Homemaking Mondays: Lovely Summertime

Hello! 

I hope you are having a lovely summertime! 

We harvested some lovely golden delight squash from 

our front window and roasted it up with some herbs. 

I love this part of summer. 

We had it with some fried up sausage, onions, and potatoes.

The forget-me-nots are flowering and so my daughter picked some for the table. 

They are so delicate and lovely...even though they create burs.

There was one day this past week that was warm enough to enjoy being wet outside. 

My boys wanted to have a water fight so...I cut up some sponges.

They make great substitutes for water balloons.  

Re-usable and they don't leave debris that has to be 

picked up all summer long either. 

Then I also taught my kids to whistle with a blade of grass. 

It was so fun! 

I was off in the trees when I did the first whistle...

and then the boys came running. 

We have this big grass all around the place. 

Once they got the hang of it it was pretty noisy. 

Who needs store bought toys?

Then I found some little horsetail I picked for tea. 

Then later in the week my daughter found some huge foxtail

and picked a bit to dry for tea.  It's so good!  

Annie from Growing in Grace shared this tea...and I just had to try some. 

There are so many things about summer that are lovely.

What are some of your favourite things? 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Forest Foraging

Hello!  

Today I'd like to share with you 

some of the fun I had with my younger daughter. 

We went out with a basket to pick a few spruce tips.

They are so beautiful and new right now. 

We picked a few that we are going to dry for tea.

I just have them laid out on a piece of screen 

and will turn them periodically.

Then I also added  a few to some honey to see how that tastes. 

Some make syrup with them - some use them in smoothies. 

I find I use them most just for a nice cup of tea. 

While we were out I also found a sweet little patch of 

fireweed growing. 

I picked a few to enjoy for lunch.

When picked small they are mild and tender. 

They are very nutritious and a great addition to your diet if possible.

Later this summer I hope to pick some of the mature leaves 

to make into a tea. 

So healthy and free! 

The Lord God created all these things for us!

It is great to be able to go out into the forest and forage.

The food out there is not just for the animals.

While we were out, the mosquitos were also hungry. 

Long skirts and long sleeves help to keep them

from driving you crazy!  

My daughter took this picture of me.

Also with harvesting wild foods...

it is so important to only take some from here 

and some from there.

Then the plants can still flourish. 

Praying your day is lovely! 

Thanks so much for dropping by. 

It is great to hear from you to...I cherish your comments. 

With all the talk of tea...

I think I'll go put the kettle on.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Taking A Deep Breath

Hello! 

How is your day? 

Things have been busy in my days and there are

times that I need to just

take a deep breath. 

As the Lord transitions my family 

to a new home,

I find there is actually a lot of 

emotion that felt. 

Tonight I took a walk in the forest with my husband 

and daughter. 

It's been raining a lot lately and the fresh 

smell was so refreshing.

Compelling me to just take a deep breath.

Even though it seems a bit overwhelming

in the details, I know that the

Lord will take care of us. 

Today with the help of my girls I packed up

most of the kitchen. 

Leaving just the essentials. 

We packed the plates, mugs, and bowls.

Then pulled out our camping dishes which are much lighter 

and will easily go back into their boxes when we move.

I ground up a gallon jar worth of fresh flour to 

use with our other store-bought flower for bread.

Now the grinder is packed away.

Soon we'll need to buy bread for it'll be too 

much to bake bread in all the activity to come.

Today I thought I'd share a picture of some 

fresh baked sourdough bread. 

I love the smell of it and it's chewy texture when I 

bake it in the dutch oven. 

I've also been making "fancy eggs".

I love to add some veggies with my eggs.

My kids seem to enjoy it and so this will be happening 

a lot more.  

Then I really enjoy skillet biscuits.

It's the perfect amount of biscuits for breakfast. 

We like ours with homemade 

strawberry jam or grape jelly. 

We don't have grapes that really grow up in our part

of the world.... so Smuckers it is. :) 

All of these foods smell so good. 

Nice to take a deep breath when you come down the stairs.

Food... especially homemade food is a comfort. 

Praying you have a blessed day! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: A Touch of Colour

Hello! 

I just love the touch of colour

that fresh flowers give. 

These sunflowers have been blooming for a few weeks now. 

They delight me each day.  

The one variety of dwarf sunflowers we 

planted this year are called

Sunspots. 

Cheerful and long lasting. 

They also have multiple blossoms each.

Once they are done blooming 

I am going to pull them out and plant some other flowers in their place.

I find that having flowers is an important part

of a garden...and not just for the 

beneficial insects. 

I think they bring joy. 

My husband bought me some cut flowers for mother's day.

They lasted a long time and added 

a special touch to our table. 

Sometimes in life we just need beautiful things. 

This past week has been busy with helping my daughter finish her lessons. 

Then there was packing and preparing the house for showings.

Our landlady is so very thoughtful to make the showings on the days 

that we regularly clean so it doesn't put a big burden on us.

It's been raining so much and the trees and other plants are bright green.

The grass is starting to really grow and the perennial flowers are popping up.

I've always been drawn to the bluish kind of flowers, and the lupin are

coming up all over and are so very pretty! 

The plants we have in our garden pots are coming along nicely.  

I look forward to some fresh things as summer comes. 

There has been some other new life in our little habitat. 

The other day we saw a moose and her little new babies 

walk through the water close to our home. 

Then late in the evening (about 11:30pm) 

they came through again and this time 

my daughter got a couple good pictures of them. 

Well..as good as you can with zoom and darkness. 

What a blessing to see them and know that 

the Lord is bringing new life in so many ways.

What brings a touch of colour to your life? 

Colour comes in many forms. 

Fresh flowers and blessings.

Little details often overlooked, 

but all the little things can also bring joy. 

Praying you have a blessed day!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer