A little July ramble for you ...

Good Evening everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth ..

Hope all is well with you and yours.. 

Another week has passed and tomorrow is Monday once again.. 

This has been a hot summer and to be truthful I am enjoying the rain storms that came up late this afternoon.. 

We had a lovely church service this morning.. 

Then we welcomed our new pastor and his family with a potluck

lunch ...

It was delicious!

I had made another batch of flat breads yesterday and took them along with a seafood salad and of course some chocolate fudge.. 

The grandson's favourites.. smile.. 

Then this afternoon we went for a drive.. 

Can you believe the Tansy is all in blossom... 

Oh my.. 

I always think of them as a herald to Fall.. Do you?  

We went to Cole's Island and Terry was scouting out the river.. 

The first picture is of the Caanan River also.. 

Terry said that since it was Sunday we would go to the land of Caanan... grin... 

Anyway... 

Just a little close up pic of Skittles...

He is doing well.. 

He enjoys sitting as the centrepiece of the kitchen.. 

He feeds on the roots of the plants... 

Picked a pot of raspberries... 

Terry did and I made a dessert... 

Raspberry Shortcake... 

This is an Australian recipe.. 

I found it on Instagram... 

Here it is.. 

Raspberry Shortcake

125 grams (1/2 cup) of soft butter

1 cup sugar 

1 egg

2/3 cup of milk

1 1/2 cup of self rising flour 

Put in a greased 9 inch pan and press the raspberries on top.. 

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.. 

This is simply delicious.. 

There was a cup of berries left over so I made a sauce with 2 T. water and 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 tsp. lemon juice.. 

Place in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer.. 

Add a tsp. of cornstarch to a tablespoon of water.. 

Stir well and then add to sauce.. 

Simmer just for a minute or two.. 

Taste to adjust sugar and such to your liking.. 

Put in a pouring pitcher and cool.. 

You can also add a spoon of whipped cream.. 

I will try to remember to take a pic before it is gone.. 

Last week we took a little day trip to Fundy National Park.. 

I took a few pics for you...  

Hope you enjoyed the little trip.. 

Did you notice that we stopped and had a lovely sticky bun from the bake shop in Alma.. 

It went lovely with a cup of tea.. 

The breeze off the Bay of Fundy was so refreshing on that hot day.. 

Charlie enjoyed the day trip, too.. smile.. 

We came home and had some fish chowder.. 

Something about the sea air gives you a yearning for fish! 

And this is one of our favourite ways to eat it.. 

I guess this is all for tonight my dears... 

Thanks so much for dropping by.. 

And thanks for all your help with the Soapwort from the last post.. 

I think I shall be transplanting it into a different bed.. smile.. 

Welcome to the new followers and love love your comments.. 

Have a great week and may God bless and keep you.. 

Hugs from this corner of my world.. 

The farm in mid July...

Hello dear hearts.. 

Here I am again on this very hot evening... 

It is hot but a lovely breeze is blowing... 

Love summer so am trying really hard not to complain.. smile.. 

Anyway... 

We have been to the farm a few days each week and getting a bit of work done.. 

Not enough that is for sure but pottering away.. 

When we were there I dug out some fabric and got to work on my bunting.. 

It hangs from the lilac tree to the apple tree.. 

I wanted it to be colourful so you can see it when you drive by.. 

It was so hot though that I didn't ask Terry to hang it.. 

It is still on the kitchen table.. grin.. 

I don't think I am making them as well as my friends in the UK but it will do.. Just cut out a pennant shape on cardboard then trace them with a marker and cut out.. 

Plugged in my glue gun.. 

Ran a strip of glue across the wide edge and had my jute string already.. 

Flattened it with my fingers and continued on.. 

Burned them a few times but whatever.. grin.. 

It is finished and I had some left so made one for my Mom.. 

My step father is 87 and he painted their veranda.. 

Mom was so excited and went to town and bought some indoor and outdoor carpet in green for him to lay there.. 

She says it is so cozy sitting on the swing and listening to the birds sing as they sip away at their tea.. 

They now have a little table and take their lunch or supper out there.. 

I think that it is so wonderful that they still enjoy life so much.. 

The little simple pleasures can be such a source of contentment! 

I know that Mom actually counts each day as a bonus and has made up her mind to enjoy each one.. 

She says she is going to grab her sweater and go every time the car starts up as long as she can.. smile.. 

Lovely, don't you think?  

I have taken a few plants to the farm as they grow so well there..  

My string of pearls..

I started a new one from a slip of the original..  

It is hanging in the kitchen window.. 

This is a sweet chick that my friend from Arkansas brought to me.. 

It is a quilted pin cushion that a dear friend of her's made.. 

I think she said that she is in her eighties.. 

I love it... 

Our gardens are so far behind this year compared to last.. 

I was showing Terry a blog post from this time last year and he was just sick.. 

Last year was so far ahead but with us not staying there and getting it watered it is a bit behind.. 

I am sure there will be lots of produce but we will have to wait a bit longer... 

The herbs that came back are doing wonderfully.. 

Oregano, comfrey, tarragon, lovage..

Lavender and Chives to name a few.. 

I went out a snipped a basket full to start drying some.. 

It was so hot!!  

I just sat under the fan and read my herb books for about an hour.. 

Terry says I have a two degree comfort zone ... 

And believe me this was not it.. grin.. 

Oh well.. 

We do have 2 air conditioners there but really a person has to shower to really cool down.. 

Loving my lavender this year.. 

Oh and the best taste of summer is on this plate right here.. 

Sampfire greens.. 

If you have followed the blog for a while you know how much I love these.. 

We bought 3 pounds from a lad in Hillsborough and they were so good.. 

They grow along the Petitcodiac River marshes and the Bay of Fundy... 

We hope to get a few more before they are finished till next year.. 

I picked my garlic scapes and got them put away.. 

Made some pesto and used them in some meals then I dried the rest to ground up ... 

I have made the pesto before but I only made a bit this year.. 

I prefer the basil and when you freeze it then it doesn't stink up the freezer.. grin.. 

Do any of you sweet ladies know what this flower is? 

I bought it from a gal who sells them from her yard and the tag said Soapwort.. 

I planted it last summer and it came up again.. 

I picked some and brought it home .. 

I looked it up to find some recipes to make shampoo and such and found that it actually has yellow flowers and different leaves.. sigh... 

I was so disappointed as I have been looking for this plant for several years.. 

Just wondering what this one is really... 

As I posted before I did get my pantry mostly in order.. 

Lots of blue dishes.. 

Some perennials grew again after planting them last summer.. 

Always love bouquets of flowers around this time of year.. 

Our farmer was doing the haying this week.. 

We had supper then went for a little spin before heading home.. 

So pretty.. 

Then home again home again.. 

So enjoying my summer days here at home.. 

The first time we have been here so much in over twenty years and it is nice.. 

Terry picked me a lovely bouquet on the way.. 

Brown Eyed Susans.. 

Well sweet ladies this is it for tonight ... 

Thanks so much for dropping by.. 

I love getting your sweet emails and enjoy your comments so much.. 

here and on Face Book.. 

There are 529 liking the FB page.. 

Thank you.. 

To the lovely lady who emailed me for the recipe for the Rhubarb Tea.. 

Here is the link.. 

HERE

Ok everyone...

 Have a great week and God bless and keep you and your precious families... 

Days of July...

Hello everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth this lovely evening.. 

It is another weekend and the summer is lovely.. 

So much to love with this season of the year.. 

Here in Eastern Canada the winter can be long and dreary so we appreciate these long glorious days of summer.. 

Some times we have heat and lots of it and on others we cool down with thunder storms and rain... 

We were headed to the farm the other day and it was raining very hard!  Raining cats and dogs as we used to say.. 

Terry was filling up the truck with gas and there were so many doing the same.. 

The Tim's coffee always starts our little trip out there.. 

Charlie was watching all the busyness and trying to spy the cats.. grin.. 

Summer also brings our delicious crops of strawberries.. 

I dehydrated these this morning... 

I love them to put in pitchers or glasses of water.. 

So tasty but you can use them in granola, in desserts or to make an instant jam for your ice cream.. 

I also read in the preserving book that the stems make an excellent tea on a winter's day.. 

I did half a rack just to see.. smile.. 

I found this recipe on Instagram.. 

Pickled Strawberries.. 

They are different but good.. 

Are you on Instagram?  

I love it and enjoy my time there.. 

So much inspiration!

Just follow the ones that interest you.. 

Terry and I took last Sunday afternoon and did a nice little field trip.. 

We went to church and then bought a coffee and headed for Cambridge Narrows and the lakes area... 

Down around Wickham and Hampstead.. 

Beautiful old farms..

\They have their haying done and their wood cut... 

The flowers are everywhere and so beautiful...

We went to the Washademoak Lake where his brother has a cottage..

No one was home but we had our picnic alongside the lake..

I love our picnics.. 

Everything seems to taste better, eh?  

And we went through the Belleisle Bay area... 

Summer people everywhere.. 

Really enjoyed visiting a sweet antiques shop and had ice cream from an old general store in Wickham.. 

Terry visited a friend he had not seen for about twenty years.. 

Made his day... 

You can tell by the fields that summer is winding down.. 

Hurts my heart to think about it... 

So enthralled by the wild flowers.. 

Always have been.. 

We were also at the farm for a two or three days last week.. 

Last summer a young couple who live near us had a crop of potatoes in the spot above  where all the daisies are growing.. 

Isn't that neat? 

It all filled in perfectly with wild daisies this year.. 

As neat as can be.. 

We are enjoying the company of the cows once again.. 

They always greet us when we get there.. 

We still are not staying overnite a lot.. 

Must say I am enjoying being home this summer much more.. 

Once we get a few yard sales organized we will feel more like staying perhaps.. 

Trying not to let it stress me.. 

Terry says it will get done when it gets done.. smile.. 

Made some flatbreads this week.. 

They only take two ingredients and are fun to make and taste delicious.. 

RECIPE HERE..

There is also a recipe for the self rising flour. 

I make a container full and have it for when it is called for in a recipe.. 

This was breakfast one morning.
Monterrey Jack with Pimentos Cheese and lots of olives on top of a flat bread.. 

Grated the cheese, cut up some olives and put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.. 

I am not a breakfast person and find it hard to enjoy eggs or cereal.. 

Would rather have soup.. grin.. 

Then I am drying roses and such for potpourries.. 

So pretty ....

Well dear hearts this is another post ...

The sun goes right around the house.. 

Begins here in the early morning and goes all the way around and ends up here again in the evening... 

Tomorrow is another Lord's Day.. 

He has been faithful this week as always.. 

I really can't imagine my life without the Lord.. 

Things come up where I wouldn't know where to turn if I didn't have Jesus... 

When we have a need or there is a problem then He is there.. 

In the nighttime hours when your mind is looking for answers then He is always there.. 

An old old chorus we used to sing at church says it all.. 

Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Jesus.. 

He is the only one who cares and understands.. 

Standing somewhere in the shadows you will find Him 

And you will know Him by the nail scars in His hands...

  YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT HERE..

Trusting you will have a great day tomorrow.. 

Putting Him first in our lives is what counts especially in the day we are living in... 

God bless sweet friends.. 

xo