Monday Bliss...

Hello there dear hearts.. 

A little late at posting on this Monday.. 

Better late then not at all, though, I hope.. 

We are looking for a snow storm tomorrow but the last few days we have not had any snow at all and lots of rain.. 

It has been a great January, I am thinking.. smile..

Hope you enjoy the pics that I gathered from here and there on the web.. They struck my fancy in different ways..

Turned my crank, shall we say.. grin.. 

Love the chickens above and am dreaming of having a few of these lovelies come summer back up at the old farm..  

  

I found this poem the other day and loved it as I love the wind.. (as you all know) smile.. 

It is from the 

Owl Poet.. 

The January winds are wolves
That scratch against your door.
They howl, and bite, and hunger, too,
And always want for more.

The winds of February pulse
With snaps of brutal cold.
The warmth of passion tempers them,
Even when bones grow old.

The winds of March are bluster-filled
And well-infused with rain.
They roar like lions in the sky
With roiling clouds for manes.

The April winds are playful things –
They coax out all the flowers.
They bring the world to life again
With subtle verdant showers.

The winds of May are soft and sweet,
With summer on the way.
The breezes rich with promises
Of many a warm day.

June’s winds are glory-filled and hot –
Resplendent in their heat.
They burn and crackle, drying out
The grass beneath your feet.

July’s winds spark with thunderstorms,
And lightning lights each cloud.
Most anyone will stand in awe
When these winds cry aloud.

The August winds are southerly –
All sticky-sweet and lazy.
They’re sultry as a lover’s kiss
And make your vision hazy.

September’s winds are teasing things –
They change from day to day.
Within a moment summer’s heat
Fall’s chill will chase away.

October’s winds are eerie beasts,
All haunting, hunting things.
They send a shiver down your spine,
And fly on black-plumed wings.

November’s winds are chill, and gray,
Their breath with dead leaves choked.
And full of all things bittersweet,
Sewn through with candle smoke.

December winds are bitter-black,
And crystallized with snow.
The bare-boned trees like frozen iron
All dance when these winds blow.

Of all the months and all the winds
That come throughout the year,
I love them all so differently,
And hold them all so dear.

~ Nov. 11th, 2016

Take care dear hearts and have a great week.. 

I will try to post again soon.. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.. 

God bless.. 

xo

Another week in January...

Good Evening my dears.. 

Hope you had a great weekend.. 

Another week has rolled past in January.. 

I think the days seem longer, don't you?  

I am so enjoying this month.. 

The storms have not been horrendous yet and I love the evenings.. 

During the summer my husband does not know enough to come inside.. He is out there until after dark most days working and it makes me feel guilty being inside and not accomplishing much.. 

The winter is different because we have supper and then just relax.. 

I can enjoy myself because there is no guilt.. lol... 

Anyway, during the day I do try to accomplish a few chores and January always means marmalade.. 

Clementine Marmalade.. 

It takes a bit of fussing but it is worth the effort.. 

The recipe is HERE..

Then the other day I did this fun thing.. 

When I had my shop I made up some lights with little homespun rags tied between them.. I found them and decided they would provide some extra light for reading when I go to bed.. 

Love them.. 

Then as always we have soup... 

Home made turkey stock and lots of veggies.. 

The summer savoury isn't added yet.. 

Soooo good!! 

We here in New Brunswick have had some beautiful days.. 

Lovely light white snow along with some lovely sunny days.. 

So pretty.. 

I finally finished my little owl bunting.. 

Just a little touch of homemade for the winter.. 

I know it is kind of simple but with the lights it is a nice change during the evenings.. 

This hangs on the edge of the mantel.. 

Another little owl.. 

I made this a year or two ago.. 

On with the show.. smile.. 

The last while I have been trying to perfect a few basic recipes.. 

This was this weeks project.. 

Scones.. 

Let's say that I am getting there.. 

Just a few more tries... smile.. 

Sunday night supper.. 

We are so enjoying the canned green beans and mustard pickles.. 

Trying to make sure we are using up the food we put up for Winter.. 

And then there is Charlie.. 

Penny was asking about Charlie.. He is doing fine.. 

Thank you for asking, dear.. 

He goes with us where ever we go.. 

He seems to know we are going away before we do.. 

We go get ready and when we come into the Family Room he is prancing around waiting.. grin.. 

He's a good dog.. No, really!!  

Trevor was here with Joel yesterday.. 

They had been to the woodlot and dropped by.. 

Trev does everything he can to make friends with Charlie but no hope.. 

The dear lad just smiles when Charlie growls and chews at him and says he is a good dog!  

I think I would give up but he just keeps trying.. smile.. 

I had just taken a banana bread out of the oven and they had no breakfast or lunch.. 

So.. we fried up some eggs and instead of toast they had banana bread.. smile.. 

Love having the kids drop by.. 

Life is good..

And God is good.. 

All of the time..  

Take care my friends and thanks so much for your visit.. 

Oh here is the link for the banana bread.. 

So fast and so easy.. 

I posted about making the bread Here..

God bless.. xo

January days...

Hello everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth today.. 

For the last while every Monday morning I post pics from the web to help start our week on a note of inspiration.. smile.. 

Today I am just doing a regular post.. 

When I started the blog I said that it would just be about the happenings in our daily lives.. 

Nothing marvellous... Just the ordinary... 

Boring a lot of the times but hopefully it will sometimes touch you in some way... 

So here we go with what we have been doing.. 

A few afternoons last week I sat at the kitchen table and did a bit of crafting.. 

I burnt my new Patchouli candle that our son sent me from out west and played my new CD ... 

I love Gospel music but sometimes I enjoy a bit of something else.. 

Norah Jones was introduced to me by my sweet friend and I really enjoy the two CDs I have of her.. I ordered it from Amazon and I think the name is... Feels like Home.. 

The wind was howling outside and I could see the trees swaying outside the window.. 

It was nice and cozy inside, though..  

This is not finished yet but hopefully this week it will get done.. 

It is an owl bunting.. 

Picture button eyes, embroidered nose and it all sewed together and hung on a rope.. smile.. 

I did get my new 2018 calendar seen to... 

Remember how I love the British Country Living calendars but feel like I don't want to pay so much for one.  So, I just cut out the pics from their magazines and make one of my own.. 

I posted about making it HERE..

Someday they are going to hear about my thrift and send me one.. grin.. 

As you know I love herbs and still grow them through the Winter.. 

I just love seeing them growing on the kitchen window sill and snip a piece of them here and there to use.. 

I have 5 herbs but didn't have matching pots.. 

I use a lot of copper here in the kitchen.. I found these hard plastic pots at the dollar store and Terry is going to spray them with copper paint this week, I hope.. 

Then I will replant them all... 

What are some things you do for projects through the Winter months? 

And of course I read... 

Everyday.. 

All different types of literature.. 

These came from Amazon along with my CD.. 

I hope to do a couple of the projects in the Homesteading book and Forsaking All Others is a second book in a series .. 

I loved the first one and found it so interesting.. I could not find the second at the store so ordered it on line.. 

And the other is A Lantern in Her Hand and is an old book but a lovely one.. 

What are you all reading?  

I love cookbooks, too and find them almost as fascinating as anything else.. 

We took a drive out to the farm on the rainy day as we thought we could get down the lane... 

The snow was almost gone and we got right up to the door.. 

I dug around in the cookbooks and brought home one on Wood Stove cooking.. 

We don't have a wood stove here but still great recipes.. 

We do have a wood furnace, though.. 

That night it just poured rain so when we got up Saturday morning we decided to go for a drive and see a bit of the flooding..

We bought our coffee first, of course.. smile..

This is the Petitcodiac River. 

Crazy, eh?  

It has flooded all over New Brunswick and then last night there was a flash freeze.. 

Normally, we would call this a January thaw as there is not a speck of snow left and it was so mild for a day but the damage it caused is a shame.. 

We are on high ground here and not near any body of water so we were fine.. 

Praying for all those people who had to leave their homes... 

Every winter I grow sprouts as you probably remember.. 

I think I post the same stuff every year.. 

Sorry... 

But the sandwich is new.. grin.. 

Naan bread for sandwiches.. 

This one has Arugula,  Onion Sprouts, a slice of ham, shaved cucumbers and Aioli 

I love the Naan bread in the sandwich size.. 

Do you like Aioli?  

We love it and use it often on sandwiches.. 

Even Terry likes this ... 

Here is the recipe.. 

Aioli 

2 garlic cloves, pressed 

1/4 tsp. kosher salt.

1/2 cup of mayonnaise

2 T. olive oil or Canola

1 T. fresh lemon juice

freshly ground pepper

Mash garlic and salt in a small bowl until a paste forms. Whisk in mayo, oil, lemon juice and pepper.. 

Cover and chill.. 

 alemon juice. Season with salt and peppe

I also brought this little copper lamp from the farm and put it on my kitchen hutch.. 

I find lamp light so cozy these long evenings so I am digging a few out and placing them here and there.. 

As I was taking a pic of my books I noticed this sitting on the table.. 

It is hard to tell what it is from the pic but there is a little story here that I will tell you.. (excuse my sentimental mind) smile.. 

Anyway... 

About three years ago on Mother's Day our youngest son came to visit us.. 

He gave me a card and asked his Dad where the hammer was.. 

Then he went outside for a bit while I was cooking his favourite fried rice.. 

Later when he hugged me good bye he said I would find my Mother's Day gift later.. 

I just smiled and wondered what he meant.. 

Later on I went into our room and I heard a wind chime jangle.. 

Looking outside of our bedroom window I saw a hook with a wind chime hanging from it..  

He had hung it there for me to listen to when I am in bed.. 

How sweet is that, eh? 

I am a bit weird in that I do not like music chimes like everyone else but the clunky sound kind of ones.. 

It was perfect and every time I would go to our room and hear it I would smile .. 

Sometimes if I can't sleep I will ask the Lord if he would please send a little wind from his storehouse and then when I hear a little jangle I know He heard me...

No joke.. grin.. 

I know I am weird... 

Anyway..  

This is it's third winter ... 

I mentioned to Terry the other day that I thought it might be broke or the wind took it.. 

That afternoon it was storming and I heard him go outside.. 

Then when he came in I heard a little bit of a jingle.. 

The dear man had gone out and brought what was left of it in.. 

Remember that it is the little things!! Right?  

Anyway, we have unwound it and hopefully can add a few bits and get it working again.. 

With Dustin away now it makes it a bit more precious.. 

Yes, I am one of those sentimental old fools.. grin.. 

Today we went to church and enjoyed the presence of the Lord in worship.. 

God is so faithful! 

Thank you so much for dropping by.. 

Loved having you and look forward to hearing from you either here or on Face Book.. 

God bless you all..