These lovely Summer days..

Good Evening all.. 

It is a very rainy one here by the Bay of Fundy tonight.. 

So cozy, though.. 

I am posting a few pics of our days here at the cottage .. 

We are in the process of closing our shop..

This is our final season and we have been having fun selling everything mostly at 50 percent off.. 

I should have put that sign up years ago.. grin.. 

I would not have made much money but at least it brings in the people.. smile.. 

The shop is only opened 3 afternoons a week, too so I am enjoying my Summer much more.. 

I am just tired of it all.. 

We did the craft shows for 20 years and the shop is in it's 8th year so I believe I have paid my dues.. smile.. 

I have not been making anything much to add to the shop except for a bit of jam..

 Strawberry and Rhubarb.. 

The other day I started the gift tags in the above photo and they look like they will turn out all right.. 

I also am making Room Sprays and a few bars of soaps... 

Here at the cottage I started my Four Thieves Salad Dressing.. 

Kind of interesting, eh? 

You make this vinegar mixture and let it sit on a sunny window sill for a couple of weeks.. 

Then you add some oil and make a salad dressing.. 

Four Thieves Salad Dressing.. 

1/4 cup of lavender buds (organic)

1/4 cup of sage, chopped

1/4 cup of rosemary, chopped

1/4 cup of thyme, chopped.. 

Place the herbs in a sterilized jar and cover with 2 cups of barely warmed Apple Cider vinegar.. 

Place on a sunny window sill for 10 days or so.. 

Strain through a cheese cloth .. 

It can make a vinaigrette for salad, cucumbers, greens or such..

Use 3 or 4 parts good oil to 1 part vinegar.. 

You can add more oil or less according to your tastes.. 

A crushed clove of garlic and salt and pepper is also tasty.. 

  

 I am trying to root some lemon thyme.. 

Mint will root very well.. 

We shall see..  

Here is something we had as a side dish for Supper.. 

They are a delicacy that we have growing here on the marshes up around home.. 

They are called Samphire Greens and if you have followed my blog you know that each Summer I go on and on about them.. smile.. 

They are that delicious.. 

In the small bowl are the stems.. 

You pull the greens off with your fingers and the little branch thing is left.. 

They belong to the Sea Weed family and are a bit salty marshy taste.. 

Do you know what I mean? lol.. 

A picture I took over on Mac's Hill the other evening.. 

See the church there below the fog?

Pretty.. 

We had Old Home Week here in St. Martins.. 

Last week my Mom and her husband had tables set up for Yard Sale day.. 

Mom is in the rocking chair and Gerald is packing up.. 

Can you imagine doing that at 84 and 80? 

They bring the trailer all the way from Moncton each Summer and sell all kinds of stuff.. 

Keeps them young, I think.. 

There was a parade and such on Saturday past and there were so many people around.. 

Very good selling week for the shop.. 

Thank you, Lord.. 

On Sunday we attended church and were so blessed to hear

The Louisiana All State Youth choir.. 

They were doing a tour and stopped in St. John.. 

Then last evening we went home and attended our precious church and heard a wonderful young pastor and singer Kent Carter... 

A very blessed day..

  

It was so lovely today just to putter around here at the cottage.. 

 Cleaning the fridge and pantry, making a Tuscan bean Soup, hanging up a new curtain on the French door, cleaning drawers and such,  making supper and doing the dishes.. 

Ordinary things on an ordinary day.. 

Well, dear hearts thanks once again for your visit.. 

Summer is such a busy time so I appreciate your effort.. 

As always, though, I look so forward to hearing from you..

I love your emails, too .. 

They give me such encouragement to keep on blogging.. smile.. 

God bless.. 

Grandma Love...

Hello everyone... 

Thanks for dropping by for a little visit to the Blessed Hearth today.. 

The last week has been pretty busy here by the Bay of Fundy.. 

We are having OLD HOME WEEK in St. Martins and all.. 

Mostly, though the important thing for Terry and I is that we had 5 of our lovely grandsons here for a couple of days.. 

I know that everyone thinks their own are the best and we are not any different.. smile.. 

We enjoyed their company so much.. 

They are such fun!! 

I have always loved teenagers and when our 3 kids were growing up I always loved having them and their friends around.. 

And we love having these ones around.. 

I enjoyed feeding them, too.. 

One of them likes to cook so we made some pasta and salad and fudge and squares and ..... 

Well, you can imagine... 

smile..

We just think they are so funny and they kept us laughing .. 

