Dried Pineapple how-to and a chicken recipe..

Good Evening everyone... 

How are you all?

I wonder if your days are as cold as ours are here in the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada.. 

Brrr-rrr. 

I guess we have just been spoiled with such warm beautiful weather that this is quite a shock.. 

Yesterday, we went to town and I noticed that the small rivers and steams are frozen.. 

Anyway.. 

I have a little how-to here for you.. 

Especially, you prim lovers.. 

A while ago I had dried out a couple of pineapples for my shop to sell.. 

I had posted it on my other blog Primitive Lace which is now closed.. 

You can see it HERE.. 

I had given the link where I learned about it but I received a request from someone saying that the site is now deleted.. 

Costco had huge pineapples on yesterday for three dollars and as I know a special girl who wants one I decided to do this one for her.. 

She sometimes misses a post so hopefully she won't notice or guess it is for her.. grin.. 

Anyway..

The first thing you do is to take a sharp little paring knife and cut out the very centre on the bottom.. 

I am just going to do this little how-to my way.. 

Not very detailed or complicated.. OK..

You can see the knife and the hole in the picture above.. 

Now, the messy part.. 

Keep cutting out as much flesh as you can and scoop out with your hand or a spoon.. 

I used a tough big spoon and then a bigger one but mostly just my hand.. 

I was happy I could get it inside and kept bringing out the flesh and putting it in a bowl as it is still good to eat.. 

With my knife I very carefully kept cutting the core and bringing it out.. 

Be very careful!!

I am not at fault if you cut yourself.. smile.. 

Once it is all dug out then fill it with paper towel... 

Take a small handful and shove it up to the top.. 

I used a wood spoon handle to pack it in..

Leave it for several hours and then change the towel and do it again.. 

Now it is ready for the oven.. 

Turn your oven on very low heat.. 

150 degrees F. 

Take out all of the paper towels and lay the pineapple on a rack on top of a cookie sheet.. 

Dry it all day.. 

You can turn it over several times.. 

Then turn off the oven and just leave it in the oven overnight and the next day place it on a rack somewhere until dry.. 

I had one that lasted for 2 summers  until it got wet when it was on a window sill and the rain came through the open window.. 

Use them for centrepieces or on a shelf, basket or window sill.. 

Whatever turns your little prim crank... grin.. 

I am still working on the snowmen heads.. 

Hopefully, tomorrow I will get them put together.. 

I think I have enough for 3 gifts and one for me.. smile.. 

And then I thought I would show you a little kitchen tool that I found at the Thrift store.. 

A potato baker.. 

Such a lovely invention.. 

Cooks 3 good sized potatoes or 2 huge ones.. 

I wash them, dry them, roll them olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and bake for 45 minutes.. 

No oven.. 

Terry loved them.. 

Then we had another salad..

You girls probably think I do the same thing over and over.. 

But I love my salad and soup.. Sorry.. 

A new recipe for you that is divine... 

We loved it anyway.. 

Broiled Mustard Chicken.. 

4 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless..

In a small bowl mix up this marinade.. 

1 tsp. Dijon mustard or any good grainy one.. 

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. dried basil

2 T. soy sauce

a couple of chopped green onions.. 

Blend well .. 

Heat oven to 475 degrees F. 

Brush the marinade over 4 chicken breasts that you have patted dry with paper towel and placed on a lined grill pan .. 

Bake for 15 minutes per side until crispy brown.. 

 I used 2 bone in breasts and had to cook them longer.. 

Just use your judgement.. 

Very tender and tasty.. 

Just plain old country style comfort food.. 

Lovely for when your honey has worked outside in the cold all day... 

Well, my friends thank you so so much for dropping by and leaving your sweet wee notes.. 

Hope you all have an awesome evening.. 

Oh... 

I have to tell you something.. smile..

You know the Santa that I showed you last post that I am working on? 

Well, I sat him in the lazy boy before I went to bed the other night.. 

The next morning I came out and went right past it and made the coffee then headed for the sun room where I pray while the coffee is perking.. 

Anyway, after I finished praying I opened the French door to the kitchen and looked up and saw the Santa.. 

I thought some person was sitting there and I let this shriek out of me.. 

I scared Sammi half to death and he started barking like a crazy dog and poor Terry who was getting a few more winks woke up in a hurry... grin.. 

Such a perfect start to a day wouldn't you think...

Got us all moving, anyway...   

Just thought I would share that with you all.. grin...

Blessings..

LINKED TO...FARM GIRL FRIDAYS BLOG HOP...

ALSO LINKED TO... TEACH ME TUESDAYS...

