Homemaking Mondays: Rise and Shine

 

Hello! 
How many of us rise and shine in the mornings?

I myself am not a morning person per say but I have learned

that a cheerful smile given in the morning 

is a wonderful gift. 

A gift for the person receiving it and the person giving it.

As a homemaker it matters very much

how we greet our family each day. 

I have been reading a bit about how we as mothers

help to set the tone of our homes.

For me to greet everyone with a smile 

and often a hug in the morning 

is an important part of my homemaking.

This past week I found these two treasures at the free store.

A lovely pitcher that is so cheerful and I'll

be using as a vase for the most part.

Then this little enamelled bowl.

I love the script on it and it now tops my 

grain grinder where I usually keep a much less

appealing bowl for catching the grain.

Cheerful accents in the middle of winter to grace the kitchen.

Then there is the smell of the kitchen.

Yesterday I started some sourdough dough to proofing

and this morning I woke 

and got it baking in the oven.

I think that wonderful smells from the kitchen also 

help to set a tone for the home. 

I know not everyone is a baker 

but any delicious smells from the kitchen 

I believe help those in the home feel cared for.

Some other more less lovely aspects of caring for our homes

are doing maintenance.

Our kitchen drawers have been coming apart slowly and so

they need to be banged back into place and then secured

with some L clamps.

It's a simple task but I find that I do wait until I can't 

manage with just banging it back into place with my hands. 

I line the rough drawers with a special liner to keep from getting slivers. 

Thank you with dropping by! 
I hope you have a beautiful day

keeping your homes and caring for your families.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: For the Family to Enjoy

 

Hello! 
It's a fine frigid day here. 

Sitting at -44C at noon.

The sun came up over the mountain 

and the light filtered through the fog 

in beautiful golden rays. 

It's like it turns the winter world aglow.

I am enjoying the warmth of being inside.

A good hot cup of tea while working in the kitchen 

is always welcome on days like today.

There is something special about hot drinks on cold days.

They do more then just warm our insides,

they bring a touch of gentle comfort that sinks deeper still.

I had some baking to do today for my daughter.

We enjoyed her birthday today she was home from work.

So a day early but still special. 

Chocolate wacky cake with peppermint chocolate frosting.

Then some grated chocolate and sprinkles of course.

This past week I also did a fun rosemary bread

on one of my bread making days.

I love focaccia bread but I'm terrible at following recipes.

So I just added some rosemary to the last bit of dough

then some extra olive oil to the flattened out dough.

I let it rise in a cast iron skillet.  

Punched down the dough some and baked in the skillet

for a lovely crispy crust.

It's a nice side for a meal.

I served it up with some of our regular bread

for not all the family enjoys the rosemary.

One part of homemaking that can be a challenge

but also a joy 

is finding things for all the family to enjoy.

Food is only one of those aspects of our homemaking

that takes some creativity.

When it's super cold out I find that my mind turns to the kitchen

more then when it's warmer out. 

Perhaps it's the added warmth of the oven

or the fact that food helps our bodies keep warm.

On days like these I enjoy puttering about the kitchen

although it doesn't take much for me

to find myself gravitating to that room. 

I hope you are all staying warm and cozy in your homes.

Enjoying creating those special spaces.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Sourdough and Sunshine

 

Hello! 
It's a lovely winter's day here.  

The sky is getting brighter and the blue grey hues

are lovely to watch as they change with the light.

As it's cold outside, it's warm inside,

especially in the kitchen.

This morning I baked some sourdough bread.

Just one loaf this time along with some crusty buns.

I baked two sourdough loaves yesterday.

Then there was just a touch of dough left so I made some 

cinnamon buns to munch on later today.

I like to do a big bake with sourdough and then tuck 

the starter back to bed in the fridge.

I also baked some buttery sourdough crackers. 

You can find the recipe over at Reformation Acres Blog.

They are a wonderful treat to munch on.

With or without cheese these crackers are delicious!

What do you like on your crackers?

This week I also wanted to have something 

different for supper. 

Do you get into ruts of making the same things over and over?

I do, so I looked at the store 

for something out of the ordinary.

I found some spring roll wrappers and thought

that could be interesting.  

I've made something with them in the past but it had been a long time.

I made a filling of rice, spinach, and then 

either diced chicken or ground pork.

I rolled them up and fried them in a bit of olive oil.

This way there were two options for the family to try.

I am pleased to say that they were enjoyed by all!

Along with the ups and downs of weather

we have gotten some heavy fog. 

Which I love...aside from the dangerous driving conditions.

It coats the trees and really any outside object with frost

including people and animals.

Even the spider webs on the railings get their fair share

of pretty frost to decorate them. 

The sun comes out but it doesn't go above the trees

where we are at. 

SO we get lovely slanted light through the trees.

Even on frosty days

our friendly squirrels come out

to raid the feeders for sunflower seeds.

They get all fluffed up like the birds to stay warm.

I made a plushy baby blanket 

for a sweet little boy this past week.

It was a Caron Cake yarn and it was "furry".

At first I was thinking it was kinda odd...but it turned

out to be so soft and warm. 

I did a granny square pattern as I find it easier to make

not knowing how far the yarn will go.

Plus I think the pattern is pretty.

I hope you are enjoying your day 

and your homemaking tasks. 

It is good to just 

take a few minutes each day to pause

and think about the simple pleasures the Lord 

has given us through homemaking.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Muffins to Munch

 

Hello! 

I hope you are enjoying a lovely day

keeping your home.

The temperatures dropped very cold

for a couple days but have come back up to

somewhat pleasant ones now. 

One thing I do love about the deeper cold

is that the sun shines in clear skies.

Now that it's warmer the clouds have come back.

It's still beautiful...but darker.

This past week I found a bunch of bananas on the discount rack.

SO banana muffins to munch on it was.

I like to add oatmeal and chocolate chips to mine.

They make delicious snacks and quick breakfasts as well.

I love lots of different kinds of muffins but I think 

these are my families favourite.

I often think that I will tuck some into the freezer for later...

but later never comes for them as they get eaten too quickly.

I finished up the little socks I was working on this week. 

I think they're so cute 

and I do really like the blue stripes.

I hope they do a good job of keeping little toes warm.

Now I'm on to another crochet project. 

I'm working on a granny square blanket for a little boy.

This particular is kinda "furry" but very, very soft.

This coming week will be my week to get my new planner in order.

I really like to buy the Blue Sky planners at Walmart.

They are reasonably cheep and have lots of workable space in them.

Plus they have a full month section for each month as well as 

the daily entry places.

One thing is that they don't have a very big space for contacts.

SO, I am dusting off our old address book and I'll

be updating it with all the current contacts we have. 

Plus with this I won't have to re-write the contacts in 

each year as I have been doing.

I love the idea of journalling and diary writing but

I am not a writer.

I find that having the larger spaces in this kind of planner

so helpful to jot down the happenings of life.

Little notes here and there to help me remember the 

goings and comings and plans that we have had over time.

Sometimes I write a lot...planning out meals and activities 

and then other times the pages are somewhat empty.

All going with the ebb and flow of life here in my home.

Quiet spaces are ok.

With the sunshine out for a bit I have found myself 

at the windows just watching.

The sun seems to move very quickly across the sky these days

and the light doesn't linger long. 

I love the golden glow it leaves on the snow.

SO what are you up to this week?

I hope you enjoy some lovely work in your homes

but also times to just rest and enjoy life.

Have you been baking muffins?

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer