Celebration Dinner...

Hello everyone.. 

Hope you are all doing well... 

Just wanted to post some pics of our 44th Wedding Anniversary dinner as requested.. smile.. 

The first photo is what it looked like here in Maritime Canada on our anniversary day..  

These are the pics of the table..

Do you like the candle holders?

I bought these in Pa. a couple of years ago to sell in the shop. 

Someone came in and bought quite a few and told me that this is what she planned to do with them.. 

Needless to say I saved the rest for home here.. 

For a little centrepiece I took an old milk pitcher and put in a stem of hydrangea and put a little pip berry wreath on top.. 

We had a Caesar Salad first with homemade dressing... 

1/2 cup of mayo 

1/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup of Parmesan 

1/2 - 1 tsp. anchovy paste 

1 clove of garlic, chopped and smashed

squeeze of lemon 

pinch of red pepper flakes (opt.)

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together well and let sit for flavors to blend for a bit.. 

This is just a top of the head recipe I use.. 

You may want to add more or less of some of the ingredients.. 

And then we had Seafood Pasta for the main dish.. 

I had thought we would have some garlic bread but decided we didn't need it.. 

I made a dessert but we passed on that, too.. 

Our drink was Mountain Dew.. smile.. 

Next week we hope to go to a special place for our Celebration Dinner..  

Well, girls that is all for tonight.. 

We had Keepers of the Home today so I will try and post about it at the first of the week.. 

It was a great day.. 

Thanks so much for all of your kind wishes .. 

We appreciate them so much.. 

There was even a special phone call from our sweet friends the Mayo Family in Wisconsin.. 

Their blog is HERE..

Thanks so much for calling, Lori.. 

It made my day.. 

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day and we are having potluck after church so I need to go and make a dish.. 

They are calling for bad weather once again so we are praying that it will hold off.. 

Take care, dear hearts... 

Married 44 years today..

Good afternoon, dear hearts.. 

Today Terry and I are celebrating our 44th anniversary.. 

Can you imagine.. 

I think we must be old.. 

I remember when his parents were celebrating their 45th and I thought they were antique.. smile.. 

We are having a huge blizzard here in Maritime Canada.. 

The wind is fierce and you can't see across the street but it is warm and snug here inside.. 

All those years ago it was a rainy warm Spring day.. 

I was 17 and he was 20.. 

I woke up early and went and did some chores while my Mom and Terry's Mom prepared the food for our reception.. 

I think it was turkey and salads.. 

I remember taking Mom's car and picking up our wedding cake and how it almost fell over because as usual I was driving too fast. smile. 

My dress was simple but with lovely lace and I wore a wee veil over my bubbles.. 

Remember those?  grin.. 

And gorgeous pink roses... 

We were married at 7 p.m. on a Thursday evening.. 

The next day was Good Friday so we had a long weekend for our little honeymoon to Halifax, Nova Scotia.. 

It was rainy and windy.. 

It was and is still my favorite kind of weather.. smile.. 

My, how the years have flown.. 

 Today we feel so blessed to be together and enjoying our retirement years.. 

God has been so good to us.. 

He has blessed us with a wonderful family and love that has lasted down through the years.. 

We are having a lovely dinner here at home due to the weather.. 

We went to town this morning before the storm began and picked up a few things.. 

Lovely fresh scallops, shrimp, herbs and such to make my signature dish... smile.. 

Thank you for all of your lovely comments lately..

You girls are so sweet.. 

I will give you the recipe for the squares in the last post next time.. 

Ok? 

God bless you all... 

He is faithful.. 

It still seems like Winter here...

Good Evening everyone.. 

Just a little posting tonight.. 

We have had a couple of lovely days.. 

A bit mild during the day and then cold and windy nights.. 

Lots of icicles hanging around..

There is a big storm forecast for Wednesday.. 

That doesn't mean it will get here but it probably will.. 

You can feel the Spring in the air, though.. 

It has me in the housecleaning mode.. smile.. 

We had some sweet company the other day.. 

A few little visitors looking at books and eating cookies.. 

The dogs were up on the snowbank outside the window and would have loved to join us.. 

I knew they were coming so made a few sweeties .. 

Chocolate Macaroons... most kids love them.. 

And then my friend told me she made a pan of those squares so I had to, too.. smile.. 

Hello Dollies.. 

I took the picture of the old barn when we were on our way to the city last week.. 

I wonder if she accepted.. smile.. 

My dear Mom is turning 80 on her birthday next month.. 

We could all get together this past weekend so we did.. 

All 17 of us.. 

She had a great time..

I will post a few more pics on her actual birthday which is

 April 15.. 

Are you ladies in the Spring cleaning phase yet? 

It is not the same as it used to be, eh? 

I do want to clean some closets and drawers.. 

