The Weekend Recipes and Homespun Christmas Plans....

Hello everyone.. 

Hope you all had an awesome weekend.. 

We are having our January thaw here in Eastern Canada.. 

Melting going on everywhere.. 

Made for a great weekend.. 

The weather is so mild that there is a fog...

Very pretty, actually.. 

Yesterday we had some great church.. 

Good teaching, preaching and fellowship.. 

God is so good... 

Then on Saturday our daughter and husband picked us up and took us to the city.. 

The grandsons were on the hill so there were just the four of us.. 

We decided to try out a new Grill they just built in Moncton.. 

It is a lovely restaurant.. 

We really enjoyed their food.. 

Wonderful appetizers.. 

Med bread with 4 different dips... 

And calamari.... Delicious.. 

I was excited to see if I could make something the same.. 

So today I made some Naan bread but did not get the lovely color that was on theirs.. 

I found other recipes after that tell you to spread butter and broil.. 

I think I need to try it again but Terry said it tasted good.. 

I only made 2 of the dips.. 

Olive Tapenade ...   and Aioli...

They were good!!

TAPENADE RECIPE... HERE

AIOLI RECIPE.. HERE

NAAN BREAD RECIPE ...HERE

This would be lovely to serve to company.. 

They also had salsa and a smoked salmon dip which would be easy to do..

For lunch today we had a homemade Irish Stew.. 

So needless to say we did not require much supper.. 

The bread thing was nice for a change.. 

Shonda and I discussed our Homespun Christmas plan.. 

I thought I would share it with you all in case any of you would like to give it a try, also.. 

Just the two of us are doing it..

 This is the first try so we will work out the kinks.. smile.. 

We are going to spend $50- $60.00 limit on each other.. 

Everything will be bought at Thrift stores or yard sales, homemade or makeovers.. 

We will only spend the limit on the gift and the supplies it takes to remake the gift.. 

We both decided we do not want any more snowmen.. smile.. 

We will start right away..... 

This is a redo idea that I did before Christmas as you recall.. 
Shonda loved this.. 

A $2.50  Santa from the Salvation Army turned into this.. 

So, this would end up costing about $5.00...  

The only cost was the beard... 

Some ideas that I can think of are.. 

Doll re dos, tablecloth ideas, wood items redone and so on..

I gave her some coffee spoons and an angora shawl for Christmas that I found at Thrift.. She like those.. 

Maybe a second hand scarf or such.. 

We both like primitive so it should be easy.. smile..

If any of you would like to do this with your daughter or friend just leave me a note and perhaps we can exchange some ideas as to what we are doing throughout the year.. 

OK? 

We could pick a day each month and tell some of our ideas... 

Pinterest will come in handy doing this, I am sure... 

Well, this is all for tonight my dears.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by and welcome to the new friends who have signed up for the blog.. 

Love having you.. 

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you all.. 

Blessings.. 

LINKED TO..HOMESTEAD BARN HOP

Another Date Night....

Good Evening there dear hearts.. 

Here we are another Friday night.. 

And another Date Night.. 

I wonder how many of these Terry and I have had.. 

In just another month or two we will be married 43 years.. 

That is older then a lot of you sweet girls, eh? 

I could not sleep the other night and I was remembering some of those early days when there was just him and I.. 

We were just a couple of kids.. 

We had moved to St. John and did not know hardly anyone.. 

We only had each other for a bit.. 

Friday night was special even then.. 

He worked away most weeks in those early days  and came home on Friday night.. 

I would try to have a nice meal ... 

I had the most lovely gas stove.. 

It was yellow and had a grill in the middle...

It was the best stove that I have ever had.. 

I wish I still had it.. smile.. 

The other night as I lay thinking about those days I tried to remember my dishes and I couldn't ..

My pots and pans were avocado color (it was the seventies..grin)

My aunt and uncle gave us a lovely rose set of flatware... 

But I can't remember my dishes nor can Terry.. 

We both remember the ones that his dear aunt gave us for special but not our everyday ones.. 

Oh well.. 

Our memory is not what it used to be.. 

We went to Sussex today and did our grocery shopping.. 

It was fun as we kept meeting people we know and love.. 

We decided we would buy a steak and make supper here at home rather then eat out.. 

So.. 

I set the table with the little set I found at the Thrift store the other day.. 

Remember?  

