A heart post.

Hello there dear hearts... 

How are you all doing?  

I hope you are having a good month.. 

February is called the heart month and is actually one of my favourite celebrations.. 

During the winter months it is a little brightness for our grey days.. 

I like planning our valentine supper and making heart crafts.. 

I painted hearts and modge podged and made some fudge.. smile.. 

Did a little decorating with it all.. 

I made the bunting last year, I believe and the cushion but they stay up for February.. 

It is hard to believe how fast this month has swept on by.. 

Our days are getting longer and we have had a couple of storms since I was on here last.. 

Nothing serious like some parts of our world.. 

My heart goes out to those in places that are not used to having our typical winter weather.. 

We have had a very good winter this year and we are thankful..

What have you all been busy doing?  

A lot of you work outside of the home but I know that Winter brings out our nesting urges .. 

Our daughter and daughter-in-law have been busy crocheting up a storm.. Market bags and big baskets.. I love them but crocheting a coffee cozy is about the height of my talents.. 

We all have our forte I guess... 

I really enjoy my plants especially now.. 

Terry has seed catalogues all over the place but I can't get into that much for about another month.. 

I notice on Instagram that the southern girls are planting their seeds and I just can't go there yet.. 

We will no doubt have snow and cold for at least two more months so what is the rush..

I am just enjoying this down season.. 

With the winter as mild as it has been I am not thinking of hurrying Spring along at all.. 

We have had winters when we thought they would never end but this year has been grand.. 

Anyway enough about the Canadian weather.. 

Here are a few  pics of some of my plants.. 

The Star of Bethlehem has a blossom as does the Goldfish plant.. 

And... 

So

As does my Pregnant Onion.. 

Isn't that a funny blossom.. 

It's stem is just so long and the blossom is a cone of small white star like blossoms.. 

Babies have fallen even into other pots.. smile.. 

These plants are here in the family room.. 

Some have such sweet memories for me.. 

The Snake plant above reminds me of my Dad.. 

He always had them and I remember begging for a piece of one shortly after I was married.. smile.. 

The Pregnant Onion was given to me as a tiny wee slip from one of the sweet ladies who worked at our Kings Landing Heritage Village.. They are so kind there.. 

Then the Star of Bethlehem was one of my Mom's favourites and I was so happy to get a slip from my friend for her.. 

The plant on the floor there is from my Aunt Leatha who I am named after.. I don't know what it is called though, do you?  

Anyway.. enough about plants.. 

One chore I have been trying to accomplish is to go through things and try to declutter.. (As I am sure I mention every post)  lol.. 

Lots of linens and lace .. 

But very hard to part with.. smile.. 

And.. 

Lots of old dishes... 

I have parted with several boxes to the goodwill but really need to get rid of a few more.. 

I am trying.. grin.. 

And then... 

There are things of my Mom's that need to be gone through and sorted.. 

Passing on a few trinkets and keeping some too.. 

It is funny the things that jerk at your heart strings when one is touching little items that must have meant something to her.. 

The little box cover above is one.. 

It was in her cedar chest along with several dear treasures but I couldn't part with this old cover.. 

Tattered and torn as it is.. smile.. 

My mother loved cats.. 

I have enjoyed cat crafts since I was little and think she passed it on to me.. 

I will make something with this but not sure what.. 

Just a wee thing to remember her by.. 

Not that I will ever forget her..

She is daily in my mind and heart.. 

And so... life goes on.. 

Then there is the winter cooking...   

A new breakfast sandwich that I love.. 

Just one slice of bread that you cut in two.. 

I even use thin slices.. 

One thin slice of cheese.. (good cheddar) 

And two small eggs or one extra large.. 

Here is the link on how to do it.. 

HERE

Terry's fave pasta.. 

Broccoli, Mushrooms and Lemon Pasta.. 

I posted about this before, I am sure.. 

I have my soups.. 

