Simple Storm Pleasures...

Hello everyone.. 

Well, we weathered the storm.. smile.. 

It was a big one, too but like all storms they do come to an end and usually the next day you wonder what all the excitement was about.. 

If all of our children were home and under our roof and Terry didn't work too far away then I would love a good storm.. 

I actually still do most times but our sons and son-in-law had to travel in it so I was glad when they were all home safe and sound.. 

When I went to bed last night and knew all of our children were home and little problems were looked after, I just laid there and thanked the Lord.. 

He answers prayers in so many situations every week, eh? 

So thankful to know the One who rules the storm.. 

Storm days seem to be kind of laid back here with just the two of us.. 

I made a big pot of soup and puttered around and did not accomplish too much, I am afraid.. 

Love having the fire going...

Please don't mind my messy hearth... 

I was trying to burn up all the greenery that I missed when I did the Christmas clean up.. smile.. 

I was visiting my Mom last week for a while.. 

The poor dear has the cold that is going around and didn't feel too good.. So, I went in and made her some chicken soup.. 

While I was there she gave me a lovely box of goodies.. 

Old doilies galore and vintage fabrics and an old Indian basket.. 

Sitting in front of the fire and going through the box was just a simple storm pleasure... smile.. 

There are enough blocks already cut out in it to make a small quilt, I think.. 

They smelled of the ages.. 

Do you know what I mean? 

I love stuff like that although heavens knows I don't need any more doilies or fabric but I just could not resist.. grin

Are you ladies like that? 

You know you don't need it but come on it was vintage.. 

Right??

This was the scene out of the family room window early on before the storm really got going.. 

The dear wee birds were feeding but when I went to take the pic they were gone.. 

I wonder where they stay, exactly, when the wind is howling like it was.. 

My friend, Pam did not like the wind but I must say it still was not too much for me.. 

I slept like a log both nights.. 

Mom also gave me this.. 

A beautiful old but tattered quilt.. 

Do you know the name of the pattern? 

I am not a quilter but a collector of quilts and do not care in what condition they are in.. 

I love them.. 

Terry made over an old wardrobe for me into a quilt cupboard and it is full.. 

Some of the quilts are kind of priceless in the fact that my dear Mother-in-Law made them or my Great Aunt Emily owned them..

There are a lot, though that are just old and tattered but were loved even before I picked them up..

I like making things with old quilts and my Mom attends an auction most weeks and gets me one every once in awhile for just a couple of dollars.. 

Pillows, table runners, lamp cloths, bags, and I even a Christmas tree skirt can be made from an old quilt.. 

Do you have any ideas to reuse them ? 

 I would love to hear from you.. 

Here is a little recipe for a ham glaze that we had for supper.. 

Maple Mustard Glaze for Ham

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1 T. apple cider vinegar

1 T. Dijon Mustard.. 

Whisk together and brush over ham or slices..

Then just cook your ham..  

We really enjoy this.. 

When we buy a ham on sale I usually cut off a few ham steaks before I end up roasting the rest a few days later.. 

Then I freeze the bone and a bit of the meat for some kind of soup in a week or two..

Don't want to get tired of it all at once.. smile.. 

I know a lot of the readers of the blog are from New England according to my stats and I was wondering how you did on your storm day... 

Did you lose your power? 

I was so glad that we didn't... 

We would be fine but I love having the power on. 

Also, a wee reminder for the Keepers of the Home ladies.. 

We are having a meeting this Friday night at 6:30 pm in the fellowship hall at the church.. 

A dear friend is going to teach us to knit a scarf in an hour on our arm.. 

No needles.. 

I can't wait to see how they turn out.. 

Also, Carmen who is from Romania is giving us a little info on herbs and such.. 

Oh.. 

And coffee.. Lots of coffee and something to go with it.. grin

If you are interested in attending and you can get to Salisbury please email me at houseofhenry@hotmail.com.. 

I will give you all of the details.. 

Looking forward to another meeting after all of the Christmas rush.. 

Thank you all for stopping by and I love your little notes you leave me.. 

Also, welcome to the new followers.. So glad to have you and to you have liked the Face Book page another sweet thank you.. 

Praying that God will bless your lives this week with love, joy and peace.. 

Take care of your sweet families and we will chat again soon.. 

Hugs.. 

Linking up with JES at HOMEMAKING MONDAYS..

AND featured there, too.. 

A little bit pantry...

Good Evening, my dears.. 

Here we are on a very stormy Saturday evening here in Eastern Canada... 

The snow and rain are coming down and the wind is up a bit.. 

And I guess there is more coming overnight.. 

Praying that everyone on the roads are safe.. 

Terry was up to the farm and he said the roads were horrid on the way home.. 

I was so glad to hear him come in.. 

The fire was going and supper was ready.. 

A rather healthy fish and chip... smile..

I so love fish and could eat it everyday almost.. 

To make it healthy, I just put a bit of butter in a pan and sprinkled the fillets with salt, pepper, parsley and some lemon juice.. 

And the chips were just a few potatoes that I coated with a bit of oil and kosher salt.. 

Sometimes, I add crushed garlic or rosemary.. 

We really enjoyed it along with a tossed salad ... 

Anyway...  

I did not accomplish much on my weekly to do list this week as I was down with the flu for about 3 days.. sigh.. 

Oh well.. All better, now.. 

I did putter away when I could and managed to get my pantry cleaned... 

Oh ... It feels so good to get this big job all finished.. 

It is not a big pantry like my friend's but I am so blessed to have it.. 

When we bought this house 30 years ago it was a kind of pantry with just shelves all the way around.. 

Several years ago I persuaded Terry to put in a work counter with wee shelves here and there for spices and measures and such.. 

