Come to the cottage with me....

Good Morning, dear ladies...

Another rainy day here in New Brunswick.  I think Terry said it is the third week of rain but who is counting?  smile..

First of all I want to thank all who has already signed up for my little GIVEAWAY..  Thank you so much to ALL who are following and reading this blog..

If you have not signed up yet please do..It is just a few homemade goodies with a surprise to be added at the end..

Also thank you to all who have posted it on their blogs..

This is my first giveaway.. can you tell?  smile..

Now on to today's posting..

Yesterday, Terry and I went down to St. Martins to check on our cottage and for me to look over the shop and see what stock I had left and all that... smile.... Yikes.. I have a lot to do.. 

Anyway, I thought as most of you probably were not following the blog this time last year ( I had only started)  that you might like to see where we spend our summers.. 

It is only Spring here in Eastern Canada and not as lush as my friends to the South but still beautiful... 

You probably all realize by now  that I love the wind and rain.. I was telling Terry yesterday that I always enjoy it when our first day there is that kind of day ... and it was... smile... 

Very windy and very rainy... 

When we go down we always drive to the end of Main Street and then come back to our cottage.. 

We like to see what is new and changed and to greet the Bay of Fundy in all of it's glory... It is just so beautiful.. I thank God for this wonderful body of water.. I have loved it since I was a wee child... Thank you, Lord.. It has the highest tides in the world.. 

That's what they advertise anyway... smile... 

So..on with the show.. smile.. 

Part of the way down Main Street we pass this little shop.. 

THE HOUSE OF HENRY....

Oh, I was so happy to see that the magnolia trees were all in bloom.  I think we almost missed them as petals were falling everywhere.. We will go up and check the shop after a bit..

First we drive down further to see the harbour...

There are 2 covered bridges right here, too..

And shops and rentals....

We just went through one bridge and are headed for the caves.. This is looking on the other side of the harbour.  Lots of fishing boats out and about...

The tide is in....

I should have taken more pics but it is foggy and I was not thinking .... I just took a few ..

This is looking through the windows of a wonderful restaurant there in the village..

Wonderful fish....anyway you like it cooked...

We turned around here and head back to the cottage...

Now we go back through the bridge and you can now see the other one..

That is called Orange Hill ...

I wonder why..

A beautiful spot.  My cousin lives up at the top and she can see for miles out over the Bay...

Past the harbour again and back up Main Street. 

Now we turn into our street..

And there is the cottage..  A very old house that had two families born and bred here as they say...

We always look in and then drive down to the end of the street to really greet the Bay...

It is rough out there today..

Then we turn around..

There are the caves over there...

And here we are....Terry says he needs to try and paint the house and barn this year...

We have arrived!!... There is my friend's cottage on the beach..

Summer will soon be here ..my dear..

She always brings me a Tim's coffee when she comes down for the weekend... bless her.. smile...

Well.. I hope you enjoyed this little excursion... smile..

Now if only you were all here to help me... lol...

I am getting old you know and can use all the help I can get..

Just kidding.... I think... smile..

You girls could not believe how much cleaning there is ..

Even though no one has been there.   I call it the dust of the ages.. smile... 

I do love this old house... Thank you, Lord...

I hope you enjoyed this wee trip... 

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will show you a couple of things we did..

ok?

Thank you so much for dropping by and God bless you all.

Hugs...

A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU..

A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU..

I just wanted to thank all of  you dear girls for following this blog..

I really appreciate it..

There are now 100 followers:-)

Thank you, Lord..

In the giveaway are four vintage napkins, a salad bag, gardeners salve and lip salve and a bag of homemade laundry soap...

and.... a surprise will be added..

These are just a few things of which some have the recipes or how tos on this blog...

Now for the rules.. Very Simple..

1.  You must be a follower and if you arn't then you are welcome to become one..

2.  You must post  a comment saying you would like to enter..

Please leave your email address if you don't have a blog..

3. If you post about this or post it on your sidebar you get 2 extra extries..Please let me know...

This is open until May 30 and I will let everyone know on May 31..

Have a wonderful Sabbath...

 God bless..

