Tuesday, 30 March 2021

Homemaking Days of Mine

 


Hello! 

I hope your enjoying your 
homemaking day! 
It's been mostly cloudy here 
with a bit of sunshine is coming through.
It's been a mix of snow and then sunshine...
as well as lots of wind.  

Inside there are things growing. 
Like my lemon oregano bush that I up potted this week.
It smells so nice when I brush up against the leaves.
I also planted up some onions that had sprouted in my pantry.
Below is the tray of lettuce and spinach 
sitting on the oil monitor stove in the dinning room.
I almost planted radishes between the rows and then 
decided not to. 


Here are some trays of herbs and flowers that 
have started to grow. 
I'll need to separate them out quite soon into
separate pots. 
Some for us and some for the local community market.


Inside the house smells like fresh bread.
I also have a sourdough loaf rising to be baked later in the day.


This past weekend we enjoyed some sliding fun with friends,
and a hot dog roast as well.
Winter fun is still happening!


With spring comes the desire to eat more eggs. 
Does that happen in your family? 
Below are some "fancy" eggs that we make.
It's just scrambled eggs with some peppers, onions,
spinach and ham tossed in. 


There is some dripping going on! 
With the temperature rising above freezing we are starting to get
a few icicles forming.  
This one has been growing for quite some time and we are wondering 
if it will reach the ground before something happens to it.
We still have a lot of snow...but spring is coming....
and I have a feeling we'll have some pretty 
cool puddles to navigate. 


It is nice to have lots of things to enjoy and look forward to.
Homemaking is a joy.
Lots of variety and room for creativity. 

Praying you have a blessed day! 

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer

Monday, 22 March 2021

Homemaking Mondays: Friends Share Life's Journey

 


Hello! 
Isn't that a beautiful truth. 
I thank the Lord Jesus for all the friends 
He has placed in my life. 
In person and online.
The above hand towel is a gift from a friend 
as are the two banneton baskets. 
She and I share a love for making things in the kitchen.
It's so beautiful when we can 
acknowledge those simple things.
A loaf of bread...a cup of tea.
It may seem simple but over the years
those little things are precious. 


Along with the banneton baskets....
this time I used my grain mill to grind some rice flour.
It is better to use in the baskets instead of just a towel.  
The flour is not glutenous and so it doesn't 
allow the bread to stick the same. 
Of course you have to wet the basket down before adding
the rice flour to it.  
It looks so pretty when you turn it out to be baked. 
I like it better then using a towel in them.

I was wanting some comfort food this past week.
I pulled out my recipe binder and made some
apple crisp...along with whipped cream.
Today I made some blueberry buckle as well.


The little seedlings are doing well. 
Below the cosmos are getting their feathery leaves.


I potted up the tomatoes from their little
peat starter pots. 
I always take off the netting before planting in the soil.
They are doing well and if the Lord wills
we shall have lots of tomatoes growing.


It has been a lovely week.  
Lots to do, but also lots of time to enjoy 
the company of family and friends.

Thank you for dropping by!
Love and Prayers,
Jennifer

Monday, 15 March 2021

Homemaking Mondays: The Beauty God Brings


Hello! 
It is a lovely wintery March day today.
The mercury is rising some through the day 
so that is nice and later this week it'll be warmer. 
Then the windows can once again be opened 
to freshen up the house. 

I am sorry I've been a bit quiet. 
A couple weeks ago I lost a dear friend of mine.
It is hard to say goodbye. 
I treasure the memories and times the Lord 
gave for us to share. 

The Lord has been freshening up our home 
with the beautiful flowers
that are opening and giving a beautiful light scent
to the room.
Have you ever smelled a grape hyacinth? 
Delicate and sweet!

                                        

There are still little tiny rosemary seedlings coming
in the new terrarium. 
  

There are tomato seedlings that are ready to be 
transplanted into pots.
Hopefully I can get that done today.
It is so hard when starting seeds.  
You look at the trays and all the little plants....
and then have to think ahead to how big they will 
become before going outside. 
There is only so much room next to the windows. 
So planning carefully is important.
I still always end up moving furniture to accommodate more 
before it's safe outside.


As there is lovely growing things inside...
winter is still far from over here. 
I went with a couple of  my children to go sledding
with some of their friends.
The below picture is the top of the sledding hill
where you can see for miles! 
Perfect day to be out...
the only wind was what you felt
flying down the hill.
There were skidoo rides up to the top and so I joined in the fun 
a couple of times. 
A bit sore today...but it was so worth it! 


