Homemaking Mondays: Winter Coziness

 

Hello! 
Winter has come to stay and one day there were swans 

and ducks on the lake and the next

morning it was frozen over for good.  

It has been snowing lightly for a few days now 

and the sky is a lovely soft grey. 

It adds a light chill to the edges of the windows

and I'm glad that we have plastic covering our biggest ones.

The entryway rug is now wet from 

snow being tracked in. 

Now it's a challenge to get past the entryway to the 

downstairs with dry socks.

Or in my case wet feet.  I still like to be barefoot

until it gets too cold to do so. 

No more laundry on the line so the dryer 

is working more. 

It does add a nice warmth to 

the downstairs so that is good.

It's been a time for soups 

and roast chicken dinners. 

Cozy foods.

Spice bread has been made again

and I have one more pumpkin to cook up.

With the growing darkness

I've been using candles more.

First thing in the morning I love the softness

candle light adds to the room.

At night we have some low lights in areas 

we're not using as much. 

Since the butter churn isn't functional to make butter

we added some tiny lights to it 

and it makes a fun little lamp in a previously dark corner.

I've begun to tackle more knitted socks.

I'm learning to do a german short row heal this time.

I knit while the boys do their morning lessons.

I found a cool engineering book

that highlights one hundred of the major inventions 

over time.

The boys are going to pick a few of them to study in more depth.

It's nice to be able to do things like this together.

I hope you are having a lovely day homemaking! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: The Snow Has Come

 

Hello! 
Well the snow has really come and the ground is quite frozen

on top so it'll be sticking around a bit more. 

I love how snowy days turn the lake a pastel green. 

The birds are coming back to the feeders more now

and it's nice to get re-acquainted.  

This week has been lovely and the last touches

of winter prep are being done. 

The last one for me is to switch out the entryway 

to the winter things.

This week I received a lovely gift

from my parents through some of their friends.

They sent me some of the old things that 

they had that they were not using anymore.

I'm glad to have a couple extra pairs of sock stretchers,

and my mom's old butter bowl with paddle and block maker.

Then they also sent up the old butter churn.

I like to make butter at times and thought it would be 

so nice to put it back to good use.

Unfortunately the glass of the original churn got broken

although a new glass was found.

The glass is too big to make the churn functional

but it's still beautiful and I love having it. 

Perhaps one day I'll find the right sized glass for it.

I do have fond memories of using the churn

and it still works smooth as butter.

This week I learned something new about canning

that I'd not thought of and that is that you can put both meat and beans

in the canner at the same time as they require the same amount of time.

So...never will there be a partial load in the canner for these items.

I canned up some sausage, ham, chickpeas, and kidney beans.

I did the no soak method for the beans and they turn out lovely to.

Plus they are faster and I could make the right amount 

of jars to fill the canner.

With the lower light and coolness I think it's spurred 

the violets to blooming. 

Anyone need an african violet?

I couldn't help saving all the starters and have 

more then enough for myself. 

 I also am making a batch of jerky. 

It's still in the oven and fingers have torn off little edges

but it's still not quite ready.

In the kitchen this week I have finally 

gotten to covering up this space.

The cupboard doors were so warped when we moved in

that I took them off.

They are right under my main work space

so lots of flour and "stuff" gets 

filtered down into the drawers.

I just hung up a string with hooks but it seems to work well.

I got this curtain from the window 

as I took them down for the winter because

it's brighter in the kitchen that way.

I did put up a lacy white valance on the window 

so it's got something there but it's bright.

How has your week been? 

Have you been getting ready for winter?

Have you made something new in your kitchen?

I hope you have a beautiful day of homemaking!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: I Love Fall

 

Hello! 
I know I've said this before

but I love fall.

I love when the colours change and set the world aglow.

 I also love it when the leaves have all fallen

leaving the world in shades of brown.

The forest darkens and as you watch the wildlife 

are preparing to bed down for the winter. 

The sunshine is more slanted and shines deeper into our rooms.

There is a coziness to it all.

In the kitchen there are also fall preparations.

Canning beef stew for quick easy meals.

Delicious apple sheet pie

enough to share.

Today there will be mincemeat cookies 

after the bread comes out of the oven.

I've finished up the cowl I was knitting.

First time knitting in the round and with the seed stitch.

It's not perfect but it's warm and comfortable.

Along with the knitting I bought some fun

crochet cotton to work practice some crochet stitches 

with another lady I met.

Easy projects to add some colour inside our homes.

The snow has come down the mountains this week.

No...it's not staying.

We have had lots of rain and some warmer temps so it's all but gone.