I put my kitchen aid in there and it is so nice to make my mess in there.. 

Have you noticed there are two types of cooks.. 

Tidy ones and messy ones.. 

I, of course am a very tidy cook.. not... grin.. 

No, sorry to say I am very messy but not much is going to change after all these years.. smile.. 

So... 

I cleaned off the first shelf and put some blue there.. 

Makes it look a bit more old fashioned, I think.. 

It used to look like this.. 

Now it looks like this.. 

The pic is not too good as it was a dark day, today.. 

Much more organized and a bit prettier.. 

I love pretty as much as organized.. 

How about you?

Shonda gave me the lovely labels for Christmas along with a chalk pen .. 

I have lots of grains and such so they are all in bottles that I save and the labels make them easier to find..

I found this sweet little set of blue dishes at a thrift shop..

I have a little collection of Flow Blue that my Mom gave me from my great aunt but they are safely put away behind a glass door in a cupboard in the hall.. 

I love this little antique flour cannister.. 

Do you love old, vintage and antique?

Or are you more modern..  

Spice Box...

Basil that I grew myself.. 

Actually, there is a whole cupboard of mason jars with herbs that I have dried or whatever.. 

Not perfect but much better.. 

Pots all hang on the other side as dear hubby made me some hanging racks.. 

Home made Vinegars and such..

A set of measuring cups my dear mother-in-law gifted me with many years ago.. 

I still use them.. 

My love for all things UK... smile.. 

That container there holds my lentils.

A just bit of a pantry post.. 

My friend has such a wonderful one that I posted about HERE..

Rhonda at the Down to Earth blog had a pantry challenge but I was late reading about it and did not have time to do it correctly.. 

Just decided to do my own little one.. 

Hope you enjoyed it.. 

The last few years I have been trying lots of grains.. 

Millet, Bulgur, Wheat, Quinoa and such.. 

Terry is not much into this stuff so I just usually make salads and sprouts with them for myself..  

One of my new faves is Freekah but I must admit that so far the best one is Quinoa.. 

Love it.. 

Freekah has a lovely nutty flavor.. 

It is an ancient grain, I believe.. 

Anyway..

You put them in a frying pan with a teaspoon of oil and toast them a bit first.. 

Then you simmer them like you do Quinoa for 15 or 20 minutes.. 

Cool .. 

Then add veggies and your favorite salad dressing.. 

Lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and a herb or two.. 

Very nice lunch on a stormy day in front of the fire.. 

Oh and I love olives in it.. 

Tomatoes, green peppers, tomatoes, green onions and dressing.. 

Very very good for you.. smile.. 

Well, dear hearts that is all for tonight.. 

Hope you are having a great weekend and keeping safe.. 

Tomorrow is the Lord's Day.. 

I wonder what the storm will be like in the morning.. 

For now, though, I must get to bed.. 

The wind is blowing and my window will be open,.. 

Do  you open your window even in the Winter?  

Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to your sweet comments. 

Thanks, too , for liking the Face Book page.. 

And welcome to the new followers ..

So glad to have you.. 

Take care, my friends.. xo

Linked today with the Enchanting Rose Here..

Thank you for featuring the Blessed Hearth, Stephanie..

And also linked to Home Making Mondays...

A Foggy Drive ,,

Hello everyone.. 

How is your week going?  

Terry and I took a little tour on Monday..

 It was a very rainy, windy and foggy day ..

Most people love driving in the sunshine but me being a fowl weather lover, enjoy these kind of days when they come and love driving in the rain.. Always did.. smile..

So...

 I talked the dear man into taking me for a spin.. 

He wanted to check the basement for water at the old farm, anyway so we decided to take a little round about drive to get there.. 

With a couple of little Sprout Sandwiches (my fave, remember?) and a couple of macaroons we were on our way..  

Want to come with us?  

First, we stopped in a little town near us as Terry had to do an errand.. 

Main Street was not very busy but it was very wet.. 

Then we made another important stop.. smile.. 

Our famous Canadian coffee shop.. 

Tim Hortons.. 

Then we were away... 

There was a bit of snow left and the little byways were slushy... 

And some flooding.. 

This lovely place was almost an island unto itself.. 

But onwards and forward.. 

We headed to a place called Elgin.. 

A beautiful little village here in New Brunswick

Folks had their fires going .. 

Nothing like a wood fire to warm up a place and get rid of the dampness.. 

There are so many rivers and streams in Albert County.. 

And they were spreading over their banks.. 

A little walkway along the river..

Notice the bank of fog.. 

And the red dogwood... 

Farming country around about there.. 

Beautiful barns and old farm houses... 

A childhood friend of mine lives here.. 

Lovely, eh?  

And this took us back..

Flower power.. grin.. 

Fog as far as the eye can see.. 

The snow is almost gone from the fields.. 

Not that it will last.. 

It is cold here tonight and we still have a couple of months of Winter weather.. 

I am sure we will have much more snow... 

Now, we are headed to our old farm.. 

It was really foggy..

We are almost there.. 

Here is our brook... 

Running swift... 

And there is the old farm ... 

Our old getaway.. 

The lane was clear and we could get in.. 

Terry made a fire .. 

Just so the house knew we were there for a bit, anyway.. grin.. 

A lovely way to spend some time.. 

A rainy day, a little lunch and a country drive.. 

Simple blessings.. 

Now .. 

Homeward bound.. 

The lights are coming on and it is time to get back and make supper... 

I hope your enjoyed our little tour..

So thankful tonight for this time in our lives.. 

Blessed beyond measure.. 

Thank you, Lord...  

And thank you so much for your sweet visit and comments.. 

Praying you have a wonderful week... 

Hugs.. 

Psalms 147:7-8 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: 8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.