It has been a bit since I have done a whole lot in the kitchen 
as far as fun baking.
My children have been wonderful and have been taking care of 
things as I've been busy doing things
for my friend who passed away.
I made bread...and then my daughter sliced it up
boiled some fresh eggs, sliced some cheese
and laid out a nice meal for us. 


The Lord is good to us in all the little details of life.
May we always keep in mind 
eternity.
That we can put every aspect of life into 
it's proper place. 

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer

                              Romans 10:9-10 
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
  

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
-KJB








Monday, 22 February 2021

Homemaking Mondays: Pushing Through the Last of the Dark Days

 


Hello! 
Pushing through the last of the dark days of winter.
Do you feel like that is where you're at?

I do.  
The sun is starting to shine more and more
and it seems to change how I feel.
When the clouds move in and it starts to snow
yet again...I feel heavy.
Things feel like more of an effort
and I need to start to find things to do
to bring me hope of spring.

Don't get me wrong...
I do love winter and many of the
wonderful things we can do in winter.
It is just..at this point it seems to be 
dragging on...the last couple months before spring.

One of my favourite things to do
is to plant seeds at this time.
I have brought in my indoor greenhouse. 
With dreams of what to start growing.
This year I have been gifted a grow light 
and that should help the tomatoes.
On the bottom shelf I have all my seeds
for now...at some point they will need to move 
so that plants can grow there.  
I might put that shelf up on the top
or move the grow light to the very bottom?


Then I've re-arranged my living room so that I can get plants up 
against the window.
I shall be having a couple rows of plant there as the seedlings get bigger.
I also love having my chair by the window.
I've actually moved it to the other side of the window
as shown in the picture from where it was
and this gives me another view when I turn my head
to look outside.


The Lord has given little bits of delights as well,
as the violets are starting to send out more blooms.


I have been doing some crocheting
and one of the things is this cute
little set of slippers.
Soft and plushy and pink. 
It's an old fashioned pattern
but from experience they are oh so 
comfortable!


I have also been keeping my sourdough starter happy. 
I washed out my big jar
and put the last bit of starter in and fed it.  
All those little bubbles make me happy for some reason.
Perhaps it's the thought of fluffy bread to come?


There are always things to smile at,
to cheer our hearts when 
we count our blessings.

Praying for you as 
we wait till spring to arrive.

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer



Monday, 15 February 2021

Homemaking Mondays: A Biblical Perspective

 


Hello! 
It's a lovely Monday morning here and I've been pondering 
what to share with all of you.  
A few years ago I started to share some scriptures that 
the Lord was pressing on my heart....and the same is happening today.

I'm not great with words, but would like to share with you some of the practical 
everyday aspects of homemaking from a Biblical perspective. 
The following is taken from a previous post.

Titus 2:3-5
 "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

Here we see that the aged women (the ones who have learned and are proficient at this), 
are to teach the younger (who still need to learn).  

To be sober: not taken with strong drink, but also sober is to be aware, vigilant.  Also not given to an influence of passion...calm, controlled in the case of making decisions/ sober judgement.
Yes, women are known for their emotions, but we can learn to control ourselves when we need to be wise and make good judgement calls. 

To love their husbands!  This is so sorely missing today.  The trend of husband bashing that I have seen over the years has been atrocious!  We need to be taught to love, care for their needs, respect, honour and yes...to submit to our husbands.  We are to be their helpmeets, not their bosses.  

To love their children. Oh how the world sees children as either a burden or as an excuse to not take care of what they are responsible for.  A child is a blessing from the Lord and yes, they take a lot of work. They require a lot of your time and energy.  This is a good thing!  The world is not all about you and what you need.  As a mother we are to be sacrificial, to look to the needs of our children above our own. 
Some look at children as more important than taking care of their homes or doing other responsibilities (including taking time for their husbands).  There is a balance.  

To be discreet.  Noah Webster defined it like this:
Prudent; wise in avoiding errors or evil, and in selecting the best means to accomplish a purpose; circumspect; cautious; wary; not rash.
To teach the younger women to be self controlled, to use wisdom in the affairs of their homes.

To be chaste. This refers to sexual purity: for an unmarried woman to not involve herself in sexual relations, and for a married woman to remain faithful to her husband and their marriage bed. 
Also this refers to one's conversation.  To teach the young women to be free from obscenities. To have your speech be pure, uncorrupt, and free from hurtful words.