I so love them.. 

And the lovely place mats..

They have sort of a French Linen look, eh? 

Terry and I now use Martha Steward's cutlery.. 

A Christmas gift from him several years ago.. 

And the little napkin rings that my friend Dawn gave me many years ago.. 

The cloth napkins have a "H" embroidered on them.. 

 Terry has decided that I have finally learned how to cook a perfect steak.. 

Finally, after viewing so many cooking shows I think I have conquered it.. smile.. 

Creamy mashed potatoes and lemon buttered broccoli ... 

All finished up with .... 

Homemade Apple Pie.. 

The steak cost $3.00 so I think it was much cheaper to eat at home.. 

It is nice to go out, of course but it is lovely to do something a little special at home sometimes..
Right?

Today the dear man bought me two herbs in pots .. 

Basil and Thyme... 

Each time we go I hope to get one or two and get my window sill full for the Winter..

Do you girls have herbs growing ?

I started some spouts, too the other day.. 

Mustard ones.. 

Have you started any yet? 

I hope you enjoyed the wee trip down memory lane with me.. smile.. 

We have come a long way down the road so every Date night is another blessing from the Lord.. 

He is over on the couch eating peanuts and I am on the lazy boy chatting with you girls.. 

It is precious just being here in the lamp light together.. 

God is good and we are blessed.. 

Take care and have an awesome weekend, my friends.. 

Hugs.. 

Winter Days..

Hello everyone.. 

Just a few pics of the last few days.. 

After being in the house for a week my dear husband took me for a little drive yesterday.. 

We went up to check on the farm.. 

Lots of snow up there..

It was so nice to stop for a coffee and go for a nice long drive.. Today we are stayed in again.

 I managed to get my Christmas closet all cleaned and decluttered and repacked.. 

What a satisfying feeling to get it all sorted and done.. 

The surplus is headed for the Salvation Army..

I kept out a few snowmen for another month or so..  

It is still Winter here for a while.. smile.. 

I have been doing a little baking.. 

Homemade bread and orange muffins..

Turkey Casserole.. 

I don't think we want to see turkey for quite some time.. smile..

We are feeling much better, thank the Lord.. 

Thank you so much for dropping by and visiting.. 

Enjoy having you all and look forward to hearing from you.. 

Do you have some Winter projects on the go? 

Take care, my dears.. 

Hugs..

A little Winter project...

Good Evening everyone... 

It was a simply beautiful day here today ..

We are on the mend... 

This particular flu that has hit New Brunswick is pretty potent according to the news..

We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers..

Just thankful that we are starting to feel like doing something.. 

I did finish the little project that I mentioned last post.. 

The mystery concoction is actually homemade dish soap.. 

We had actually almost run out of it and so I

 decided that I would try a homemade one.. 

There is not much required to make it.. 

Just a few ingredients...   

I will give you the recipe just in case you might like to try it.. 

I must tell you that I love it... 

Homemade Dish Liquid Soap.. 

1/2 cup of soap shavings.. I used a bar of ivory and a wee hotel bar..

4 cups of water

4 T. white vinegar

2 T. glycerin 

1 tsp. salt 

Place the shavings, glycerin  and water in a pot and stir with a whisk on low heat.. 

Do not boil.. 

Just heat up carefully..Then cool off a bit and add vinegar and salt.. 

When cool add essential oils.. 

I added about 5 drops of tea-tree oil and enough lavender to make it smell really good.. (these are optional)

(I love a nice smelling dish soap)

Let it sit overnight.. 

It did not thicken enough to suit me so I added the tsp of salt and let it sit again.. 

If it is not thick enough then add another tsp of salt.. 

It works perfectly in the dispenser bottle and looks nicer then a bottle of dish soap.. 

My little secret is that I whisked several squirts of Dawn lavender dish soap to the batch before I bottled it  just so that I could have some bubbles.

Making this surely saves money and you know what is in it.. 

Homemade laundry soap does not have bubbles and does a good job but the cover is down and you don't see it.. right?

If you don't need bubbles then just leave the few squirts of bought dish soap out..

I love the smell of lavender and the glass turns out spotless.. 

The vinegar must cut the grease.. 

This made enough for a dispenser full and a small crock..

You could use whatever scent you like for yourself.. 

Like sweet orange or lemon or even rosemary would be nice.. 

The tea-tree is antibacterial and anti fungal... 

Let me know if you make it and how you like it.. 

Winter time here means eating potatoes more often.. 

This is one of our faves.. 

A bit of olive oil, sliced raw potatoes, salt and pepper..

Place in a hot fry pan..

Turn over...  

When tender a nice handful of fresh parsley and a few squeezes of lemon juice.. 

What is one of your favorite winter dishes?  

Thank you so much dear friends for visiting and leaving your wee notes.. 

I was so pleased to read the last comment that I received on my last posting.. grin.. 

He told me he reads the blog and I did not believe him.. 

I guess he does..grin.. 

My favorite son-in-law.. 

What can I say?  smile.. 

We love and appreciate our in law children.. 

God bless you all...

LINKED TO..BARN HOP

ALSO TO...TEACH ME TUESDAYS

ALSO TO..CLEVER CHICKS BLOG HOP

A soup kind of day...

Good Afternoon, my dears.. 

How are you all doing?  

As you know Terry and I have been down with the flu and we are thankful for your prayers.. 

We just start to think we are getting over it when it hits us again.. 

So annoying when you have dead pine boughs drooping and empty Kleenex boxes all over the place.. 

I noticed yesterday that the pine on the fireplace mantel here in the family room had turned a nice rusted color.. gross.. 

I could not stand it and when Terry went to the doctor I decided to start gathering some of it up.. 

At least it and the ones on the kitchen sill and such are gone.. 

There are of course some higher up but I am quite week and decided falling off of a chair once in the last few days was quite enough.. smile.. 

Lovely oranges are so good when you have a cold, eh? 

Anyway... 

I did start to make something but just could not finish it today..

What do you think it is I am making?  

Here is a soup that I did yesterday ... 

My Gram always called this ... 

POOR MAN'S SOUP.. 

1 large chopped onion.. 

3 or 4 peeled and chopped potatoes.. 

Almost cover it with chicken broth (Gram used just water)

Add some salt and simmer away until tender.. 

I usually don't need to drain any of this but if you have a lot left then drain until you have about a cup left.. 

Then add about 1 cup of milk and some cereal cream until you 

have the amount of liquid you like.. 

A knob of butter, freshly ground pepper and a handful of chopped parsley.. 

Yummy with a crusty roll... 

You can double or triple this according to your family... 

This serves 2..

Hope you like it..

It is really good for what ails you.. smile..

Doing a little reading today.. 

Love old books like this.. 

A source of inspiration... 

Thanks so much for dropping by and listening to me complain.. 

God is good and we are fine.. 

Just a little under the weather.. 

And frustrated because there is so much to do... 

Perhaps tomorrow I will have the mystery stuff finished and can show you..

Meanwhile let me know what you think it is.... grin.. 

You guys are fun.. 

God bless you all... 

A HAPPY AND BLESSED NEW YEAR EVERYONE..

Good Evening, my dears..

Well... 

Here we are in the year 2013:-)

I wonder what will this year hold for this old world? 

A very scary thought if you only trust in yourself and what you can accomplish.. 

But such peace of mind when you put your trust in Jesus Christ.. 

Knowing that everything is under his control and that he holds us and ours in the palm of his hand.. 

We can lay our head down at night and know that all is well.. 

He is faithful...

Terry and I have been a bit under the weather and I feel bad that I have not felt like being on the computer and visiting you all.. 

So.. 

For tonight I would love to thank you all for your visits and comments the past year..

You ladies are great.. 

I have made some wonderful new friends but also so thankful to my friends and cousins who live near me and check up every once in a while to see what is going on at the Henry House.. smile..

I have been lying back today covered up with my new Sherpa Sheep throw and thinking of all the projects and such that I would like to do on the blog this year.. 

So please come back.. 

Another day or so and this old cold should scatter.. smile.. 

But in the meantime here is the link from last new years when I felt more like writing..

Just click HERE..

Love to you all.. 

Happy New Year...

    Micah 7-7

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me..

Family Time...A long post..

Good Day Everyone.. 

This is what we woke up to this morning..

A lot of snow.. 

There are 30 - 40 cm. about in the province so far .. 

This afternoon it is still coming down.. 

Church services have been cancelled and such.. 

Yesterday, we had our wonderful family Christmas day..

Shonda and her family came Friday night and stayed overnight.. 

