The year 2014 at the Blessed Hearth... ...

Happy New Years Day everyone..

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth.. 

Tonight I am just doing 2014 in review... kind of... 

So thankful for all the blessings and even the trials of the past year.. 

Hopefully, we have learned a bit and so thankful to know the Lord who is in charge of each year and every facet of our lives.. 

So with that being said .... smile.. 

I picked out a few fave pics and hope you will enjoy them... 

The year started out with a lot of snow and it stayed really late.. 

But there were many bright spots along the way.. 

Lovely suppers by the fire and celebrating special days like Valentines... 

So thankful for my sweetheart.. 

Being retired found us taking long winter afternoon drives around our rural countryside.. 

I am always on the lookout for these dear things.. 

One of my fave animals.. smile.. 

If we ever end up living up at our old farm this is the first thing we will try to get.. Well, I will try to get.. 

Not that we are likely to end up living up there but one never knows, eh?  

Then in March we celebrated our 44th anniversary and we just stayed home that day as it was storming and we had Shrimp Pasta, I believe.. 

Oh yes and Caesar Salad et deux... smile.. 

As you know, I love making special dinners for the two of us.. 

Sometimes.. smile.. 

Cold mornings sometimes found me baking up some breads... 

These were some British breads that I was inspired to make from a UK book that I was reading and the recipes are there, too.. 

Along the way, we had a huge rains that brought flood waters and destroyed a lot of property but thankfully lives were spared.. 

In a few weeks it was all back to normal.. 

Terry and I drove around looking at all the amazing sights.. 

Thankful we live on high ground.. smile.. 

Then Easter of course.. 

My favourite Christian celebration.. 

So thankful for Christ who became our supreme sacrifice and gave us hope for eternal life with Him.. 

Here in Canada ..

 Easter is more of a family celebration then Thanksgiving, although we love it all..  

My Easter table.. 

Found some snowdrops down at the cottage and was so pleased to copy the centrepiece from the blog called My French Country Home.. 

Then we all celebrated the day at our daughter's home.. 

Our lovely grandsons that we are so blessed with.. 

There are two wee guys, too.. 

As soon as the snow left we began our little treks up to our old farm in the Kent Hills.. 

It just sits there waiting for us to come by and stay for the day.. 

Make a meal or two and enjoy the lovely wind that blows there.. 

This is Terry's haven where he loves to go with or without me .. smile.. 

Mostly, I do go and we have a great time.. 

The countryside in our part of the world in the Spring.. 

Notice the field of Dandelions up behind the cows there on the hill... 

Lovely, wouldn't you say... 

Of course, Spring means Rhubarb and I made a batch of jam at the farm one day.. 

So love cooking in my Aunt Eva's old kitchen.. 

Then Spring also means starting to think of moving to our old seaside cottage for the Summer.. 

Going down and getting the heat turned on and making sure all is well.. 

Then in June we make the big switch to live beside one of the biggest loves of my life.. 

The Bay of Fundy.. 

Making meals in our old cottage kitchen again.. 

And then getting ready to open my shop for my last season..

Opening it for 3 days of the week ...

And having some precious company... 

Enjoying the Summer also includes my herb beds and all the wonderful things one can do with them.. 

Like making salves, powders and such.. 

Lots of recipes for homemade here on the blog.. 

Every once in awhile we would come home for a day just to check and make sure all was well.. 

One day I saw these lovely roses in passing on the way to the farm.. 

They can be used for powders and jellies.. 

Love gathering all these wonderful herbs and flowers and making homemade stuff.. smile.. 

Then the first of September I closed my wee shop for good and kind of retired... 

At least from this kind of business.. 

Not sure what 2015 will hold... smile.. 

Just praying for God's will in our lives.. 

I love doing and making so who knows.. 

I can't help myself, really.. 

We shall see.. 

And then moving back home again.. 

That is one happy day.. 

I love St. Martins and the bay and living close to our daughter but I love home.. 

There is no place like it in the whole world and it is nice to be back.. 

Then the Autumn comes along with more trips back to this dear old place... 

And the Fall means our annual visit to Kings Landing which is another love of my life.. 