Make a Clothespin Bag...

Hello everyone...

Can you believe that I did this same post yesterday and went to post it just as Blogger shut down..

Anyway my dears.... here we go again..

I thought I would share this little project with you.

I had made one before and it wore out with the sun and the rain.

It is just a clothespin bag..

This little shirt is actually our youngest son's who is now 27... smile..

He doesn't want it anymore.... smile.

This is very easy to make.. I actually sewed it all by hand but it would take only a few moments with your machine.

The first thing to do is to fold the little sweater  or whatever little garment you want to use in the centre  with the back facing you...

Cut a little slit large enough for your hand and to put the clothespins in...

Then roll the edge over and sew so that it is all finished.

Now just sew up the bottom of the sleeves and the bottom of your sweater.. This now becomes a bag for your pins..

I use a plastic bendable child's hanger to hang it on the line..

You should also use like a garbage bag tie to secure it, too ..

That way the wind won't blow it off.

I found this lasted all summer and the pins dry off well ...

Anyway, girls... thanks for dropping by..

Sorry about the blogger problem.. If you didn't have a blog I expect you did not know what was going on.. I guess they had to do maintenance... smile..

Have a blessed weekend and remember that I love your comments.

Love to you all..

Faye..

Join the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop..

Thanks....

A Spring Table Setting and a Cookie Recipe...

Happy Wednesday to you all...

How are you?  I am a bit late in posting today..

This morning was spent with two of my best friends...

Pam and Tammy..

We always enjoy each other's company so much:-)

Bless you sweet friends...

We have had a very busy week so far.. Our church hosted a convention the last few days.. It was such a blessed time..  

Here is a pic of a little tablesetting I put together.. 

Spring...

Spring has finally arrived here although it is still chilly at times.

There are lots of Spring flowers and the leaves are almost out on our Maples..

I love this season... new beginnings...

Terry helped me put a wee lunch on at the meetings and one of the things we served is this old recipe that is popular in our family...

MOLASSES COOKIES..  

I think they went over well as there were only these 2 left.. smile..

Here is the recipe for you...

GRAM'S MOLASSES COOKIES...

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup molasses

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine butter, shortening and sugar in a large bowl.. Beat until light and fluffy...Beat in vanilla and molasses..

Stir dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir well..

Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until well mixed...

Drop by large spoon onto well greased cookie tray about 2 inches apart..

Bake 10 -12 minutes

Cool on a rack..

Yield... 3 dozen...

These really are good and moist.. They only take a few minutes to make, too...

Thank you for dropping by... Also... welcome to the new followers of this blog... I appreciate all of you.

I just wanted to mention to you dear faithful readers that the bathroom is still not finished.. We have been running the roads and have not had time to do it.... BUT.... Terry says we MAY  get at it the next day or two..(I am trying to tie him down by telling him that you sweet girls are wondering... smile..)

On Saturday we have a Keepers meeting in Sussex... 

If anyone is interested please contact me at

keepersofthehome@hotmail.com

WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU...

God bless...

Blessing Mama.....

Good Morning dear ladies...

Just a few weekend pics...

 

Thank you for dropping by and for all the new followers..

God bless you..   

Hugs...

Who will pray for me when Mama's gone?

Happy Mothers Day, dear friends...

The picture above is of my Mom many years ago standing in front of her grandparents old homestead...

I am much older now than my mother was in that picture.  And my daughter is older now than my mother was in that picture..

Time has surely passed by and now I am a grandmother...

My mother is a great grandmother.

My daughter is a mother..

What is our legacy? 

What will our children miss when we are gone...

Time moves on dear ones whether we want it to or not... And if the Lord tarries we will go Home...

One day a few years ago one of my grandsons was with me when something surprised me... I said... ohhhh lord....

He looked at me shocked and said..."Grandma... and you a praying woman!!"  smile... The dear boy did not think I should say that but I am glad he thought that his grandmother was a praying woman...

That is the legacy I want to leave my children...

Mama prayed...  

Prayer touches the Throne of God.. When we mothers are gone to our heavenly homes we know that our prayers are still incense around the Throne of Grace...

They are not in vain....

We not only need to pray but we need to teach our children to pray.. We need to show them how to go before the Throne of God and receive blessing and strength...

They need to be taught that prayer changes things... 

I am so thankful for my Mom today... Whenever I am burdened with something I can call her and know that she will join me in prayer...I know that every morning she mentions my name and my children's names... 

I am also thankful to have not only a praying mother but also a praying daughter and daughter-in-law...

My grandchildren are blessed today..

I pray that God will bless all you sweet mamas out there today with his gracious blessings... That your legacy to your children will be prayer...

Have a wonderful Mothers Day... 

I am hugging you all in my mind.. 

And remembering you all in my prayers.. 

God bless...  

A song for you..

A Mothers Day Gift and how to make one....

Good Morning !!

How are you all today?  I thought I would post you a pic of a Mothers Day gift I received from Shonda...

It is a terrarium that she made.. Isn't it lovely? 

Last night she and I went to her church to a Mother and Daughter Banquet... It was SO nice..

There were around 20 tables and each were decorated by a different lady.. They were all beautiful...

Shonda had made terrariums for 2 tables...

This one had the large one which was my gift... She also used vintage dishes and then made a take home gift of the fixins needed to make your own...

And this was the other table which had 3 smaller ones with a cup and saucer as the top...

I have included the instructions here for any who would like to make one perhaps for your Mom...

The Basics of Terrarium Building

1. Selecting a container - The container can be almost anything at all. You can choose something dish like to create an open air container or something bottle like to create a closed environment terrarium which is a bigger challenge to make and to maintain.

2. A Layer of course sand or pebbles is placed in the bottom of the container. This allows for good drainage of the water in the terrarium.

3. Activated Charcoal - If you are making a closed container terrarium you should next place a layer of activated charcoal over the pebbles/sand layer. In a closed environment this charcoal will filter the air and keep it fresh. This is the type of charcoal used in aquarium filters so you can purchase it at any pet shop with aquarium supplies. If you are making an open top terrarium there is no need for this charcoal.

4. Add a layer of Spaghnum Moss on top. This prevents the soil in your terrarium from settling down into the pebbles. It is kind of a like a filter that will allow the water to filter down but not the soil. If you don't have spaghnum moss a very fine screen will work well here but over time the screen will rust and need to be replaced.

5. Add Soil - Regular potting soil works fine. There is no need to try a fancy mix. But if you are creating a desert scene and using cactus you may want to get potting soil specifically designed for them.

6. Add the plants and or seeds. Care should be taken in this step. You want to arrange things in a way that is pleasing to the eye. You may want to make sketches before you plant. Or you may want to dig some small holes and move the plants around -trying different locations and arrangements. I have a list of common terrarium plants here

7. Finishing touches - Add ornaments or other decorations. These add a nice touch to your terrarium.

Here is the link where these instructions came from....

I am going to take this to the cottage with me when we go...  

I love it .. Thank you, dear and thanks to the St. John Church for such a wonderful evening...

I brought home a little kit so guess what my Mom is going to receive.... smile... She loves plants...

Yesterday was raining so we did not go down to St. Martins.. Sorry no pics of the Bay of Fundy today...

Here is one of our sweet daughter last night helping out with the festivities...

Her Dad went to the St. John Sea Dogs hockey game with his Son-in-law and his grandsons...

So... all in all a good time was had by us all..

God is good and I so appreciate our family.

Each and everyone of them...

How are your plans going for the special day?

Thanks for visiting and leaving your sweet comments..

Have a blessed day and we will connect again soon..

Hugs...

MAKE YOUR OWN SALAD BAG and a recipe and tip....

Good Thursday Morning to you all. 

Again today I am just posting a quick little thing that you can do perhaps over the weekend,. 

This is salad time of the year.  Fresh greens and fixins in our gardens and at farm markets  and grocers are so easily available.

That means lots of washing of veggies... especially lettuce... 

Some of you girls perhaps have salad spinners for washing your greens.. They are great and do a good job.  But I find that they take up so much space. Or perhaps you are using a lot of paper towels... Anyway,  one day last summer Terry and I went to an antique show and I bought a SALAD BAG...

I washed it up and began using it.. I had one previously and loved it but it was getting worn out so I was happy to find another.

 

Then this Spring I came up with an easy way to make my own salad washing bag... 

 They are much simpler... They fit into your drawers and when you are finished they go in your kitchen laundry and back into the drawer...

All that one has to do is to buy 2 absorbent towels...tea towel or extra large dish cloths and sew them together just at the edges...

I received a package for Christmas of these nice dish cloths... they are huge and they were bought at Costco but you can get them at the dollar store or use a couple you already have,,,,

Sew the edges together and leave and opening at one end ...

Wash your salad greens in cool water, place in a strainer for a few shakes and then put into the bag....

Just roll it up and  voila...... dry salad greens...

Use it to dry your tomatoes, peppers and such, too..

TOSSED SALAD DRESSING

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup good vinegar

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon olive or canola oil

herbs of choice or salad seasonings...

Edna Stabler *a mennonite cookbook writer.... tells in her cookbook..

MORE FOOD THAT REALLY SCHMECKS ..

.a hint to keep your tossed salad crisp a long time before serving...

HINT...

Blend the sugar, vinegar and water, then toss lightly with the salad greens and keep in a cool place for several hours if necessary...

Just before serving drain off the liquid from the salad and mix it with the oil and seasonings and toss it again with your greens....

I love fresh herbs for the seaonings, myself.. just chop them up...

I use basil and parsley when we are having pasta... thyme or rosemary if we are having chicken,  Terry likes oregano with his spagetti...you catch my drift?  smile....

How are your herb plans coming?

Enjoy....

Here it is Thursay already, girls.... Mothers Day this weekend.. Shonda is taking me to a Mothers Day Evening tonight... 

Bless her... And we are going through St. Martins before just to check on things..

Perhaps I will take a pic of the lovely Bay of Fundy for you..

Check back tomorrow and thanks for checking in today...

I love your sweet comments... 

God Bless... 

The blossoming of my Dolphin Plant...

Good Morning everyone...

Do you see my wonderful Dolphin Plant.  It finally BLOOMED !!!

I have been watching and waiting for weeks...

I posted about it here..

It took so long but it finally happened. 

As I told you before and old gentleman in St. Martins gave this wee slip to me so long ago..

It nearly died and then with only 4 wee leaves it decided to grow...

I love it..

In my mind this whole time I have been thinking of a comparison between the way I have been nurturing this plant and the way that God must nurture us..

We are the same in a way.. Sometimes we start out growing for God so many times as a wee little slip.. We get our roots and grow and seem to thrive and then along comes the enemy of our souls and we allow him to all but kill us off..

Something else takes our minds off of HIM..

We stop praying and putting Him first in our lives.. Other things are more important than Jesus... 

We shrivel up and lose ourselves to the world.. Barely holding on...

But Jesus still loves us..

Then one day something clicks in our lives.

We finally look toward Him, Jesus Christ our Lord.. and something takes a hold in our growth.  We grasp on and we look upward to our Hope..We desire a closer walk with Him..

We realize we NEED Jesus and we begin  following the Word of God and we start praying.

We repent and He forgives us.. Thank you, Jesus.. 

And then we bud... we grow daily in Him and someday by the grace of God we will bloom...

Don't you love Jesus?

I am so thankful today for his love and nurturing.. Each morning His mercy is renewed for us.. Imagine!!  Every morning when I pray I imagine that new slate of mercy being renewed with the sunrise...

Lamentations 3: 22, 23..

Great is His faithfulness.. 

It is only His grace and mercy that will bring us through..

Have you ever heard that song? It is on YouTube and every time we sing it at church it so blesses my heart. 

Your Grace And Mercy brought me through...

I am living this moment because of You..

I want to thank You and praise You, too..

For Your grace and mercy brought me through..

Thank you, Jesus....

Jesus is coming soon... so soon.  The world can see it today.. Not just Christians who have been looking for so long but the signs are everywhere..

Let us grow and thrive and look for His return with joy in our hearts knowing that soon oh very soon we shall see our King..

