Brownie Pops and Squirrel Visitor

Hello! 

How is your day?  It's a beautiful snowy winter's day here in the Yukon.  

My son requested this fun treat and it was fun to make. 

They are brownie pops.  

I used my regular brownie recipe and poured it into a new pan that my son was given.  It has the greatest shape and they cooked very quickly and evenly in it.  

Then we melted semi-sweet chocolate chips: dipped the pops in,

rolled in sprinkles, and popped in a jar until consumed. 

A fun quick activity to fill an afternoon sweet tooth.

The pictures of the close ups are a bit blurry, but I didn't have time to take more 

since they didn't last very long.  

This pan is from Wilton and is non-stick.  I'm not a fan of non-stick, but it works great and I don't think it'll be over used to where the coating is pealing.  

Next time we're going to try it with regular cake.

Brownies

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup melted butter

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

* Mix all wet ingredients together then add the dry.

*Bake 350F for about 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. 

(of course with these pops I just had to wait and check on them)

* cool in pan and then remove and cut up. 

(With the pops, they slid right out of the pan and cooled on the rack)

I love this recipe since it turns out perfect each time...

never did have that with melting the chocolate squares. 

I also want to introduce you to Chubs.  He's one of the resident squirrels in our yard.

He's very curious and friendly.  

On this day he came down the tree to talk to me.  

He listened to me talk to him and was interested in me taking pictures of him. 

He often talks to the kids while they're out, and plays games with our dog Sophie.  

The squirrels like to make these tunnels in the snow and have stashes of seeds that we no doubt will discover in the spring.  It's fun to watch them diving into them and popping up in other areas of the yard. 

Well thank you for dropping by!  I hope you have a delightful day!

Jennifer

Take Time for Tea

Hello!  Just wanted to share some thoughts with you today.  

It's about blogging.  

There are many reasons people blog.  Some are just fun and some are for financial needs. 

Some have many links and challenges, and some are just where people share their lives. 

I have been involved in many different things on my blog in the past, and 

 I have "switched gears".  I now only want to blog for fun.

No schedule, no commitments, no fuss. 

Like having a cup of tea with a friend.

I just want to share this life the Lord Jesus has blessed me with and interests with whomever would like to join me. 

If you have been following me for awhile, you'll have noticed that I'm kinda sparatic. 

I only want to share as I have something to share.  

I have met many wonderful people through blogging, and I do want to seek to spend more time visiting others.  To have a virtual "cup of tea" with friends. 

Praying you have a lovely day! 

Great Grandma Bradley Molasses Cookies

Hello! 

Today I'd love to share these wonderful molasses cookies with you. 

My great grandmother Bradley's recipe has been a treasure to my family for many years.

Whenever it's mentioned, everyone lines up for as many as they can coax me into giving them, and it was that way when I was a child to. 

~smiles~

They are sweet, but not overly.  

They are a touch caky, but moist.

They are simply delicious!

Molasses Cookies

-Grandma Bradley

1 cup shortening (I use butter)

1 cup sugar

1 beaten egg

1 cup molasses

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ginger, 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup sour milk (just add a touch of vinegar to the milk)

4 1/2-5 cups flour

Stir it all together, spoon onto cookie sheet, bake 350F

This makes a big batch! 

Also if you like you can roll it into logs and chill before cutting. 

These cookies are great frozen once cooked, so you can have a stash in your freezer. 

Thanks for dropping by!  

Perhaps you have a recipe that has been passed down in your family that you love...

if so, do feel free to share! 

Jennifer

Tale of a Yellow Tea Pot

Hello! 

Thanks for taking time out of your day to drop by!  

Today I'd love to share with you a couple sweet yellow tea pots that I have found at the Free Store, on two different occasions.  

Not sure what brought them to be left there, but it always makes me wonder what kind of stories they could tell from the tea they served to others.  In a way it's better to find them this way, then to get them brand new.  

They were both very dirty when I found them, very stained by tea.

I have learned that baking soda is amazing to clean tea stains as well.  

It took no time at all to have them sparkling clean and ready to use again.

They are both made by the same company, just different sizes.  

The smaller has this amazing tea strainer that fits right in.

It comes out easily to empty and the mesh is super fine which is fantastic for loose tea.

SO the tale of this little tea pot is that it has come to my home from another home. 

It was well used, and will continue to be.  

Sometimes sweet things are simple things.

Time to enjoy a cup of tea! 

Praying you have a lovely day! 

Jennifer

Butter Them Up

Hello!

Today I have a great do it yourself conditioner for your wooden tools in your kitchen

I came across this recipe from the Prairie Homestead,

 and thought I'd give it a try.

I chopped up some beeswax and spooned out the coconut oil,

then waited for it to melt.  

I poured it into a mason jar...for I kinda have a few of them. 

~smiles~ 

Once the mixture had cooled some I slathered some on my wooden spoons, and a couple cutting boards that were in need of some attention.  

Well.....I think they all are, but I'm doing an experiment.  

I'm going to see if the coconut scent comes off on the veggies and such.  If it does, I'll be making this recipe with refined coconut oil instead and using the other for salve or something. 

They have turned out to be a deep honey colour, and I'm so pleased with how they turned out.

Something new for my kitchen...though you might enjoy knowing about it if you didn't already. 

Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Jennifer

Why Hook Size Matters!

Hello!  I just wanted to pop in and share these hats that I've made a bit ago.  

I looked all over for a pattern and decided on this one: 

Slouchy Hat Pattern

-designed by Sierra

It calls for a 10mm hook for the brim, and a size 12 hook for the body of the hat.  

