Friends Warm The Heart

Hello!  Today I'd love to share with you a sweet little tea set that a very dear friend gave to me.   

Friendship is one of the most precious gifts from the Lord Jesus.  

Whether you are far away from each other or right next door, these relationships bring something special and "warming" to our hearts. 

This sweet tea pot has a well for tea and it fits a lot so that you can keep adding hot water for many cups of tea!  Or if you just like yours super strong.

I love the floral top to the tea pot! 

Here is a shot of the first tea that I put in the well.  Organic peppermint leaves and dried chamomile flowers from my garden. 

A nice gentle soothing tea.

For isn't friendship like that.  A safe place where we can be ourselves and just relax in each other's company.  To laugh, or cry, or just share our lives together.

Here is a shot of the set before I started to enjoy my fresh steeped tea.

I love the reflection of the lace curtain in the tea.  

When I think of friends, these verses come to mind.

Proverbs 18:24 "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

John 15:12-15 " This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you."

In it all the Lord Jesus is the closest friend that we could ever have.  

What a great treasure it is when the Lord brings people into our lives that we can have true deep friendships with.  

For the friends in my life I am blessed! God is good! 

Thank you for dropping by! 

Praying the Lord has blessed you with true dear friends.

Sharing with Raising Homemakers. 

Twill You Crochet With Me?

Hello!  Do you love to crochet? Do you love twill yarn?  I was given some of the lighter twill yarn, and thought it would make a lovely blanket with some darker brown twill.  

I started with the yarn in the above picture and then needed a couple more of the dark brown as I went along.  

The fun part of this blanket is that the yarn names are chocolate chip and oatmeal.  Makes it sound yummy doesn't it?  

I went looking through the many patterns that are out there, and I settled on doing a granny ripple stitch.  It's so easy and here is the free pattern: Country Fair Chevron Crochet Pattern. 

The blanket ended up being about 5 foot by 5 foot.  

It is now on my son's bed and he loves it! 

Now my other son has asked for a blanket just like this but all in camouflage.  So when we were at the store this week, (and yes I always look at the yarn) he pulled out the last five balls they had and plopped them in the cart.  Then said...please?  I couldn't say no.  

I am delighted that they enjoy and desire to have homemade things.  

Thank you for dropping by! Praying you have a wonderful day!

Sharing with Raising Homemakers.

Simple Things At Home

Hello!  Do you enjoy the simple things at home?  

I do.

This week it snowed for the first time and even after three days, we still have some out there!  Just another sign that winter is going to come to stay soon.

The joy and brightness the fresh snow brings is incredible!  

We all watched in awe as the big fluffy flakes descended.  

While inside, we enjoy the fresh potted mum I bought for myself at the grocery store.  

For just $7 it will enjoyed for a long time.

We are also enjoying crocheting in the warm of our home.  My son made the "blanket" above for his stuffed moose.  He is learning and is doing very well with his tension. He is 8.  He still needs to work on the ends. :)  He's so keen it's fun to have him pull up his crochet basket next to me, turn to me; smile, then say lets do this together.  Oh my heart bursts!  

I have also added some new lace curtains to our place as the window sucks out so much light at night.  Now the light is reflected nicely back inside and brightens that corner of the house.  

My husband also found this little green lamp in the corner for me at the free store.  Now that corner is nice and bright for those who sit there reading during Bible time.  

The african violets are also blooming beautifully at the moment and add a nice cheerful burst of colour in the living room....and at my desk below. 

It is wonderful how the simple things in our home make it cozy and inviting.  The goal is not being too busy to notice and take it all in.  The Lord is so good in the details of our homes.  It's an honour to help create these environments for our families, we need to remember to enjoy it as well.  

Today after canning 25 jars of applesauce with my daughter (who did some of it all by herself) we were tired.  I retreated to my room and as I took my crocheting out, here came my children one by one.  Seeking company and the coziness of my "new" bed!  

My husband just purchased us a new bed that was on sale at the local furniture store.  It's a solid foam one, and it is SO comfortable and I have slept so well on it. 

But in all things, a home is made with not only the things that we put in it, but it's the "life" the people that gather there in that makes it a home.  The Lord presiding over it all.  

Thank you for dropping by!  

Sharing with Raising Homemakers.

Do You Love Apples?

Do you love apples?  I do! 

It's full-time and the MacIntosh apples are now in the stores.  

They're my favourite for they are sweet and cook down so nice and soft.  

No need for extra sugar with these. 

We purchased a few pounds this week and plan to make a few different things with them.

This round I am making dehydrated apples. 

We found this dehydrator at the free store this year and it works perfectly.  

I found some inserts in a stores clearance section that I trimmed down to fit inside.  

This way it'll be much easier to clean.  

I set to pealing, coring, and slicing up the apples.

My boys helped lift each layer (we have five) and line up the apples on the trays.  

I think they did great at their spacing!  

Then we plugged it in on the counter top and waited....the fan came on and in a couple minutes there was warm air blowing out of the air vents on top.  Oh the smell....yummo! 

Above you can see the last of them getting a bit more drying time. 

Below is the plate with our first batch of dehydrated apples.  

We were all delighted with them! 

What a treat to have this way of enjoying apples! 

We used to use our electric oven, but now with a propane stove it's not possible to get the low heat option. We also have a wood stove for heating in the winter...we shall try drying apples on a rack behind the stove once it's on for the day.  

Thank you so much for dropping by!  Do share if you like dried apples, what you favourite apple is or your favourite way to prepare apples. 

Praying you have a wonderful day!

Sharing with Raising Homemakers.

Oh, I found this great chart on apples!