It's like a wake up call to all....Are you ready for winter?

Then we get a little break to get those last fall projects 

taken care of before the snow comes for good.  

For me I had forgotten to tuck up the canoes 

against the house so that will happen today.

Then I need to finish tucking steel wool into the mouse holes 

that have been created in the porch. 

The first snow is always good for snowmen or snowball fights.

This time round there was a layer of frozen rain on top

so with the crust it was best used for first sledding trips. 

This past week at the free store I found this 

beautiful crocheted afghan and I washed it up and 

it's now adorning my bed and is so cozy!

It's lovely to snuggle under for quick naps to.

Do you find you are more tired during season changes?

I sure do and take time for little rests.

I also found a couple lovely sweaters that I can wear.

It's still warm enough (just above freezing) that you can wear

just a heavy sweater over a long sleeved shirt. 

The cozy fall attire that will soon turn to winter coats. 

For now I love the benefit of layers.

Whether you are at the end of fall or just beginning 

depending on where you are.

I do hope you are enjoying the beauty 

and special moments that come with fall.

Through it all may you see the Lord's handiwork 

in all the details.

Thanks for dropping by!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Time for Cozy

 

Hello! 
Fall is getting colder and the wind has been gusting.

Time for more cozy things at home.

I have made some cozy pillow covers 

with old sweaters I found at the free store. 

They are very soft and will make nice 

snuggly items for this fall weather.

Also as the light is fading these 

sweet candle holders I found at the free store

have been helping to light up the cozy spaces.

I have two of these little copper coloured 

butterfly/flower holders. 

It's nice to toss a tea light into

and it softens the space around it.

I love candle holders and am always on the lookout 

for those ones that you can carry around. 

With the power outages we get 

it's nice to have ones that we can just grab and go.

Plus they're pretty.

With craving cozy spaces we also need to consider food.

The smell of fresh baked bread

or spice bread or apple pie or caramel popcorn

just fills the room and makes us feel cozy. 

Below I found a heart in the bread pan I floured.

Funny how little things like that 

appear in the most unexpected places

making us smile.

Along with other cozy food 

I finished up the rest of the apples I'm dehydrating.

I have stashed away a bunch of bags for winter snack in the pantry. 

They will make great snacks to tuck in a pocket

 for ski or snowshoe adventures.

Here are a couple more pillows that I covered. 

It will be interesting to see who will be the ones 

that gravitate towards which pillow.

What do you like to add to your home to make it more cozy?

Thank you for dropping by!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Apples and Final Pantry Prep

 

Hello! 
October has come and it's a lovely fall day.

The clouds are more like cotton batten. 

There is mist floating on the lake and the birds are quiet.

For now the wind is still but later in the day it seems to be 

determined to blow off even the most stubborn of leaves.

This past week I've been working on my final pantry prep.

The big bins of orchard apples have arrived at the store

and so now is the time to make dried apples

and applesauce.  

Also apple pies! 

There were more local carrots at the store

so I dehydrated a bunch more of them.

It's nice that with dehydrating them that they 

fit in the pantry better leaving room for other things.

I still have some beans that I want to can up for quick meals.

That will come once the apple rush is over. 

Are you making final preparations to your pantries before winter?

This week I also changed up the living room and put my chair

under another window.  This gives me better light and 

having the standing lamp is better for in the evenings.

I know I've shared this before, but I do love having 

a cozy spot in the house where I can both

relax and work.

At the moment I have a cowl that I'm knitting. 

It's in a seed stitch which is new for me.

I had to rip the first attempt out because I kept 

getting the knit/purl mixed up.

So now it's working much better but isn't without

it's imperfections. It'll be warm!

I was out with my daughter surveying the last of the

flowers in the garden when she spotted these little blooms.

The sweet peas I planted did in fact give us a handful of blooms.

Every year I try more but they rarely bloom.

SO I quickly brought these in to enjoy out of the frost.

I also harvested the last of the kale in the garden.

It's all tucked into the freezer for nice winter meals.

Even in the late fall there is still beauty to be found in the flowers.

These seed heads and dried delphinium petals are lovely. 

I did bend a few down to sprinkle seeds on the soil below.

I'll be putting compost over them soon and then they can 

snuggle in for the winter and hopefully grow in the spring.

This week I made some jam out of the sea buckthorn berries 

from our local community centre. 

I for the first time added apple to the jam to use as the pectin.

It turned out perfect and it will be a nice

treat to add to baking or what not at the community centre.

Thanks for dropping by! 

I hope you have a beautiful day

keeping your home! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer