Hello there my dears...
Lovely to have you visit the Blessed Hearth today..
I am glad you are here..
Hope you are all doing well in your corner of the world!
We have been enjoying our summer!
We were just saying this morning coming home from church that summer is on the downswing!
It saddens me!
I do not enjoy intense heat but really we have been blessed with some cool temps along with our hot days.
Fall is lovely but then Winter!
That is all I will say! smile..
So with that you can bet that I plan to enjoy the rest of this blessed season!
Anyway..
We have been up to the farm quite often..
Although we are not there as much as we thought we would, everything is looking great..
The gardens are growing and some herbs have been picked and are drying and such..
The bunting finally is finished and hung!
Sorry, Donna for taking so long getting to this..
Terry is weeding there..
He spends a lot of time on his knees out there in the garden... smile..
This is just a glued bunting as it does not last up there too long..
It sometimes stays all winter but the last couple of years half of it ends up blowing away..
This year I bought a strong kind of string and hopefully that will last better..
The measurements I used are 13 x9..
I just traced out how many I might need.. Just guessed and only had 3 pieces left over..
You could measure and figure it all out but I am by guess or by golly kind of girl when it comes to this bunting..
Then all I did was use my glue gun and made a line of glue.. Stuck the string in it and folded each one..
I ended up only have two colours..
The house is yellow and we are planning on painting it this summer and I want a blue door..
You can make as many colours and sizes as you like..
The buntings I use inside are usually sewed together and turned inside out and a bit more polished..
This is a pic from a previous year..
This pic was taken a week ago ... 
It is hard to believe how fast it all grows once July hits the calendar..
Please notice the dear poppies growing again..
We have a squash and a pumpkin bed..
Cucumbers on the other end..
We are usually working outside and our lunches are not too fancy..
One of our favourites..
Grilled Tomato and Mozza..
For Christmas Terry gave me a Panini type thing..
I don't know what you call it but it is cast iron ..
About the size of a brick without the height and a handle..
You make your sandwich, butter the outside and put the cast iron on top..
Works wonderful!
Not hard to store, either..
He bought it at Moffett's Hardware in Sussex..
Our lettuce bed is doing great too..
In one of my books the author wrote that the lady of the house washed her lettuces and fried it along with a bit of bacon and then added vinegar..
We tried it and it is delicious!
The last food pic... grin..
Supper..
A new bread recipe which is awesome (will share next time), last year's canned green beans, fresh salad with herb dressing and chicken which was browned in a fry pan then placed on a tray, finished baking in oven and then cheese and herbs and returned for a few more minutes..
It is nice to be able to use oven when it is cooler here..
This is a few other things going on..
My dear dear Lavender!
It really flourished this summer..
Nine large bundles!
I know you may think I am strange but I feel like it is such a lovely accomplishment!! lol!
Doesn't take much to satisfy some people, eh!
Lots of projects coming on with all that..
I will share as I go..
Making potpourri seems to be large on my agenda this summer..
This one was an accident! grin..
Terry had picked me a huge bouquet of wild flowers which I put in a mason jar on the kitchen table at the farm..
It sits in a window and as we were not there all the time it slowly dried out ...
So..
I just cut them off their stems and put them in an old bowl..
When I get time I will seal the bowl with several drops of essential oil and it will last for ages..
So pretty, don't you think? smile..
Perfect Petal Potpourri...
And there is this going on at home..
Picked roses everywhere..
At the farm, on country drives and from our own bushes..
Lay them out on old laces and such and letting them dry..
Some will be used for potpourri, rose oil for soap and toiletries, rose vinegar for rinsing dishes and so on..
There is just so much you can do with dried roses.
Do you see the cloth on the bottom right..
Has a few pine cones and such..
That is our anniversary potpourri..
Everywhere we go on our little drives and trips are being dried and added to an old hat box..
I will add scent and name it later on in the year..
Probably call it...
We made it! lol..
And..
Picking herbs every time we go out and drying them..
Sewed up a bunch of herb bags..
This is one for soup herbs...
You can add whatever turns your crank but I love to put thyme, lovage and organo in my tomato base soups..
Do you make these?
Well dear hearts I am finally running out of steam ..
But..
This is a pic of a border we have had in the apple orchard a lot this summer..
She is not afraid of us at all..
She loves the chickens and even upset the bucket with chicken food and had a great lunch..
I love deer but want them to stay in the woods..
Deer ticks...
Anyway, I had read where you soak rags in vinegar and tie them on your garden posts and they will not bother it..
You renew the vinegar at least once a week..
Well, she was here all the time until we did this..
We have not seen her since so hopefully she just reacted to the vinegar and is keeping her distance..
We are putting them in the gardens, too..
Just a tip if you have deer visiting that you would rather not..
And before I go..
Still celebrating our 50th each month..
Our darling children took us out on the town! 
To a wonderful place called Gusto Restaurant!
So much fun and delicious Italian food!
We were all there except our precious son who is out west..
There are exactly 12 of us now in our family..
Thankful to our Lord for each and every one of them!
Aren't they dear!!
We do little things just like you do..
Had breakfast last week in a new cafe at the Green Pig Market..
It was delicious!
And fun there too..
Old china with fruit salad and toasted biscuits on an antique saucer with homemade strawberry jam in an enamel cup!!
Gotta love that! smile..
And so my luvs this is it for another time..
But will show you the last great books I have been reading..
I so enjoyed this series and found it all so inspiring..
Reading Christian books not only inspires but also encourages..
We as mamas and wives can get drained and with the world so messed up I find it lifts up my spirits..
It is a busy time of year with canning, preserving and such but reading how they accomplished so much in the 1800s without all of our conveniences challenges me to make a better effort to accomplish what needs to be done..
If you know what I mean.
And the author's reference to God in their lives in something I need to hear..
I want Him to be front and foremost in my life..
Not just for myself but for my children and grandchildren..
He is coming soon!
God bless you sweet friends...