I was saying to Tammy (our daughter-in-law) that it was just a few years ago and they all fit on the sofa.. 

Now they just fill the whole living room.. 

They are so tall and big.. 

I know I am going on and on.. 

I am sorry.. sort of.. grin..

We missed the two wee guys, though.. 

They are on their way to Montreal on Via Rail and having a wonderful vacation.. 

We are praying that they have a great time and they will get down later.. 

The lads are hoping to have another night before we go back home for the Fall and so hopefully they will be able to join them.. 

We had several wonderful discussions and I am so thankful to the Lord for their walk with God.. 

They were saying how they have figured it out and they have come to their own realization that Jesus Christ is real and alive.. 

How they know that there is only one God and the difference He makes in their lives.. 

It so blessed my soul and I am thankful for the amazing grace of God that has been with this family down through the years.. 

A way back in 1957 when my dear Dad gave his heart and life to the Lord and today four generations later that same God is just as real and just as true as He was back then.. 

I know that these boys will go through some tough times and that there are many decisions that they will have to make in their futures.. 

But I can put my trust and my faith in God that He will see them through.. 

Meanwhile, we are having some great weather here although I can kind of feel a speck of Fall in the air .... 

I should not even say that yet, eh? 

Summer is so short here in Canada but we are enjoying our days here by the sea.. 

Hope all is going well in your Summer.. 

Take care, dear hearts and thanks again for the visit.. 

Love love your comments and read each one and every email.. 

Blessings... 

Oh, I know some of you like recipes so here is the one for the bars.. 

Crunchy Bars.. 

****(warning... very full of calories)

1 cup of white sugar

1 cup of corn syrup.. 

Place in a dutch oven size pot and just heat until sugar is melted..

Take off of the heat...

Then add 1 cup of peanut butter and stir well.. 

Add 6 cups of rice krispies.. 

Stir until well coated and pat into a 9 x 13 size pan.. 

In a bowl melt 1 package of butterscotch chips and 1 package of semi sweet chocolate chips and 1 T. butter..

I do this in the microwave for about 2 minutes.. 

Stir well and make sure they are all melted.. 

Spread over the mixture and set aside for several hours.. 

These are delicious but as you can see very sweet.. 

The kids loved them, of course.. 

xo

This Week in my Kitchen...

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth today.. 

Once again I am participating in Heather's 

THIS WEEK IN MY KITCHEN BLOG HOP

I am once again cooking in our Summer cottage kitchen by the Bay of Fundy... 

my summer kitchen...

Lobster Chowder

Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing

A lovely gift from a neighbor..

Bay of Fundy Lobsters.. the best in the world...

Making more Rhubarb and Pineapple Jams..

Worktable with homemade jams...

Making some cookies.. 

Banana and Bran Breakfast Cookies..

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

1/2 cup butter or margarine at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup ripe banana mashed

1 cup cereal corn flakes or other types I used bran because I didn't have corn flakes ..

1/2 cup raisins

Beat butter and sugar till creamy with mixer or wooden spoon. Mix egg and bananas. Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. 
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture with a wooden spoon. Add slightly crushed cereal and raisins, mix well till everything is blended.

Drop tablespoonful on a greased baking sheet 2" apart. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 13 minutes, until it is golden brown and the bottom of the cookies are done. 
The middle of the cookie will be like a cake, test with a skewer inserted in the middle to be sure. Don't over bake.

Remove from the oven and keep the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then remove and cool in a wire rack. 

Seafood again.. 

Pasta with Mussels and Basil..

Strawberry Season here in the Maritimes of Canada..

Over 40 bottles of jam made... Yummy...

My favorite Summer Cordial... Lemon... 

Here is my recipe...Here...

A great standby... 

Olive Oil Oven Fries.. 

The new potatoes are now available so the old potatoes are the only ones that make great fries... 

Right?  

With sea salt and a squeeze of lemon... 

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Hope you enjoyed this little blog hop.. I realize it is not to everyone's taste.. (no pun intended.. grin) but will try and do it every couple of weeks.. 

Thanks for visiting and your sweet comments.. 

God bless.. 

From Here to There and Back Again...

Happy Monday everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth tonight.. 

Last week we went home for a quick visit.. We had to do a bit of laundry as we have no facilitates here at the cottage and then there is the never ending round of lawns for Terry to do.. 

Sometimes, I think people feel sorry for us and think we are in over our heads trying to keep these place afloat but I am telling the truth when I say we enjoy it even if it is work.. 

What else is there to do if you are retired?.. 

I know some folks enjoy travelling or golf or shopping.. 

