Country Style....

Good Evening everyone.. 

So glad you dropped by the Blessed Hearth .. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend..

There has been a lot of rain and thunder showers here in Maritime Canada the last bit but we are so thankful that it is only thunder and lightning.. 

Our hearts go out to all the dear folks who have lost not only their homes but also their loved ones.. 

This is just a short posting tonight.. 

 I wanted to share the pics of our new floors.

I mentioned them a few weeks ago.. 

Hope you are interested.. 

I took the pics later on in the day so they are not as bright as they should be..

It takes us a bit of time to get things done as Terry does it by himself and I am not much help.. 

We just putter away at our chores of late, I noticed.. 

I guess it must be our age but anyway the pantry, laundry room and closet are not finished yet as he wants to make some other improvements with the back door and such.. 

But at least you get the gist of them ... 

Besides he has been busy trying to get the cottage up and running and doing the little things for the shop, too .. 

Poor man.. 

I really like them and have waited several years so I am very thankful.. 

We are just country as you can tell by our home.. 

We live here.. 

I love rustic and primitive but am not a purist at anything.. smile.. 

It has always been a comfortable feel and I am not the world's best housekeeper.. 

I find so many more interesting things to do then clean the same things all the time.. 

If you dropped by you generally would find me in a mess of some sort.. 

I wake in the morning and after the routine things I usually plunge into something that is messy.. smile... 

To be honest... 

I can't even clean without making a mess.. smile.. 

I love it tidy and clean, don't get me wrong but it seems to work it's way down the list of things to do.. smile..

The laundry, dishes and normal stuff generally gets done but in their own good time..  

I have always wanted to be a clean freak but it just is not in the genes.. grin.. 

My sister got those.. 

I am thankful for my home and so glad that the Lord has planted us here.. 

Although, for the next while it will soon be at our old cottage.. smile. 

Home is where you hang your heart, I guess.. 

Oh.. that rice dish is just what we had for lunch.. 

Rice, veggies and a lemon parsley vinaigrette .. 

Nothing fancy.. smile.. 

Well, dear ladies, I am so glad you dropped by and I look forward to hearing from you all.. 

Sorry that I did not reply to the last post but as soon as I get back from a wee trip we are going on for a few days then  

I will get right back to you.. 

OK?  

Please keep us in your prayers and I will pray for you.. 

God bless.. 

LINKED TO..FRIDAY LINK PARTY

Keepers of the Home Meeting for June..

Good Evening dear hearts.. 

So happy you dropped by.. 

Another first Saturday of the month here in New Brunswick and another Keepers of the Home meeting.. 

It was a lovely morning.. 

I must begin by saying that I kind of forgot to take pics most of the time but we do have a few.. 

Several had left before I remembered.. 

sorry.. 

There was a wonderful turnout for it.. 

Some new girls that we are so happy to have with us.. 

We started off by cooking breakfast together as usual. 

One Keeper blessed us with some homemade muffins which went lovely with our bacon, eggs, and toast.. 

Just an ordinary breakfast this time.. 

But very good..

I took a bottle of dandelion jelly for them to try out.. 

Susan liked it good enough to take the rest home.. smile.. 

Then I had to get them to try my lovage straws.. 

We put them in our tomato juice and it just gives the juice a nice celery flavor.. 

If you would like the herb then I  know you can get them at the Co-op in Sussex.. 

A few others took the leaves home to dry for their soups and salads.. 

There was lots of coffee and tea while we had another little lesson on our Christian homes.. 

We have ventured into the entry way or mud room or foyer... 

Whatever you desire to call it .. 

This is the room that says welcome and we used our 5 senses.. 

Looking the word entryway up in the Bible and in Exodus 35 -15 it talks about the entryway into the temple and how it smelled of incense and oils.. 

We discussed the sense smell..

And how it is the first thing that meets you when you open the door.. smile.. 

Every home has it own smell, eh? 

There are many ways to have a fresh smelling home.. 

You can find some tips HERE..

An entryway contains things like sneakers, hockey gear and such so it takes a bit of work. 

As for the pinterest board I will keep adding to it so keep checking.. 

OK?

We then chatted about our other senses and how they worked in our homes.. 

We talked about sight and how we would try to get some scripture up on our walls . 

Hopefully, in the Fall we will make some crafts with scriptures on them..

Our favorite is the verse .. 

As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord.. 

Joshua 24-15

A nice tidy entryway is certainly on all of our agendas... 

And organized, too.. smile.. 

Here is a link for way back when I first started my blog and it was not very professional, believe me..

Please excuse the poor quality pics and such.. smile.. 

But it is a few scripture decorating tipS and you might like it.. 

You can find it HERE.

The next sense was hearing and how lovely it is to come in and hear lovely music, the laughter of the family or just sweet chatter..

Not a blaring TV or family arguing..  

The entryway can be such a place of blessing as each morning we try and hold hands and pray a blessing for the day upon our children and even their friends as they stand in the door and wait.. smile.. 

I had to share about how touching it was for me to visit my daughter and hear her in her entryway praying a blessing of the day upon her boys.. 

In I Samuel 1- 12, 13 it talks of Hannah praying in the entryway of the temple.. 

Praying for a child.. smile.. 

The only thing we came up with for taste was to leave a bowl of mints somewhere. grin..

Perhaps you have one ???  

But really the one that is not so obvious but perhaps the most important is how your home feels when the door is closed against the world.. 

Do your children feel their mama's arms welcoming them home after a day at school? 

Does hubby feel the love from his family as he closes the door on another workday out there? 

Do friends and strangers feel the welcome of your home? 

The love and joy and peace that only God can bestow on hearts and homes can be felt first in your entryway.. 

Not a very deep subject but just a few thoughts.. 

So...

 That was that and we moved on to making some homemade cleaners.. 

Fabreze recipe 

In a spray bottle from the dollar store pour in a funnel 

2 cups of water

1/4 cup of Gain Fabric Softener

1 T. baking soda

Shake well.. 

It really works.. 

Homemade Spray Cleaner.. 

1/4 cup of dish soap  (Dawn)

1/4 cup of white vinegar 

2 tsp. Borax

3 1/2 cups of hot water 

essential oils of choice and amount to suit you.. 

I love lavender.. 

And perhaps a drop of tee tree.. 

Thyme Disinfectant.. 

2 1/2 cups of water 

handful of thyme 

vinegar

 a squirt of Dawn soap

Simmer the thyme in a pot with the water for a couple of hours.. Strain through cheesecloth or a coffee filter .. 

Pour into a spray bottle.. Add the soap and top it up with the vinegar.. 

I loved the smell of the house while this was simmering away.. 

Reminded me of an Italian Bistro.. grin.. 

It worked well, too which I found amazing as it is a tea color.. 

On one site they talked about the scientific proof of the disinfecting power of thyme.. 

Kind of good to know.. 

There was also a recipe for Homemade Laundry Powder found HERE..

And one for Laminate Floor Cleaner that I found Here..

And the Spray Air Freshner is on my Pinterest Board above.. 

Most of the girls made Fabreze and then a little stamped tag to hang on it.. 

We had also brought plants for an exchange which was a lot of fun.. 

There was all kinds.. 

Even white lilac bushes..  

All in all we had a wonderful morning with lovely fellowship.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by.. 

This is our last meeting for the Summer until we have our annual overniter at our cottage in St. Martins in July... 

Have a blessed weekend and thank you to all you girls who come and help so much with everything.. 

I appreciate you all.  

And thank you for your sweet notes.. 

Hugs.. 

LINKED TO..CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP

Moments in our days..

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Hello everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth today.. 

This seems to be a very busy time of year, eh? 

I finished my taxes today.. 

Thank you, dear Lord..

I am always so relieved to accomplish this dreaded task.. smile.. 

Now, I feel like I can get on with some fun stuff.. 

We are having a Keepers of the Home meeting on Saturday so today I prepared a few things in between adding figures.. 

I thought I would just share some pics of our last few days.. 

One day we went to the cottage and did a few things.. 

Terry took some measurements for the shop.. 

Then we found another violet stash.. grin.. 

I believe I have enough now.. 

Then on another we had the company of two wee boys.. 

We took them to their fave food place..

They enjoyed teaching Grandma some French words and teasing Grandpa.. 

They were telling him he was slow like chicken little.. grin.. 

Their sweet mama was out celebrating a big birthday.. 

smile.. 

Happy Birthday, dear Veronique.. 

We also went for a day trip to the Fundy National Park which is on the Bay of Fundy, also.. 

We always start our little trips with coffee and we share a cinnamon raisin bagel.. 

There are some lovely old homes, farms and such.. 

On our way back home there was a young moose on the side of the road.. 

I am terrified of moose.. 

My sweet hubby knows this and when I grabbed my camera he did not say anything.. 

He knew that I thought it was a deer.. 

After I took the above pic he tells me that it is a moose.. 

Needless to say there were no more photos.. grin.. 

He knew it was a moose because of the big ears.. 

When it started running across the road I realized the difference, too.. smile.. 

A little time spent at the farm with a nice meal of 

Broccoli and Beef ... 

Recipe HERE... 

It is a weight watchers one and very good..

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your lovely notes.. 

I am so pleased there has not been any more spam although I wish I didn't have to control the comment section.. 

Please take care.. 

Hugs.. 

Oh.. if anyone would like to attend our meeting please email me at houseofhenry@hotmail.com  

We would love to have you.. 