Take down curtains and hang them out.

That kind of stuff... 

Well, dear ladies sorry for the short post but to be honest I have a weird flu.. 

I feel much better today but have times of being so dizzy.. ugggh.. 

Thanks so much for your visits and comments.. 

So appreciate you all.. 

Ya all rock.. smile.. 

God bless..

Last day of Winter Field Trip in Rural Canada..

Hello everyone.. 

Just thought you might like to take a little field trip with us as we went for a little drive along some rural country roads here in Eastern Canada on our last day of Winter.. 

The sun was out and beautiful and the temps were not too bad.. 

As you can see we still have a lot of snow and nights are cold.  

You can feel the Spring trying to show it's lovely face but Winter is still holding on very tightly.. smile.. 

We Canadians are used to this type of weather but I think we are yearning for warm winds and bare fields.. 

All in due time I guess.. 

A lot of farm animals were out and enjoying feeding in the afternoon sunshine.. 

My two favorites are in the first picture, of course.. 

You no doubt remember how I would love to have just one donkey.. 

And 3 sheep, 6 chickens, a couple of ducks and geese... 

Oh well.. 

We dropped by and visited with one of Terry's friends and had a great chat with him.. 

He thought we had the life.. 

Driving around in our truck and drinking coffee and taking pictures.. grin.. 

He farms on the side and really enjoys it .. 

I can understand why... smile.. 

The area is beautiful in any season and a drive we take verily often.. 

It was such a treat to see those hundreds of wild ducks in the farmer's corn field.. 

They have been there for ages.. 

I think they are all mixed up about when they should return home.. 

Then we saw a wild peasant.. So pretty.. 

We arrived back home and enjoyed some homemade soup that I found HERE..

We were into the Walmart and they had watercress.. 

I was so excited because the supermarkets here never carry it.. 

The soup was simply delicious.. 

If you can't find watercress then you could use arugula... 

Terry even loved it.. 

Well, that is all for now my friends.. 

I can't help but notice that there is a significant slack not only in the readers but also in us who post the blogs.. 

I think Face Book is taking over people's time instead of blogging.. 

I find it kind of sad as I do not enjoy FB at all and only go on occasionally although dear hubby enjoys it very much.. smile.. 

Thank you so much for your faithfulness in reading and commenting.. 

I enjoy having you and will continue for as long as I keep getting readers and comments, Lord willing.. 

Take care and God bless.. 

A Sunday Night Supper..

Good Morning, dear hearts.. 

What a beautiful day here in Eastern Canada.. 

Did you notice the deer in the blue dawn of the morning??.. 

The one with the injured leg is there that I posted about HERE... .. 

He is doing fine although his leg is stiff from the ankle down.. 

His friends left him once but came back for him while he finished eating something out there.. Must have been apples.. smile.. 

He finally left with them.. 

I think he winked at me on his way past the window.. grin.. 

Just posting our Sunday night Supper.. 

Notice my new wee gravy boats from the Thrift store.. 

Along with a couple of Wedgwood type glasses.. 

Supper was grilled chops, mashed potatoes, gravy, my homemade sauerkraut, salad and a parsley dressing.. 

Dessert was Pumpkin and Raisin Cake with Caramel Icing.. 

 Here is the recipe for the cake.. 

It is from my Mennonite cookbook.. 

More Food That Really Schmecks.. 

Edna Staebler from 1979.

It is a St. Patrick's  day dessert she says.. 

Laurie Bennett's Pumpkin Ring.. 

1/3 cup of shortening 

1 1/3 cups of sugar 

1 egg

1 cup of pumpkin 

1 2/3 cup of cake flour 

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. soda 

3/4 tsp. salt 

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. clovcs

1/3 cup water 

1/3 cup chopped nuts

2/3 cup raisins.. 

Cream the shortening and sugar.. Stir in egg and pumpkin.. Mix together the dry ingredients and add alternately with water. Stir nuts and raisins in by hand.. (I just used a cup of raisins) ..

Pour into a greased tube pan and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 to 50 minutes.. 

She says this cake is as light as an Irish Mist.. 

The Irish in me loves that.. grin.. 

Now.. 

The icing was out of this world  good... 

When we were across to Maine last month I picked up a little package that you add to icing... 

It was made by you know the cake mixes that start with a D. 

Sorry, I can't remember.. smile.. 

Anyway, I just mixed up a batch of icing and added it.. 

Terry loved it so I had to hide the cake... grin..

This is a short post.. 

I made a nice long one last night and lost the whole thing.. 

I couldn't get it to publish so left the page and it disappeared.. 

So annoying.. 

Oh well... 

Here is the short version and I will try to do another tomorrow.. 

How is that? 

Thanks for visiting my friends and thank you for your lovely comments and emails.. 