I get my fix for the year to come.. grin.. 

Terry starts getting the next years wood and we had a lovely picnic up there in them thar hills.. grin ... 

I hope you all find the blog interesting as we go from this to that all year.. 

That is actually how I talk.. 

I go from one subject to another.. grin..

Ask my friends..  

All year long we have Keepers of the Home meetings that we share here on the blog.. 

Living and learning with the sweetest bunch of ladies that you could meet anywhere.. 

And then there was a big day as we celebrated Terry's 65th birthday with our precious family.. 

Took some wonderful family photos and this was one of our faves.. 

Seven darling grandsons and their Grandpa.. 

So blessed by God and so thankful.. 

Winter found it's way here to New Brunswick and soup days began again.. 

Either here at home or at the farm.. 

You all know I am a soup junkee and there is usually a recipe for one some where.. smile.. 

Winter, of course brings Christmas and all that goes with it.. 

More making and doing. 

Crafting a framed pic for dear daughter and our Homespun Christmas gifts.. 

She loved it by the way.. 

Now Christmas is over and the New Year begins today.. 

It has been a great day with Gramp at the farm with 2 of his grandsons and then our youngest son and family arriving for a Pasta supper.. 

They took Gramps and went to visit their cousin and see his horses and I am here feeling so thankful for all God has done in my life.. 

He is a faithful God and I am so happy to be a follower of Jesus Christ.. 

He is my everything .. He is my all... 

He is my everything.. Both great and small.. 

He gave His life for me.. 

Made everything new.. He is my everything.. 

Now.. how about you?  

In the New Year of 2015 I pray that you dear hearts will make Christ your everything.. 

I know that many of you out there already know Him for yourselves ... 

And when you do you will have a changed life.. 

No, everything will not be perfect and life will still happen but He will be your refuge and your hiding place.. 

Someone you can depend upon to be faithful and true.. 

One of the blessings in Terry's and my life is this little church and the dear sweet people who attend there.. 

Our pastor and family are greatly loved by us and our family and each day I pray and thank God for this tremendous blessing in our lives.. 

If you follow this blog and live in our area I would love for you to come and attend church with us some time.. 

Just email me and we will meet you there.. 

Or if you would just like to attend our Keepers meetings then I would love to have you.. 

Just let me know.. OK?

And I am thankful for all you sweet ladies who make it a habit to drop by and see what is going on here and leaving your kind comments and emails.. 
It sure does make it fun to write here and meet you all.. 
Thank you so much.. 

Well.. 
I guess that is all for tonight.. 

Hope this has blessed you some how.. 

I am going to do a post soon and try and find if there are any changes that you girls would like me to try out on here.. 
Next week, I hope.. 

But for now may God richly bless your lives this year and may you know the sweet peace that only Jesus can give.. 

May you prosper and be in good health and may your family be protected in all ways.. 

Love you all and you are in my prayers.. 

Hugs.. 
Faye...  

The days of Christmas...

Hello dear hearts.. 

Just a few pics sharing our Christmas days with you all.. 

We are blessed beyond measure..

 So enjoyed having a Christmas day with our all of our children and their families along with my Mother and Step-Father..

It was a great day of laughing, talking and of course our dinner.. 

Coffee and opening presents and some sweet guitar playing.. 

Grandpa was quite pleased to have a couple of our grandsons set up his tablet that he had received for his birthday.. 

I am thankful, too, as now we do not need to share this laptop.. smile.. 

Hope you are all having a great time with your family and friends.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by and being so faithful all year long.. 

Looking forward to hearing from you and God bless.. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS....

Good Evening everyone.. 

Just a little post sharing a few pics of our family and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.. 

May the coming year be blessed with true joy and peace that only Christ can give... 

We had these pics taken in the Fall... 

We started out many years ago just the two of us.. 

Then we had three precious babies who have grown into wonderful blessing to their Dad and I.. 

And now there are all of us.. smile.. 

A sweet dear family that God has given and we are so thankful for.. 

Have a happy Christmas, dear friends and thank you so much for being so faithful in reading the Blessed Hearth and you sweet comments.. 

Hugs... 

Christmas projects and doings..

Good Evening everyone.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth tonight.. 

As you can see we have a bit of snow here in New Brunswick.. 

A very heavy wet snow and the trees are gorgeous ... 

Thankfully, the hydro has stayed on and I have been working on house work and a few projects I thought you might like to see.. smile.. 

This is the little curtain I was telling you about.. 

I see one of the santa hats is not pulled tight.. 

Oh well, too late to fix it now.. grin.. 

My friend, Dawn found a pin on Pinterest that inspired our imaginations and this is what we came up with.. 

Just a hole in each side of the santa hats and the curtain rod poked through.. 

I have santas in my kitchen but the rest of the house is basically nativities and old fashioned Christmas decor.. 

I don't like him having first place but one room is fine.. 

Happy medium to everything, eh? 

The santa hugging the candle in the middle of the sill used to look like this... 

But after cutting off all of that fake fur and replacing it with sheep's wool... 

He turned out a bit more vintage, shall we say?  smile.. 

The red hats make the kitchen so cozy at night.. 

Terry took me for a lovely drive a couple of weeks ago to a wonderful open house near P. E. I.. 

Her name is Gael and she makes wonderful crafts... 

Her shop is full of antiques and vintage Christmas decor.. 

She is a darling and I totally enjoyed myself.. 

My husband is a dear to sit in the car and wait for me.. smile.. 

I found several Christmas gifts and I will try to get a few pics of them to show you soon.. 

Lots of wonderful gift ideas.. 

This was looking out our living room windows today.. 

So pretty.. 

I worked on the birch bunting and finished it..

It is all strung but too dark to take a pic of it tonight.. 

Perhaps tomorrow.. 

I did make this wee joy one for the guest bath.. 

I found these copper pieces at a thrift store and Terry polished them all up.. 

I am trying to fit some more copper pieces into my kitchen.. 

This is pinned on my Kitchens Pinterest board. 

I just love it and think after Christmas I am going to try and get the same feel here.. 

What do you all think?  

January inspirations, eh? 

I have a project for tomorrow for the basin as a centrepiece.. 

Maybe tomorrow... 

How are you ladies doing with all your preps for the big day?  

I need to get at my cooking.. I am so slow.. 

What baking item do your family want you to be sure to make? 

Mine always want ice cream cake for dessert and cookies and fudge.. Oh... and cherry cheese squares.. 

A sweet girl in our church gave me a recipe for Caramel Fudge.. 

I would like to make it for gifts as it was delicious.. 

Anyway, dear hearts this is all for tonight.. 

Thank you so much for the phone calls for my birthday and all of your dear comments.. 

Appreciate you sweet ladies.. 

God bless...   

A little Christmas thought...

Good Evening dear hearts..

I am trying to make up for my absence by posting again tonight.. smile..

Just sharing a few things we have been busy doing..

We had a Keepers of the Home meeting the night before my computer crashed..

I had done a whole post and with one wee swipe deleted it all and as it was quite late I thought I would do it the next day but alas it was not to be..

The dear girl smiling at you in the picture made the lovely cake above..

She was so kind as to give us her recipe..

Caramel Cream Cake..

For cream

-8 eggs

-200 grams sugar

-1 liter Milk

-150 grams sugar for caramel

Put the sugar in a pan on the stove ,medium high.

Melt the sugar ,take out and turn around until the sugar is all over. 

Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, add cold milk and vanilla extract.

Pour this mixture in to the sugared pan.

For the cake layer 

-6 eggs

-6 table spoon sugar

-6 tablespoon flour

-6 tablespoon water

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

Beat the egg white and add the sugar, the water continuing to beat.

Separately beat the yolks with baking powder and add to white eggs mixture ,but mix slowly .

Add flour mixing slow.

Pour this mixture on the top of the milk from the pan.

Bake for 50 minute in a preheated oven to 350 grade F.

Check to see if it is done.

The surface have to be brown and if you shake the pan ,it has to be firm.

If it seems like a jelly, cover and let it another 10 minute.

Take out from the oven and cold .

When is completely cold, put a plate on the pan, turn it upside down. 