Terry loves Chili... 

I like it once in a while.. 

So this time as usual I made a huge pot so I could freeze it.. 

Then looked on line and found several new ways of serving it.. 

Cuban Picadillo... 

Yum! 

You just add lots of sliced olives and a handful of golden raisins to your chili and serve over rice.. 

I loved it but Terry had his bowl with cheese.. (wink)  

We have our little trips to check on our old farm from time to time.. 

This day was after a storm.. 

Our dear farmer plows out our lane so we can get in when we visit..

While Terry made a fire to warm it up for a bit and such I sat in the truck and worked on a bit of felting.. 

After awhile we headed on back home.. 

Had a small bowl of mac and cheese on our laps and watched a Little House on the Prairie show.. 

We love them.. Do you? smile.. 

I am reading as always.. smile.. 

And snacking... 

Dried Honey Crisp apples.. 

So good.. 

And then we had Valentines Day.. 

Terry gave me some lovely tulips... 

And I made our special dinner.. 

Used my Marilla glasses as I call them from 

Anne with an E...  

I posted about them before.. 

I saw this drink on Instagram and just had to copy it.. 

Pomegranate juice, lemon slices, blackberries, pomegranate seeds and a star of anise.. 

Delicious and so pretty.. 

I forgot to take a pic of our main course.. Dahhh.. 

Anyway.. 

Dessert...  

Oh yes.. 

And Terry gave me something he says he has been looking for the past fifty years .. 

Yup!

He is funny all right... grin.. 

This is a verse I found a long time ago.. 

Still love it and am sure I have posted it before.. 

Nonetheless... 

It is sweet and most of the time true.. 

Marriage isn't always a bed of roses... 

As any of you who have been on this road for very long know.. 

But each day for the last fifty years with the Lord's help we keep on and live through each season of marriage that we have .. 

Right now we have been emptynesters for a long time.. 

Our grandsons are grown ... 

We still live in this dear old house and every once in awhile we chat about what the next step will be.. 

Everyone is different.. 

A lot of our friends have downsized and are very happy with that. 

As for us we are not ready.. 

Terry would go nuts without something to putter at and I do not want to leave my home.. 

Some day... 

If the Lord tarries and we keep on as we are.. 

Right now there is no rush.. 

I saw this pic on the web somewhere ... 

This is my take on it.. smile.. 

The sweet old couple were out for a stroll  from their senior apartment..

They are walking by the house that they used to live in.. 

He is going right ahead just like Terry would do.. 

.. and she is looking back.. 

Remembering no doubt.. 

The days of babies and toddlers... 

the teenagers and graduations and college..

the empty nest..  

then the weddings and the births..

sweet visits from grandchildren and grown children... 

all the meals and laundry days.. 

the laughter and the tears..

perhaps the losses...  

prayers that were prayed inside those four walls.. 

names lifted up to the Lord..  

then..

the moving on... 

Oh the years fairly flew by and they were lovely!  

And they still are... 

Regardless of what goes on in this world or the tests and trials we go through... 

Life happens but it is how we deal with it that counts.. 

Putting the Lord first and to keep enduring..

Running the race... 

Choosing joy and praying for love in our hearts ... 

Yup... 

Well my sweet friends this is all.. 

It is from my heart on this heart month post.. 

A bit long but you can just scroll on by.. grin.. 

Leave me one of your dear notes though so I know you were here.. 

Ok?  

Here or on the Facebook or Instagram page.. 

Sending you a all a heartfelt hug.. 

God Bless!!

The Last Monday in April Ramble and Roll..

Happy Monday everyone!  

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth!  

So glad you dropped by.. 

I am once again apologizing for taking so long to get back here.. 

I am thankful to you girls who leave me wee notes reminding me that you are patiently waiting.. smile.. 

We are all fine and feel so blessed to live in this dear province of New Brunswick.. 