Have a blessed day... dear ones...

Until next time..

Blessings..

Homemade Crackers and Tomato Soup...

Good Morning, my dears...

Another lovely day here in the Maritimes of Canada... We have a majority government, I see... That is all I am going to say except thank God for our country..We need to pray daily for the leaders of not only our country but this world needs prayer... 
And don't forget to pray for Israel... 

We are near the end and Jesus is going to return for His bride...

I want to waiting , listening, yearning for His return...

I am so thankful for the Good News of Salvation...

Free for whosoever will...

In Him we can put our trust, our hopes, and our plans...

He is faithful.... Thank you, Jesus.....

Now... Today.. I have a neat recipe for you.

Yesterday was election day... a cracker of a day shall we say... smile.. So I made crackers. This recipe

 came out of an old Mennonite recipe book that I have...
Here is the recipe...

Cracker Basic Recipe....

4 cups of whole wheat flour  (you can make any mixture you like of flours)

1 tsp. salt

1 T. sugar

3/4 cup shortening

2/3  cup milk or water   (more or less)

Mix dry ingredients.. cut in the shortening until it is finely blended.

Add the milk or water until it forms a soft ball like pastry.

Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll as thin as parchment.

Slide the dough onto a cookie tin and cut with pastry or pizza cutter.

into squares... Dent with a fork.

Bake in 400 degrees oven for 10 minutes or until crisp and pale...

Now here is the fun part...

Easy, eh?

DIFFERENT FLAVORS..

With each of your four balls you can make a different flavor..

After you have divided the dough into four balls then flatten it into an oval and sprinkle the topping of your choice on it and roll out as thin as you can and the flavoring will distribute throughout. 

Sometimes , I added a bit on the edge....

I made ....

SAVORY CRACKERS ...Sprinkle the dough with a savory salt..

(mine was garlic and lemon)

DILL CRACKERS... Sprinkle with dill seeds and a touch of coarse salt.... (my fav)

HERBES DE PROVENCE... Sprinkle with herbes de provence...

SESAME OR POPPY SEED .... Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.....

Or use such things as celery seeds, minced onion, cayenne  or paprika, chives fresh or dried, garlic powder...

Just open up your cupboard and use your imagination...

from MORE FOOD THAT REALLY SCHMECKS

A Canadian Mennonite writer... Edna  Staebler...

Probably my favorite cookbook of them all..

With these crackers one needs a nice cup of homemade tomato soup... Right?

I just find it hard to eat a CAN of soup when it takes a very few minutes to make such a glorious homemade version...

I am sorry I have no recipe for this..

I just put some lovely garlic oil in a pot and simmered some chopped onion, red pepper flakes, a bay leaf  and a couple cloves of garlic minced till soft...

Then a can of crushed tomatoes that I dislike but Terry had bought a case and I needed to use them .... a wee hand of sugar and a bottle of homemade chicken broth....

Now you can use the broth of your choice... can , box, cube....

I had cooked a turkey and always use the bones to make broth...

Now... do you remember when I posted last year about

salting herbs such as basil 

Well, I have loved this... I put this into my homemade soups and pasta sauces or whatever I like basil in... The salt tastes just like basil and then you can add pieces of the herbs, too..

I will be sure and try to make more of these this year, Lord willing...

Anyway, this soup tasted so delicious... A lovely flavor of tomato and basil..

Then the wee cracker pieces that did not turn out exactly are lovely to put in your soup.... smile...

Then ... just package them however you will and you have enough for awhile... Why buy when in half an hour you can have homemade with only ingredients you trust... Right?

Well, dear ladies that is all for today..

EXCEPT...

I wanted to give you a bathroom fix up update..

The CATS are gone....lol.... So is all the wallpaper..

I am now at a standstill until I can get Terry's help..

To paint or repaper is the question right now..

So .. I need to be patient as he is working and I have to wait on him.. Will let you know when I can....

Thanks for dropping by and leaving your sweet comments.. It is nice to know who I am conversing with sometimes... smile.

May God bless and keep you all...

Hugs...

Faye...

Remember to visit the Homestead Barn Hop

So much useful info...

thanks...