Well, I only had the 10 so I though I'll just do a looser tension and it would be fine. 

Well,  I was wrong, and it didn't fit my head at all. 

SO....my daughter picked me up a size 12 hook and I tried again.  

This time it turned out wonderfully and I love wearing this hat! 

I used a ball of Wool-Ease thick and quick yarn from Lion Brand.

So from the above picture you can see on the left how much bigger the proper size hook makes the hat and the smaller hat is tucked away for an extra for my kids. 

Hope you have a lovely day!

Old Silver Tray

Hello!  

Today I have a lovely find to share with you.  

I actually found this a couple of years ago I think.

Just an old silver tray right?

It was so heavily tarnished, scratched and stained that I almost left it at the free store.

I tried cleaning it with a chemical tarnish remover...didn't work and smelled SO bad. 

I got discouraged and took it out and put it in the flower bed with my other metal items.

Then this past year a friend Wendy from September Violets told me about cleaning with baking soda. 

We'll....there is me procrastinating but I did bring it in the house and wash it with my dishes.  

I  have used it covered for things like with the tea surprise. 

Then today I decided was the day to give it another try.  

I dumped some baking soda and water on the tray and started to scrub. 

Wow, it was amazing how the tarnish came off and even though it was a lot of work (and I'll do another round later) it looks wonderful!  

Here is a before shot of the bottom.  That is what all of it looked like.

Scrub scrub scrub....lots of elbow grease needed.

But oh the rewards! I love the etching on this tray!

The last wonderful thing about this is that I was able to uncover this stamp 

that explains a bit about this item. 

I love things that have stories attached to them.  This item was made in Canada to! Things from time past that were used and loved, and at times forgotten about.  It's now a cherished item in my home. 

Thanks for dropping by!  I hope you have a lovely day!

Jennifer

Surprise Tea

Hello!  Today I have a special surprise tea I made up for my children today. 

My girls were downstairs doing school lessons and painting. 

So I made up a tray of tea and little cookies for them.  

I took the girls tea down on the tray and they were pleasantly surprised.  

Once I came upstairs, our dog seeing I didn't have the tray with me went down to join in the treats. 

~smiles~

Of course the boys and I wanted tea as well so I made up a pot.  

I laid out a doily placemat on my silver serving tray.

I added a tea cup for one daughter and tea mug for the other. 

A jar of cane sugar and a plate of cookies. 

I don't usually allow sweets in the morning but thought it would be fun today. 

I have discovered this chuck cane sugar at the store in the bulk bins.  

I have mixed feelings about bulk bins, but when you have to turn a lever it's better then having the bins open for "anything" to get in there. Just a thing of mine. 

I found this sweet Royal Albert China plate "Birch Trees" at the free store. 

It's perfect for little treats like these. 

I used my Country Lane tea cups for most of us, and the little Switzerland tea spoon. 

Then I pulled out a tea mug for my eldest daughter who isn't a huge fan of the dainty tea cups.

We had some Jasmine Green Tea that we recently discovered through a friend.  

It is a nice delicate floral tea, and with a touch of sweetness it is now one of my favourites.

Thank you for dropping by!  

I hope you are having a lovely day, and perhaps a nice cup of tea.

Winter Treasure Finds

Hello!  Welome to my desk.  I would like to share with you some treasures that I just found that are sitting on m desk waiting to be taken to their needed places.  

Yesterday my husband took me out to a huge indoor garage sale!!! 

We love these kinds of things and it was so fun, as there are a lot of other people that like the same thing.  We met friends there and met others to chat with as well. 

I found a few treasures to bring home, and many other wonderful things 

that I left for someone else to buy.  

I found these lovely diamond shaped doilies of sweet blue.

Some upholstery quality blue floral fabric,

and some lovely cotton, pink and white.

I also found this wonderful donut pan for just $2.  

I have been wanting to make cake donuts, and this is the best way to do it. 

I'll be sharing a recipe when I get to making some.

Then I also found this great garden clipper for just $3.

With all the hands in my family, I did really need more than just the one that I had. 

My kids are going to help me Lord willing make a willow fence for the garden this spring.

Then I found this yarn at the Free Store that we stopped at on the way home. 

Lovely grey...I have since wrapped it all into one ball of darker grey.

I also for $5 found this great trebuchet for the boys to put together! 

It's still brand new and it'll be interesting to see how it works...perhaps outside on the deck as I'm not a huge fan of flying objects in the house. 

Then there is our sweet Sophie who loves to relax wherever we're at.  

Thanks for dropping by and sharing in my fun.  

Praying you have a beautiful day! 

Strawberry Shortcake from Scratch

Hello!  It's been warming up a bit this week to around -18C. 

So I thought that something fun for snack was in order. 

My daughter was looking through her recipes for "non-chocolate" treats. 

Yes, we do try to eat other kinds of treats. 

~smiles~ 

She found a recipe for sponge cake, and I had just bought a container of strawberries...and there was whipping cream in the fridge...it was meant to be!

The sponge cake is so super easy to make and HERE is the recipe.

It only takes four ingredients and is super easy. 

Above you can see little indents in the top...well that is just me touching it to see if it bounces back...don't do that.  This cake isn't like most cakes. :) 

Oh, and to mention that you only have to lay a cut out sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the pans, no greasing needed. 

My family enjoyed the treat, and it cheered us all with the spring flavour and colour.  

Hope you have a wonderful day!