A Rainy Sunday and Spam..

Hello there dear hearts.. 

Hope you had a great weekend.. 

We had such a blessed day.. 

The presence of the Lord was so awesome in our services with such wonderful worship.. 

Very thankful for the blessings of God.. 

After church  we decided to go to the farm for Sunday Dinner.. smile.. 

This past week has been pretty rainy.. 

The brooks and rivers are overflowing their banks and the grass is so beautiful and green and the drive was so pretty.. 

I love to be at the farm on a rainy windy day.. 

It just whistles around the eves and the wood fire is so cozy.. 

I decided to dress the table with a tablecloth since it was Sunday..

  I found it at the thrift store along with the old plates and the little enamel pot that is just right for butter.. 

Lately, I am quite happy to find just two plates that are vintage or pretty.. 

Most of the time now we only need two now.. 

The meal was an old fashioned kind of dinner.. 

Steak with peppers, mushrooms and onions.. 

Mashed Potatoes and Buttered Carrots.. 

Tossed Salad..

Nothing fancy ... 

We didn't have dessert or bread today...smile..

See the little johnny jump ups.. 

Aunt Eva must have planted them many years ago.. 

They just keep spreading..

So sweet.. 

We had a very restful afternoon and then to church again this evening for another lovely service.. 

And then back home sweet home.. smile.. 

Keepers of the Home is once again on this coming Saturday morning.. 

We would love to have you if you live in the area..

Thanks for visiting my friends.. 

I need to tell you that I had to change my comments set up.. 

For some reason someone decided that they would use my anonymous comment section to send spam to the email of  my lovely readers.. 

I am so so sorry about this.. 

Thank you so much to the dear girl who let me know that this was going on.. 

It was not just spam but filth ... 

Beyond my comprehension, really.. 

This old world needs God.. 

When someone would take the time to do such idiocy it almost makes me sick.. 

So.. 

If you used to use the anonymous way of leaving a comment then I will surely miss you all.. 

I hope you will take the time to sign up with a Google account and then you can comment any time.. 

It is really easy but if not then please email me and let me know you are still there.. ok?

Once again, I am sorry for this..   

Love to you all..

Joyful Spring Days...

Good Evening everyone.. 

Don't you just love Spring days?  

It doesn't matter to me whether they are rainy or sunny really.. 

I just love them anyway.. 

Everything is turning green and coming into blossom.. 

Outside on the deck the apple blossoms will soon be fragrant and their snow like petals will be everywhere.. 

The clothes line is always in use and Terry is busy with his little tractor again.. 

Cleaning up the orchard and getting the garden ready.. 

As you can tell he enjoys this kind of work.. grin.. 

Nice to have a happy man, eh!

We are working away on our taxes but we keep taking breaks to do something else.. smile.. 

There is just so much to do on a Spring day.. 

I am in the process of making dandelion jelly again for the shop.. 

It sells really well and is so good for you, of course.. 

It took several hours just to get the petals chopped of and now they are soaking to make a tea for tomorrow to turn into a batch of jelly.. 

Well, four batches to be accurate.. smile.. 

You can find the recipe HERE..

The violet oil is already, too.. 

I need to grate up some beeswax and get that little job finished as well.. 

While I was at it I decided to once again use my flower press.. 

I have been doing this since my older kids were young.. 

It must be 30 years since my first little violet picture.. smile.. 

Then of course, there are my herbs.. 

One of my great loves.. 

Today my special treat was a glass of tomato juice with a lovage straw in it.. 

It tastes delicious.. 

I have a whole crate of herbs to plant at my shop.. 

They were on special so we decided to get them and will take the load down next time and get them into the ground.. 

I noticed that my lovage came up again down there but it is not very big yet.. 

The plant here grows at least 5 or 6 feet tall.. 

I hope I get time to make some more pickles.. 

They were so different.. 

We had a tasty chowder made with the lobster which was left over from our little feast the other day.. smile.. 

Flavored with some dill..

Making some homemade bread and giving away a loaf.. smile.

All in all a busy day but a joyful one.. 

Thank you, sweet Lord.. 

I just wanted to tell you all how much I have been appreciating all of your sweet comments, lately.. 

I am glad you enjoyed my little story about the sweet couple in the last post.. smile.. 

Notice one of the comments where a lady actually knew these folks.. 

I think I know who left the comment but am not sure.. 

If you ever leave me a note this way please let me know some how who you are.. 

An email or something.. ok? 

Thanks.. 

You are an awesome bunch of sweet ladies and I thank you for taking the time to drop by and then leaving me a comment.. 

I am trying to respond to each right on the blog.. 

OK?

It really does make blogging much more interesting.. 

Take care, now.. 

LINKED TO...FROM THE FARM BLOG HOP