Thus far the virus has been low in our part of Canada and restrictions are going to slowly lifted as long as we all behave ourselves and take care to do the precautions... 

Life will be different from now on I am thinking but perhaps we have all learned some valuable lessons and will appreciate life so much more.. 

Our hearts go out to all who are suffering in other parts of our world.. 

Especially to our neighbours to the south of us.. 

U. S. A. has been in our prayers each day... 

Also our sister province of Nova Scotia are in deep mourning for their slain loved ones... 

Such a tragedy! 

 Our minds can scarcely comprehend the loss!

Praying for God's peace and comfort for them... 

Well, I am on a mission today to get this blog accomplished so I best be getting to it... 

A ramble and roll it shall be.. smile.. 

We will start in the kitchen with the peanut butter cookies...

My friend Faye gave me her recipe.. 

She is a baker extraordinaire! 

She used to own a Bakery and these cookies are excellent.. 

Peanut Butter Cookies.. 

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 c. peanut butter

3 cups of flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt 

Mix up as for cookies 

375 degrees F. 

12 - 15 minutes.. 

Terry loved these.. 

I made big ones like my friend Barb makes.. 

I think they look so professional!  grin. 

Then I packed them in bags of 4 and put them right in the freezer.. 

A quick treat to take on a drive or when we are watching a movie or some such thing..

Then as I am trying to eat healthy most of the time.. 

I found this delicious and awesome salad on You Tube.. 

Jew Salad.. 

It does take some work getting the veggies all sliced.. 

But so worth the bother.. 

It makes a gallon bottle full of salad.. 

This lasted us a whole week and I gave a jar to my Mom... 

She loved it too.. 

I actually liked it for a snack... 

Very satisfying.. 

It does have sugar in it but when you think of how much salad you get then I don't think it amounts to much sugar per serving.. 

This is the recipe on the You Tube.. 

Here is the link.. HERE

And.. 

I found this one there too.. 

This is so good... 

Not good for you probably but satisfying and frugal.. 

It was something they served during the depression era when times were tough and not much money.. 

But they had potatoes and hot dogs were cheap.. 

I can't wait to serve this to our grandsons.. grin.. 

Here is the recipe.. 

As you can see my cooking is not exactly what it should be at the moment!  But this too shall pass and we will get eating more normal soon, I hope.. 

I honestly did not have any of these but Terry bugged me for a couple of weeks and I finally caved in.. grin.. 

We called them chocolate macaroons when I was a kid... 

My sister and I made them often... 

These go in the freezer also and really they are good frozen too.. 

Ask Terry!  grin.. 

And like the rest of the world I am baking bread...

The no knead bread I have been preaching about for years.. 

Now I bake it mostly in cast iron... 

Rolling along here.. 

Have been doing sprouts all along.. 

Our lettuce supply has not been great the last month... 

But sprouts are a very cheap and most nutritional substitute.. 

I love them on my hippie sandwiches that my friend Dawn taught me many years ago... 

I also love them on my Junkee Soup... 

I just tried to write the recipe for you but it is literally a pinch of this and a spoon of that.. 

So.. 

I will try to put the recipe to paper this week when I make it.. 

It is a broth, chicken or shrimp, rice noodle, green onions and ginger kind of soup with sprouts on top.. 

Soooo good!!  

Next time.. 

Just rambling along sharing our days with you as usual.. 

Terry is trying to get wood out for the next winter or two.. 

I will not let him go alone and be there with the power saw so I go and sit in the truck and do my thing.. 

I know I have shared this on here before .. 

But that is what we do some days.. 

Only for a few hours and I find it easy to while away the time.. 

Some days I make a wee type of craft, do a small Bible Study, crochet or read.. (my fave),,, 

I read this book for the second time and loved loved it.. 

Once again! 

It was so fitting for the last month of staying home which I love anyway and doing the homemaking thing kind of 1800s style.. 

eh? 