1 Peter: 3:2 
"While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear."

Keepers at home.  Keeper denotes one who keeps or cares for the home.  At denotes that they do it at home and not from an outside source. There is much that is involved in keeping a home, and as an older women who is skilled in this, she can share her wisdom and knowledge with the younger woman in this area as well. 
I would say that it would be in the areas of cooking, cleaning, shopping, managing bills, gardening, etc.

Good.  This could be seen from various angles, but really it means not evil.  We get the knowledge of what is good by reading and studying God's Word.  

Obedient to their own husbands.  Now pride says... no one is going to tell me what to do.  But obedience says "thy will be done and not my own".  To love our husbands in this way, to respect their headship in the home and the decisions they make is a very important skill that needs some direction from the older women.  It's not to be a doormat for our husbands, but we as wives need to submit ourselves to them.  If they ask something of us, we need to respectfully carry out the request.

That the Word of God be not blasphemed.  The unbelieving world is watching!  Will we honour the Lord through our marriages, parenting, personal conduct, and homes?
It is a high calling we as women have, and we need the older women who are knowledgeable in this to teach the younger women these things...or they'll learn from the world in an ungodly manner.  

Thank you for stoping by! 
Praying that you may find some edification through this.  

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer

Monday, 8 February 2021

Homemaking Mondays: What To Do In Cold Weather

 


Hello! 
It's been cold here in the Yukon 
as a deeper cold has settled in.
The activities outdoors are a bit more challenging. 
Though beautiful things such as tea throws 
are only accomplished at these temps. 
I absolutely love the sound of the water as it freezes
and the smoky clouds that form. 
The one picture shows how it is to be under 
a frosty jellyfish. 


I'd love to share with you this beautiful quilt 
my daughter created for her bed.
She loves woodsy things and 
I think all the patterns she combined are very 
fitting for her room.
It's a warm quilt and will no doubt be her favourite
for many years to come.


With it being colder outside
I in truth like to spend more time inside. 
One day I was working in the kitchen
I'd found a great deal on chicken breasts so...


I canned them up and also some chicken stock
for the pantry.
While waiting for the canner 
I like to sit and knit.  
Our dog Sophie likes to hang out with me.  


Today I finally got to deep cleaning my stove fan.
Then I turned the glass light cover around so the smooth side was 
facing out.  I then added this great new 
LED light to it's place.  
I'm not a fan of the hum or radiation that comes from florescent lights
so thought this might be a better choice.
It was a gift from a friend and I'm very thankful for it!


Also I wanted to say that I love using a baking soda paste to clean 
the oily spaces...and then I 
soak the vent covers in borax and water to clean them. 
What do you use to clean these "nasties"? 


What kind of things do you enjoy doing 
on deep cold days? 

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer

Monday, 1 February 2021

Homemaking Mondays: To Brighten Your Day

 


Hello! 
Nice to see you today! 
I'd love to share with you some things that have 
brightened my day.
Gifts from friends and some things to go to friends.
The thoughtfulness of others to 
consider you during their day.

Friendship is one of those special gifts
the Lord Jesus has given that 
makes life all the sweeter for it.

This past week I was gifted this lovely bouquet of
fresh flowers! 
I just love daisy flowers! It is a lovely big bouquet.
Oh how cheerful it has been to walk into the kitchen 
and see them on the table.
Bright and fresh on our cold winters days. 
I know fresh flowers don't last forever...
but they are wonderful! 

Then another dear friend gave me 
an old apron of hers.
She was down sizing and I'm so honoured 
that she gave it to me!
It is great for canning in as spills
wash right off. 
All the lovely wildflowers of Scotland.
She knew how much I loved wildflowers.


Speaking of flowers....
Yes I have bought more seeds!  
I bought some dwarf cosmos and calendula seeds.
I have started to use the West Coast Seed Company,
and then Renee's Garden seeds as well. 
They are both locally available.
Soon...very soon I can start some seeds.  
For now I will continue to look through the colourful 
seed packets and dream of how they will look 
in the garden. 


I have also been making some cards this week.
Some for birthdays, and some 
just because. 
It has been nice to work with paper.
All the colourful papers brighten the dull overcast days.



What do you do during the darker duller days of winter? 
Do you find colourful things to cheer you? 

Thank you for dropping by! 
For all the wonderful comments. 
It's great to hear about your lives as well. 
Like how you also stash candles and blankets in your homes.

Love and Prayers,
Jennifer