We had a lovely time and then woke up and had breakfast.. 

They enjoyed the no knead bread recipe that I share HERE..

I made 2 loaves on Friday and decided to make another one early on Saturday morning..

She was a great help.. 

Setting the tables and carving turkey and all those little things that needs done.. 

I love doing the cooking and she is a great organizer as her Dad told her.. smile..

Thank you, Shonda.. 

Her and I are a bit excited because we are planning a homespun Christmas next year.. 

And... 

They are planning on being here on Christmas Eve and staying over...

 Oh joy... 

On with the story...

Turkey was done and a ham was in the slow cooker.. 

Gravy , roasted root veggies, mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, stove top dressing and a big pot of fried rice..(the rice was mostly for my in-law children..smile)

Cranberry sauce, pickles, bread, and such.. 

Here is someone's plate.. grin..

I know it is Dustin's because of the end piece of bread.. grin..

There are 7 boys but their table was not quite so fancy, I see.. 

They seemed to be having a great time.. 

And then there was dessert.. 

AND a line up... grin..

This is their all time Christmas favorite.. 

Did I hear that someone was back 3 times.. 

A grandson....smile..

Homemade Ice Cream Cake.. 

Here is the recipe.. 

An extra large lasagna pan.. 

You need 24 ice cream sandwiches.. 

Put 12 on the first layer.. 

Then cover with a large container of cool whip.. 

Another layer of ice cream sandwiches.. 

Another layer of cool whip.. 

Spread around and swirl some good caramel ice cream sauce and sprinkle a half package of skor bits.. 

I always put in toothpicks.. 

Cover with plastic wrap and FREEZE FOR 24 HOURS.. 

Then we had some cheesecake from Costco.. 

And dear Veronique brought her blueberry cheesecake special..

Thanks, dear.. 

Some pumpkin pie, tea and coffee or punch.. 

That just about wrapped up the meal.. 

Taking our coffee or whatever to the living room we all opened up our gifts for each other.. 

So much fun.. 

It was the first Christmas with us for 3 of them.. 

I wonder what they thought.. grin..

Wrapping paper and tissue and laughter.. 

Such a dear family.. 

We all loved everything.. 

One lad got a huge bottle of French Mustard from Gramps.. 

You never know what might be coming your way.. 

Then it was time to relax although the dear girls did all of the dishes.. 

Thank you Tammy and Shonda..

Someone thought to bring Grandpa the paper..

And someone decided to enjoy the comic section.. 

Sweet, eh?

Then it was time for them to go...   

Good bye dear lads.. 

Yuppp.. 

You will remember this as the year that Mom fell off the chair... (That's another story)..grin..

And now today I am thankful.... 

Not for the presents..

 nor the trimmings on the tree..

 or even the food on the table..

Although..

 I am thankful for all of those things..

 But today I am more thankful for the dear memories that have been collected, labeled and stored away in the compartments of my heart..

To be taken out and looked at and to marvel upon whenever I need to..

Days when I miss my children and grandsons then I will remember..

The sweet hugs and kisses... 

the laughing and the chattering all through the house.. 

the sound of Grandpa teasing those boys.. 

the smell of the turkey and the clatter of dishes.. 

our bowed heads while the blessing is being spoken.. 

the sweet warmth of the fires... 

the feel of an arm on my shoulder and a whisper in my ear.. 

the look on my child's face even when they are all grown up.. 

my Mom being here.. 

even falling off a chair while my sons try to rescue me...

and for the love that is so special in a family.. 

Thank you my dear Jesus.. 

I do so appreciate it all.. 

Then when they had all gone.. 

Terry and I sat down and talked about our day.. 

What had been said and done  and how good it was to be all together.. 

And now today.. 

It is just Grandpa and I again... 

Oh, life is wonderful..

And a whole new year around the corner...

What are you sweet ladies planning?  

Sweet hubby gave me these.. 

He truly knows the way to my heart.. grin.. 

Now all I need is a cup of coffee and I can start making my list of projects and as my dear son -in -law mentioned we had best make our new year resolutions.. 

smile.. 

So from our house to yours may the richest of God's blessings be upon you and your dear families.. 

May he guide and protect you with his love.. 

And may he reign supreme in your lives..

Thanks for stopping by.. 

Leave me a note.. Please.. smile.. 

Luv ya all..