That is great but for us two oldies we love getting in the truck and heading to one of the places and enjoying our time together.. 

Hopefully, it will keep us on our toes and they will stay flexible.. 

At least Terry's will.. grin.. 

The lovely geese above live at a farm near our house and I so love to look for them each time we pass.. 

Aren't they gorgeous?  

Then on the way to the farm we passed this old abandoned house.. 

Darling Moss Roses.. 

Don't you love them? 

They have just filled the yard with their glory and they have created a place of beauty.. 

At home Terry has these ones growing down the drive.. 

Nothing so lovely as a Summer rose.. 

Did someone say that once?? smile.. 

When we arrived at the farm to check it out and for Terry to mow lawns we found the new pasture fence and gates are in..

As we do not live at the farm and only enjoy it whenever we or our boys can get there we have no need for the pasture land.. 

A farmer wanted to use it so we agreed..

I was inside tidying up a bit and looked out and saw him.. 

Leaning on the fence.. 

Probably, like he did when he was a kid at home.. 

He grew up on a farm you know.. 

Anyway, I expect his thoughts were a little different now then they used to be.. 

I expect he were wishing that those were his cows and hmmm... wonder how much on the hoof???  LOL.. 

Just kidding.. 

We really like having them there.. 

Makes it like a real honest to goodness farm.. 

Well, tonight we are back at the cottage here in St. Martins.. 

The waves today were awesome although I didn't get a picture ... 

I just sat on a rock for awhile .. 

So thankful for the beauty we enjoy in this old world.. 

Our God is a wonderful Creator and just to think 

He knows my name.. 

He knows my every thought.. 

He sees each tear that falls

And hears me when I call ..

Click to hear this beautiful song.. 

I HAVE A MAKER...

Just some stuff I have been reading.. 

Nothing too deep.. smile.. 

It was rainy this morning so a cup of soup tastes pretty good.. 

Cleared up in the afternoon, though.. 

Our dear daughter and family have returned home from Florida safe and sound.. 

Thank the Lord.. 

Here is a little pic I came across of her in downtown Disney.. 

She is pretty happy that they now have a Starbucks.. 

Doesn't take much to please the gal, eh? grin.. 

Well, must go.. 

Terry just called and he will be home in an hour so I need to make him some Supper.. 

Mmmmmm.. 

Not sure what, though.. 

Have a great night everyone.. 

Thanks for your visit and look forward to hearing from you all.. 

God bless... 

The purple days of Summer...

Good Evening my dears.. 

Hope all is well with you.. 

We here in Eastern Canada are trying to get over the storm Arthur.. 

He sure wrecked havoc on our poor landscape.. 

Thousands of trees are down and still thousands of people without hydro.. 

We were so blessed to keep our hydro and trees but others were not so fortunate.. 

Praying that their power comes on soon.. 

One of the saddest things I heard was that my most favorite place in New Brunswick which is Kings Landing has suffered terrible losses and will be closed for who knows how long.. 

Anyway.. 

I just posted some pics of some of God's beautiful artistry .. 

We went for a little drive out Tynemouth Creek way and came across this lovely patch of Blue Flags although they are really purple.. 

So gorgeous..

Farmers are making their hay and the scent in the air is simply beautiful..

We have an old bedroom here in the cottage for our Summer guests which is purple.. 

Every year I think I should change it up a bit but all these years later and it is still purple.. smile.. 

A couple of years after we had bought the old cottage the youngest child of the first owners dropped by for a visit and told me that this room used to be her parent's room .. 

At the foot of the bed is a portrait of one of her older sisters who was raised in this house.. 

The people at the museum called me and informed me that I could buy it if I liked and of course, I did.. 

So sweet to think that even though she is gone her picture is still hanging in her parent's old room, eh? 

The dear lady was Pauline and she was in her eighties then.. 

Since then she has gone on but I still remember that visit with a smile.. 

The last pic is of my sweet husband who is always ready to jump out and pick me a bouquet.. smile.. 

We keep a pair of scissors in each vehicle just in case.. grin.. 

Thank you my sweeties for stopping by during these busy months.. 

I know I am not doing a great job in keeping my promise to blog better so please forgive me.. 

Tomorrow the shop is opened again for 3 days so hopefully it will be busy.. 

Had some lovely visitors who read the blog and stopped by.. 

It is so nice to meet you all.. 

I have some Rhubarb Jams made for those who are interested.. 

For as long as they last anyway.. 

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you all.. smile.. 

Hugs form St. Martins..