So appreciate them.. 

When a blogger gets comments then they think they had better do another posting..smile

So happy you liked Faye's pantry.. 

We will try to do another one when she prepares it for Spring.. 

We had to postpone our Keepers Meeting due to weather but will do it hopefully in 2 weeks.. 

God bless.

A Lovely Old Fashioned Pantry Tour..

Good Evening everyone.. 

Here is the pantry post as promised.. smile.. 

As you know this pantry belongs to a friend of mine and it is glorious.. 

It is truly an old fashioned one.. 

From the lace curtains to the hanging bunch of dill... 

I love a window in the pantry, don't you? 

Notice the hanging ladle and pudding tins.. 

And here is a sweet little violet cup and muffin tins.. 

A lovely Pyrex measuring cup.. 

She loves baking and this pantry is well equipped.. 

There are lots of old china showcased on the shelves here and there.. 

I love these old tins, eh? 

Lots of old jars are filled with baking supplies.. 

An antique grinder is hanging off of a shelf, too.. 

She (her name is Faye.. nice name, eh? grin ) has several mixing machines.. 

Lots of Pyrex refrigerator dishes, mason jars, covered vegetable bowls and even a garlic saver.. 

At the end there are antique platters lining the top shelf.. 

Spice jars and all kinds of baking supplies.. 

 Then there are homemade vinegar and lots of jars to make even more.. 

I think this is a Rosemary Vinegar.. 

A sweet little cupboard with beveled glass.. 

And an antique coffee grinder.. 

This is my favorite part...

An old bread board and rolling pin.. 

Faye made her Rhubarb Custard Pie there before we arrived.. 

Then this lovely old buffet is filled with linens and such.. 

Another little cupboard and violet china pieces.. 

She has a violet collection.. 

I love violet dishes, too.. 

This cupboard was a wonderful yard sale find.. 

Filled with vintage collectibles.. 

Hanging in the window is a jute string with dried fruit .. 

Faye saves her onion skins and puts them in these cheesecloth bags to put in with her roasts and chickens to help with the flavor or puts one in her soup to give it a darker color.. 

This is a hint she found from the 1800's kitchens..

Well, dear ladies I hope you enjoyed this.. 

I appreciate Faye letting me share this with you all.. 

We laughed so hard together on the phone when she informed me that the post on her house was the best post I have done.. 

Grin... 

Hope you are all enjoying your homes and families.. 

The cozy Winter evenings will soon be over here in Eastern Canada.. 

We had quite a storm overnight and today.. 

But soon Spring will raise her lovely head and there will be fresh new scents and bird song.. 

I am getting ready for our Keepers of the Home meeting 

in Salisbury on Saturday morning at 9 am.. 

We would love to invite you if you live nearby.. 

Just email me and we can give you the info... 

Thanks for visiting and your lovely comments.. 

May God bless you and keep you ...

Invited out to Supper...

Good Evening my dears.. 

This pic above is what our weather is like tonight.. 

We spent the day in the city and the snow didn't really amount to much just a bit messy at the end of the day. 

They are forecasting a big storm for tomorrow but who knows? 

Just typical March weather here in our part of the world.. 

I am sharing some pics with you of a lovely visit we had with friends the other day..

When we walked in their home it was so warm and welcoming.. 

Their dog was excited to see us and the food smelled delicious.. 

The first thing I did was to haul out my camera.. 

She gave me permission.. grin.. 

It was a wonderful meal and the fellowship was sweet..

The table was set with chicken dishes.. 

Just right for a country style meal..  

Beef and Barley Soup. 

Homemade Rolls. 

Mushroom Salad and Bacon Wrapped Chestnuts.. 

Rhubarb Custard Pie and lovely hot tea made and served up by their dear daughte.. 

Such a wonderful treat to be invited out for supper.. 

Thanks you, friends.. 

I love their home.. 

It is a log house and full of things that a log house should have as you can see.. 

A stove which I try so hard not to covet... smile.. 

Then lots of plants which inspired me to bring some of mine out from the sunroom and spread around here in the kitchen and family room... smile.. 

They make a home seem so homey.. 

Then there are pelts here and there.. 

He is an avid hunter.. 

And...

Books books everywhere.. 

What more can I say.. I love that.. 

They are piled everywhere but not out of place at all.. 

Then there is the Pantry.. 

It is a dream of a pantry believe me.. 

Full of antique dishes, tinware, jars and kitchen tools and so much more.. 

I am planning on doing a separate post on that room as it is so full of wonderful array of past and present... 

We had a wonderful evening and we enjoyed it so much.. 

God has blessed us with wonderful friends and we are thankful.. 

Thank you for your visit ... 

So appreciate your faithfulness.. 

Take care dear hearts..