The liquid from melted sugar should go around the cake and be absorbed by cake.

Cover with wiped cream. Decorate up to your imagination. 

Can be used with any kind of flavors  vanilla, rum, almond, etc

My dear hubby chopped me down a birch tree and gathered a bunch of greenery to decorate the house with..

I want him to cut the smallest tree into 15 slices about an inch thick and I will print the letters for Merry Christmas on them and string them up on the fireplace..

I hope so anyway..

Do you ladies use fresh greenery? 

It probably won't be put around until the weekend..

We made a quick trip to St. Martins to check on the cottage and made sure everything was snug and safe for the coming storms..

The weather was exactly how I love it..

Not too cold but windy with high waves..

I could have stayed there all day but we needed to get back home..

There was a lot to do.. smile..

I thought I would mention something to you all..

We have found that once our children left home Christmas just was not the same..

The longer they were married and their children came along the amount of time they managed to get home for the holiday changed too..

At first they come home a lot for Christmas but then they needed to have their own Christmas traditions so they came home less..

Now, they only come home for one night and a day at the most..

It is so precious to me when they are all here under one roof..

You know how I feel as I expect you all feel the same..

We understand all this because of course we had done the same thing.. eh?

Made our own Christmas dinners, had our own little customs and traditions as they grew up..

It was the natural thing to do.. smile..  

Anyway, the last few years I kind of turned into a Grinch, kind of..

Grin..

I just didn't see the point of doing the work for such a short time. 

I would do it but would not enjoy it very much..

I had lost my Christmas joy..

Anyway...

This year our pastor taught a simple little lesson on Christmas and one thing he said made quite an impression on me..

He noted that there is so much less in this world that celebrates our Lord Jesus..

The world is steadily changing and leaving Him out of the picture of our lives..  He mentioned that when there is a chance to celebrate Christ then we should do our best..

Actually, strive to find the joy and celebrate Him with our family and friends every chance we get ..

Basically...

to put Christ back into Christmas and old fashioned joy..

It does not need to be all about presents and such but the joy of sharing love and laughter with our family and friends.. Just of being together..

Isn't that a wonderful way to look at it..

Sooooo....

I am decorating and planning and finding joy in my days..

Spending time with friends and looking forward to the day we will spend with our family...

Just enjoying doing little things like making Christmas crafts and gifts and making lists of Christmas dinner recipes ideas and such..

Do you find joy in Christmas preps? 

Hopefully, tomorrow I will get a chance to take a pic of my new curtain that my friend found on Pinterst and we both made one..

So cute..

Today was spent away from home again but hopefully I can spend the day home tomorrow and get some work done... smile..

Well, my friends I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to hearing from you..

So glad some of you missed me.. smile..

Merry Christmas, sweet ladies..

He is the reason for the season.. xoxo

Here I am again..

 Hello everyone..
How are you ? 
Hope all is well in your part of the world..

I have been missing here on my blog for a bit as my computer crashed and it took a bit to get it back together..

I had no way really to explain so I am apologizing to you all now..

I had done a whole post on our Keepers of the Home meeting and erased it all in one swipe and then my computer broke..

Tonight it has taken me awhile to try and get things back in order and find that even the typing of this post is off but hopefully all will be back to normal soon.. smile..
 
We have been busy, though getting ready for Christmas and doing the seasonal things..
Visiting Christmas concerts, shopping, decorating and crafting.. I have not very much cooking done yet, though..
I think I will try and make one thing each day for the next few days and perhaps I will get at least a bit accomplished, eh?

I did take a few pics and got them on here and then lost them all so to be honest I am about to screammmmmm..
No, not really scream but perhaps yell a bit loudly.. grin..

I promise to try and get a decent post on tomorrow or when I can..

Here is a little project I finished last week..

A modge podge nativity picture..

I will try and get a better picture for you later..


As for now, my dears I am going to say good night and hopefully I will get the kinks out of everything soon..
Who would know that even my Blogger dashboard is different..
Oh well.. in due time..
How are your Christmas preps coming along..

Thanks so much for your sweet emails and concerns and I do look forward to hearing from you all..

God bless..