Homemade bread, candles and soup on the stove.. 

I actually ordered the next two that she wrote from Amazon and am looking forward to reading them.. 

Have you found any extra time to read.. 

I know a lot of you girls are homeschooling but if you are like me you find time to read somewhere in your day... eh!  

Rolling along.. 

We had Easter too since I posted last.. 

Imagine!  

It was just the two of us and we had a large organic chicken instead of ham as we did not want to go into the supermarket.. 

I love ham but it was a good dinner.. 

Just so different from years past but hopefully next year...

Rolling on...  

I have been trying my best to clean corners and closets and such.. 

Did our living room ... 

Took me ages.. 

Lots of stuff!  

Tried to weed some of it out but honestly I still love it all!  

A lot of it has been given to me from generations past.. 

And I cherish that fact!  

When I look at old silver and Flow Blue dishes then I think of my Great Aunt Emily... 

Old china Tea pots and lovely old dishes from sweet Julia.. 

The sofa table and dear things from Terry's cousin Marilyn.. 

How I miss these dear souls!  

Lovely treasures from my Mother and so on.. 

I choose to decorate our home with heritage... 

I have read where the things we surround ourselves with tell our story.... smile.. 

I saw a beautiful idea on the web.. 

It was a gorgeous garland of roses... 

So... 

I bought a bundle of the best I could find.. 

And tried to do my thing with them.. 

It just didn't come up to the standard that I had seen.. 

so.... 

I had redone the Dining Room table (from Aunt Emily) with an old tea set and linens... 

But just felt it needed something else.. 

Wasn't sure what... 

I was kind of tired of the previous flowers and such... 

But this did the trick.. 

For now anyway!  

We all have different tastes... 

This is mine for now... 

Me and old dishes!  sheesh!  grin..  

Rambling along.. Almost finished.. 

We of course go to the farm.. 

We are allowed!   

No one there except the stray cat and a ground hog... grin..

There is still snow on the Kent Hills.. 

As of yesterday... 

We hope things will be good enough so we will feel like we can stay at the farm this summer.. Some days there and some here perhaps.. 

We shall see....

I went upstairs to see what the bedrooms needed doing.. 

Brought home bags of bedding and laundered it and put it out on the line one of our lovely windy days.. 

All washed and ready... 

Packed and taken back till whenever... 

Lots of old stuff there, too!  grin.. 

Had a couple of country drives, of course.. 

Mostly in Albert County.. 

Always a few of those dreaded mud roads... sigh! 

He just can't help himself... seriously!  

Have also been trying to do some crafting.. 

Made this for a special girl...

Dug around in the basement and found a pretty old craft from my bye gone era days..  

fixed it up a bit and hung her outside the door.. smile..

While cleaning the living room I came across an album full of my grandmother's handkerchiefs..  

I wondered if my first cousins would like one and got in touch with them.. 

Most of them did so packaged them off and sent them in the mail.. 

So love my cousins!   

Just a little memory of our Gram... 

Well dear friends this is my ramble and roll for April.... 

Slow but sure!  grin..  

I do want to share some good news.. 

A lot of you girls have been with me for so long and probably feel you know our dear grandsons.. 

Well.. 

This is Matthew ... 

Our second oldest grandson and Shonda and Dave's oldest... 

He has just finished his Electrical Engineering years at UNB... 

And... 

Was accepted into Dalhousie School of Medicine!  

We will hopefully have a doctor in the house!  smile.. 

God is just so good!  

We are so proud of all of our grandsons and  celebrate all their accomplishments and hard work... 

And thankful!  So thankful!  

Love them all so much...  

So for now, lovies... 

I will say goodnight.. 

Keep safe and I pray all goes well in your world.. 

Where ever you may be.. 

Thank you for visiting and I look forward to your notes you leave me.. 

Here or on Face Book and so love that you are following my Instagram... 

God bless... 

Hugs from New Brunswick, Canada...