Just working on some projects...

Good Evening, dear hearts.. 

Hope all is well with thee.. 

Another very cold day here in the Eastern Canada...

Terry went to the farm and I stayed home.. 

I am starting to get that overwhelmed feeling.. 

So many projects started and nothing finished.. 

We have been going up there so much that I am now lagging behind.. 

Well, that is my story and I am sticking to it.. grin.. 

I wanted to introduce you, though, to someone pretty special.. 

Please let it be known that I am not a dog person.. 

We have Sammi and of course I love him because ... 

Well.. just because.. 

But someday I would like a cat and chickens and 3 sheep.. 

Never mind... 

Anyway... Meet Charlie.. 

You have to admit that he is pretty cute..eh?

He is a Wrinkle Dog or some such thing.. 

Dustin received his Christmas present early from his girlfriend.. 

He is showing Sammi his wrinkles.. 

Poor Sam... He is wondering what I think of this guy.. 

Well, just so I don't bore you completely I will show you bits of my week.. 

Some homemade maple granola.. 

My friend who lives in St. Martins calls me a granola.. 

Or is it a granola want-to-be?  grin.. 

You all know what that means .. Right? 

If not just ask me and I will tell you.... smile... 

Here is a bag of things I bought this Summer at a yard sale or someplace like that..

What would you do with them?  

Here is what I did to them today.. 

Remember that they are only just started.. 

I will show you the finished project in a day or so, I hope.. 

Do I have your imagination going, I wonder.. 

Then here are some pieces of vintage quilt tops..

All tea dyed and ready to be turned into something for a gift.. 

Later, too.. 

Oh... 

This was just our salad.. 

Using my preserved lemons.. Yummy....

I talked about them HERE..

Remember, I mentioned that I had bought an old Santa at Thrift for three dollars...

He is humongous..grin.. 

Well, I tore off all of that fake stuff.. 

Eyes, brows, beard, etc.. 

And painted and sewed on a new face.. 

Glued on some sheep's wool...

Sprayed him with some homemade coffee dye..

Several coats actually.. 

Had to lay him on a chair and dry away..

He needs another coat before I go to bed.. 

To make a nice spray all I did was make some strong 

instant coffee and put several drops of my kindred spirit oil in it.. 

Put it in a spray bottle and spray away.. 

He smells good enough to hug.. grin.. 

We are not real Santa people.. 

Christmas is about Christ but there is a bit of a child in me that remembers the fun of my Dad teasing me and saying that Santa's elves lived in our attic.. smile.. 

Sweet memories.. 

And here is another dear little thrift store find... 

I know Suzanne or Paula will want these.. smile.. 

They went to the farm for my new shelf... 

And last but not least.. 

Another salad.. 

Did someone say the word diet around here.. 

Not with that real bacon and homemade croutons.. 

Yikes.. 

Well, my friends.. 

I am so glad you dropped by .. 

You are awesome and I thank you for your lovely comments and notes... 

I just love them... 

Going to town tomorrow and then to Bible Study so I will catch up with you again soon.. 

Take care and may you have joy and peace.. 

LINKED TO ... TEACH ME TUESDAYS..

ALSO LINKED TO...BARN HOP

A Keepers of the Home Meeting...

Hello my dears.. 

How are you? 

It certainly is a very cold day here in Eastern Canada.. 

Last week we just needed a sweater but today we need a Winter jacket..

 And the wind.. a bit fierce.. 

We did have a couple of nice windy rainy nights this weekend.. 

I went to bed real early... 

The window wide open and the curtain billowing out ... 

I propped up another pillow and stayed awake.. 

Listening, thinking, remembering, praying...

I felt shut in with God in a secret place..  

Have you ever done that? 

On Saturday morning we had our Keepers Meeting...

We had a really good turnout.. 

 Several special guests..

Susan's and Lindsay's Moms and Doris. Joanie and Elsie came especially for the party

Elsie gave each of us a homemade dishcloth and brought several bags of pine cones for us all to share.. 

Sweet ladies.. 

And...

I don't think they get much cuter than this, eh?

Our hostess, Lindsay's sweet children.. 

We included an Epicure party ...

Delicious treats and samples to taste along with lovely coffee, coffee cake, apple cake and biscuits and jam all made by the dear Keepers themselves..

We did not have time to make a craft so a little demonstration was done.. 

Lindsay will love this pic but it was too cute to not put on here.. 

Some easy paper crafts for the holidays..

Ideas from Pinterest.. 

Then Darlene did her thing.. 

A very interesting time... 

She knows her stuff.. smile.. 

Thank you, Darlene.. 

We loved your treats.. smile.. 

We also had a lesson about the HOME.. 

And the dear Keeper who is in charge of it..

What is expected of her as she tries to manage 

her home and family and most importantly to put her 

Lord in the middle of it all.... 

We had a few verses to write down for those kinda days when it seems like all is going wrong.. 

Sometimes things come against your home and tries to rob it of the joy.. 

But there is something you can depend on.. 

The Word of God.. 

Here are a few references for you.. 

These you can actually pray.. 

For your home ... Psalms 101

For your husband.. Ephesians 3:14-19

Insert his name.. 

For your children... Psalms 119-114 and 27:1-3

For your finances.. Psalms 37:25

For the protection of your dear family... Isaiah 43:2. Psalms 12:8

No matter what happens in this world.. 

Wars, strife,weather, economy, broken hearts and minds ..

Jesus Christ is the answer...

He gives you peace in your storm... 

Your home is the most important place on earth.. 

Pray for it .. 

Protect it.. 

Love it...

And always remember ..

God made the family first.. 

Thank you girls for such a lovely meeting ... 

And for your faithfulness.. 

We love you...

Thank you, dear hearts for dropping by.. 

Love having you all and so enjoy your sweet comments.. 

God bless.. 

Celebrating with our friends...

Good Evening everyone.. 

As promised I am back with pics of our day celebrating Thanksgiving with our American friends.. 

We traveled up to the farm and stopped to say hello to our neighbor.. 

He seemed to be having a great day.. smile..

Just mentioning that the weather is sure great this Fall.. 

Glad that the Canadian Thanksgiving is over for another year..

grin.. 

We arrived at the farm and Terry made the fire.. 

It was still warm from being there yesterday..

After putting the chicken in to roast I decided I had best get at the baking for our special dinner.. 

That old  lovely stove is always a bit too hot but it is all right.. 

I also put a cider cake in the oven and some corn bread.. 

Later in the day I set the table.. 

Just for the two of us.. 

Oh well, we had you guys in our thoughts and said a wee prayer for you all.. 

There was chicken,gravy,

 mashed potatoes, carrots, squash. cornbread, pickles and a bit of Canadian flair.. 

Fiddleheads with Butter..

Terry told me to tell you that.. grin... 

Here is the cider cake with cider sauce... 

Terry had the pie and I had a bit of this.. 

There is enough food left for a couple of meals and then a soup.. 

We really thought my Mom and Step-Father were coming up, too.. 

They were up yesterday and we must have tired them out.. 

smile.. 

Hope you all had a blessed day.. 

We did.. 

So thankful for this time together that we have, too.. 

God is good.. 

Hugs.. 

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HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING.....

Hello everyone.. 

Just wanted to wish my American friends a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day with their dear ones.. 

Terry and I have been to the farm for the last day or so ... 

We are now gathering up some Thanksgiving celebrating stuff to take out and have our own little Thanksgiving dinner along with you all.. 

My friends the Mayo family did the same for us Canadians when we celebrated so Terry and I thought we would do the same.. 

Terry has been working on the floor out there and today he is working again on the roof.. 

I am trying to redo that old Santa I told you about.. 

There are visions of organic chicken, cider cake, turnip casserole, mashed potatoes and ...... 

 I will try and get back to you tonight.. 

Have a blessed day, my dears.. 

Sending you hugs... 

Just a journal thing...

Good Evening my dears.. 

Hope you all had a blessed weekend.. 

We had a lovely Lord's Day and God was so faithful and blessed us with a touch of His presence.. 

Granting  us strength for the week ahead..

Thankful... 

This is just a short posting tonight.. 

Today I worked on getting ready for Keepers Meeting which is on this Saturday morning ... 

Trying out some new recipes, making up a few craft ideas, doing my lists , searching the Word... 

I don't like to show any pics of this as I like to surprise the girls... 

So, I will share today's work next week after the meeting.. 

The above pic was one I took when I was in my bedroom there in the last post.. 

These are two journals that I keep in my drawer in my night stand.. 

Do you know that I have kept a journal since I was 12 years old?  

A mighty long time... grin..

I did not write in it daily or even monthly ... 

Just every once in awhile..There is quite a pile of them.. 

It started out in just some plain paper folded like a notebook with some of my doodling to decorate it.. smile.. 

The one above is my latest.. 

Dustin gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago.. 

It holds triumphs and blessings.. 

And sadness and pain.. 

But most of all it holds joy... 

Joy that God gives because He is faithful that way.. 

Prayers asked and prayers answered.. 

Then the other Teddy Bear Journal is one that I started when our oldest grandson was born.. 

In it's pages are memories of our times together written down ..

Some little pieces of remembrances stuck here and there.. 

Pictures, cards, ribbons or whatever.. 

They are growing so quickly and I wish I had kept a better record ...

But it is just for me anyway... 

Do you keep a journal? 

What kind do you have?  

Just wondering.. 

Well, I must get to bed... 

I have a recipe in the crock pot that I need to check ... 

Get Terry's critique.. grin.. 

Have a blessed week my dears .. 

Thank you so much for your lovely words and visits.. 

Sending you all blessings.. 

Weekending...

Hello everyone... 

How is your weekend thus far? 

We have been having cool but lovely weather here in Eastern Canada... 

Yesterday about 3 o'clock Terry came in and told me to get ready and we would go for a drive and then out to supper.. 

Hurrah:-)

I didn't even have to ask... grin.. 

Anyway I thought I would show you a couple of pics of our drive...

Came across this lovely bunch...  

Two gorgeous donkeys and two handsome horses.. 

Lovely barns and sheds, too... 

Then of course a drive is not complete in Terry's mind until you go on some old back road... 

We had to drive for miles as there was not any place to turn around.. 

I mentioned that I did not like driving on old back roads this time of day in hunting season.. 

It is the tail end and the hunters are probably getting itchy fingers.. 

If you know what I mean.. grin.. 

Well.. 

Nothing to worry about the man says because we are driving in a red truck.. 

Now could you argue with that logic??.. grin.. 

Not me.. 

We did finally get turned around and continued on a nice drive...

Lots of beautiful farms on this drive and the view was awesome.. 

Way far to the right there is the Big Stop.. 

There we shall dine... smile.. 

Took a little side road first, though and got this lovely farm pic.. 

My friend grew up on this farm.. 

Then we had our Supper at the Big Stop.. 

It is just a family restaurant that you find here and there through the Maritimes of Canada.. 

Good food and a pretty good price.. 

We ran into some friends and had a great time catching up.. 

Today dawned nice and bright and cool..

Another puttering Saturday, I guess.. 

I have decided to clean a cupboard or two a day and surely I will have them done in time for the celebrations.. smile...

This is my white restaurant dishes cupboard.. 

Well, this is one side.. 

The other pic did not turn out but you get the drift... 

I did inside and my friend cleaned the outside..

It was so good to get the windows cleaned again.. 

He had painted a bit and is cleaning the paint off.. 

See how my green onions are growing.. 

It only took a few days, too.. 

This idea is all over Pinterest.. 

Just cut the roots of your bunch of green onions off and put them in a glass of water and they will regrow.. 

Then I needed to refill my lavender salt scrub.. 

The link for that is HERE..

I like having one by my sink in the kitchen as well as my bathroom.. 

This old marmalade jar makes a perfect container for it.. 

Then I decided to get my bedroom ready for Winter.. 

Last night I nearly perished in bed.. 

We have a water bed as I have mentioned before and it is warm but I had the window open a ways ..

 If it had not been for Terry I would have had to get up and put an extra blanket on..But he is like a furnace, thank the Lord..  

Although, in the night he was wondering where he could steal a duvet....

That man is so funny sometimes.. 

So... 

Today I changed the bed from this... 

To this... 

This cover is a king size so the duvet fits under it ... 

The colors are more for Winter, too.. 

I even dug out my little snowman pillow.. 

Elaine who is one of my blogging friends wanted this recipe... 

For Banana Bread.. 

This is from a book called AT THE TOMATO.. 

A famous cafe I believe located in British Columbia.. 

Her name is Diane Clement and I love her recipes.. 

Here it is.. 

Banana Bread 

2 large very ripe bananas

1 tsp. baking soda

5 T. buttermilk

 ( I always have powdered buttermilk in my pantry)

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/3 cups of flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1   8x5 inch bread tin  loaf pan, greased...

1.  Mash banana and add soda and buttermilk and stir.. 

Let sit... 

2.. Blend butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a bowl..

3..Sift flour and baking powder together.. 

4.. Mix all together just until blended.. 

350 degrees F. oven for 55 to 60 minutes.. 

I did not find it took mine that long to cook but that was probably because all I had at the farm was a larger bread tin and it was not so high.. 

Enjoy... 

As you can see here...

I did.. 

Just before I started writing this to you ladies..smile.. 

Hope you all have a blessed weekend.. 

Thanks for all of your kindness.. 

Dropping by and leaving your lovely notes.. 

Hugs... 

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day.. 

Psalms 122:1

I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord;."

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