boring you silly with this stuff..

Just one more night to go and I will turn it off.. OK?

Thanks again for your sweet comments and for your emails.. I really enjoy them..

The Lord bless and keep thee..

Numbers 6: 24

Love to you all..

Old Fashioned Idea Week...Blueberries ...

              Hi everyone...

Would you believe me if I told you that it is raining hard again?  Yup.. it is.. grin..

Oh well... 

This is day 2 of the old fashioned ideas from my old book..

Today the pages seems to have a kind of blueberry theme going on here..

First there is a recipe with a story..

I'm sorry that I did not get a chance to make it though as Terry and I did up chow chow, sweet dills and sandwich pickles plus went to Sussex to buy the cukes.. smile..

Yes, I am a bit tired but thank God for a sweet man who loves to help make pickles..

There is also a bowl of my secret ginger cuke pickle sitting overnite.. grin..

I will need to make these up first thing in the morning.. 

Anyway, back to my story... smile..

A blueberry recipe for Rustic Blueberry Sauce..

A few years ago I was here at the cottage and went into St. John shopping for groceries.

There were a lot of boxes of blueberries on sale because they had been crushed a bit..

As I stood there looking and trying to decide how many boxes to buy a sweet girl about Shonda's age was putting a few boxes in her cart.  I looked at her and she grinned and said she had discovered a new recipe and these would be perfect for it..

Well, you know me..I had to ask her what the recipe was... So, the patient girl stands there as I get her to repeat a few finer points to make sure I had it down pat in my head.. As soon as I could I wrote it down..

Here it is...

RUSTIC BLUEBERRY SAUCE..

3 cups of blueberries

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 Tablespoons white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons of water

2 cinnamon sticks..

Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 8 minutes..

Put in a glass bowl and cover with saran wrap.. Poke holes in the top..

Next day you can use it for waffles, over ice cream or cakes..

They were her suggestions but I freeze this in mason jars and then when I make cheesecake this is the perfect topping..

 It is delicious..

You don't have to freeze it but to be honest I don't know how long it would keep in the fridge so I always freeze it..

Hope you enjoy this..

Now here is something I wrote down..

 

Perhaps I had better translate my writing..

There are no marble topped tables, long mirrors or lace curtains in the little parlor but simple furniture, plenty of books, a fire and a picture or two..

Louisa May Alcott..

I must have been reading her book and loved that paragraph and thought it was worth remembering..

I know... I am different..just ask my family.. hehe.. 

Also.. here is a tip I think is worth mentioning especially as we are gardening..

NAIL WHITENER

1 denture tablet

1 cup warm water

Soak for ten minutes..

Sounds easy, eh?

The sweet company we had last weekend picked me a big tub of fresh blueberries..

Thanks Vick.. 

I made some muffins this morning..

That was before I knew I was going to do pickles.. grin..

And so here is another blueberry recipe for you...

Blueberry Muffins..

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

Whisk together in your mixing bowl..

In a large measuring cup measure

1 egg

1/3 cup veg oil

1/3 cup milk..

Whisk this together and add to dry ingredients.

Just blend and then fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries..

Spray your muffin tins or use paper liners and fill almost full.. 

Bake at 375 degree F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes..

This made about a dozen good sized muffins..

We ate them with our coffees on the way to Sussex this morning.. heheh.. (not all of them)smile..

I was reading the idea book to see what I would post tonight and thought that I should make them for breakfast before Terry got up..

smile..

They were just finished when he gets up and says that we should do pickles on such a rainy day... So off we went..

Well, sweet ladies thanks so much again for visiting and all your dear comments..

You guys are all so special.. I love doing this blog thing and you make it so much fun..

Just a little reminder before I end for today..

His grace is all sufficient..

Love to you all..