Homemaking Mondays: Fresh Spaces

 

Hello! 

I hope you are enjoying a lovely day

whether it be sunshine or rain or snow.

Today I'd like to share with you some of my fresh spaces.

This past week I received in the mail

a little essential oil diffuser my husband had ordered for me. 

It is so nice to have this little aid to help freshen up the air in the house. 

I usually cannot handle scents, but mild 

essential oils are ok. 

I like to add different combinations.

One of my favourite is black spruce with grapefruit. 

I like to add essential oils to my mop pail as well. 

It just helps to add that fresh space when it's clean.

To me fresh spaces are not always newly decorated or

arranged spaces. 

Sometimes it's just the addition of a fresh scent, 

or a fresh bloom on one of our indoor plants. 

This week we've been blessed with a few blooms 

from our geranium plants.

They grace the dining room window and add a 

cheerfulness to the space.

In the kitchen I have a bowl of little spider plant babies.

They are rooting to create future plants.

I've given one batch away and started another.

They add a freshness at the kitchen window. 

I am pulling out a couple of my winter throw blankets 

and switching them with my summer ones.

I think it is nice to have fresh spaces.  

Not that I am always changing things up...

but sometimes just noticing those little details 

that bring a freshness to a space. 

For me fresh spaces cause me to linger....

to take that extra moment to notice. 

In God's word I also find those fresh spaces. 

Those passages of scripture that I've read many times.

Somehow they have something new and fresh for me. 

God's word is alive and brings me pause...

to notice that fresh new truth I had somehow not 

noticed before. 

Take the time to pause...and pay attention. 

You may find some new fresh space

 you were missing all along.

Thank so much for dropping by! 

I just want to say thank you so very much

 to those of you who have left me sweet comments. 

I am sorry I am unable to respond to most of you. 

Just know I treasure them and the time you 

spend in leaving them.

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

A Lovely Taste of Fall

 

Hello! 

Another beautiful fall day here....

as we are waiting for winter to arrive.

There were a few snowflakes descending this morning 

but none that stayed around.

We have had no internet for a few days 

so I'm a bit late in posting this.

No internet made for a few more things getting done.

Yes, sadly I'm guilty of that to.

Above I finished up a blanket I was crocheting.

Then I made a new print to go in the bathroom.

I took some decorative scrapbooking paper 

and printed off a verse onto it.

Then I cut it to size and freshened up the frame.

Sometimes it's just a little thing 

that makes a room more inviting. 

Isaiah 26:3

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on thee:

because he trusteth in thee."

Then I found some little pie pumpkins at the store.

They are hard to find so I got a few.

I cut up some and scooped out the seeds for roasting.

Then baked the rest.

It's all measured out in the freezer awaiting pumpkin bread.

Oh...then there is some in the fridge 

awaiting being made into a pumpkin pie.

I made pumpkin spice bread this week on a cookie sheet so that 

I could cut it out in smaller portions for a fun presentation.

Then of course there had to be whipped cream!

Plus some lovely hot tea! 

Yesterday the sunset was oh so lovely! 

Here is the sun hitting the other side of the lake as the sun went down.

Earlier and earlier darkness starts to descend.

Thank you for dropping by!

I hope you have a beautiful day!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Canning for the Pantry

Hello! 

A lovely fall day here 

and it is nice to know that we are almost 

ready for winter. 

I've been canning a bit more.

Using my pressure canner for more then just soup stock.

This year I've done carrots and chicken for the first time.

I thought I'd make some soup to can...

but then decided I'd focus more on ingredients 

so that I can make more of a variety.

Below is some cheeseburger soup that I made this week.

I added a bunch of summer greens that were in the freezer 

and that was just the right touch.

In this new house we are blessed with a walk in pantry. 

It has narrow shelves all around and an alley way space between.

The shelves will hold two quart jars deep and 

three pints with the last offset.

It's cooler then the rest of the house, 

but not that cold....yet! 

We have stored a lot of food down there

and it's nice to have it out of the kitchen 

and then just going down to get what we need for a meal. 

There are rubbermaid totes holding some dry goods.

Some bins for potatoes and onions. 

We didn't get a huge amount of potatoes,

and then we bought a few more. 

It's not that cool so they won't hold that long. 

But!  Long enough for us to eat them all. :) 

The pantry also hold other odds and ends

like extra cake savers, and 

my cake decorating toolbox.

As soon as I'm all done with my canning

all those supplies will get fitted in there as well.

It's fun to look at the shelves when I'm down there

and see the fun things that I've processed 

on the shelves. 

Jams, relish, salsa, tomato soup, carrots,

pears, oranges, broth, and chicken.

Little testaments to how I've spend some of my time.

One other space that I've been working on lately 

is the laundry room.

There is this "window" that is cut into the wall 

for heat distribution. 

I like to be able to sit things on the sill that it has

but things got knocked over.

So I added this bit of chicken wire

to keep things where they're put.

Then I added some small fun 

printouts with clothespins.

With the little window and a plant it 

makes for a quite cheerful space

to do the laundry in.

With fall all around us it has made me want to crochet again.

I was given a couple fun cakes of yarn 

and decided to make a small blanket with them.

A dear friend taught me to take the "cakes" apart

and then roll up the yarn in separate colours to make the sections bigger.

I decided to give it a try.

So....I've begun.

I'm going to change up the original order of the colours

primarily because now I have no idea 

what they originally were because my basket got bumped. 

HA! 

So it shall be a surprise how it all turns out in the end. 

This is a simple pattern of two alternating rows. 

I've used it before for baby blankets and it's

very pretty and simple to work up.

You can find it HERE if you want to try it.

What has fall got you thinking about?

Have you been squirrelling things away in  your pantry?

Have you settled down with some yarn?

Praying you have a beautiful day! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: A Taste of Home

Hello!  

I think one of the most blessed parts of homemaking 

is to provide special good wholesome food

for our families and those we love.

I think there is a taste of home.

Foods that remind us of that special time at home.

It's the season for apples again.

Today one of my daughters and I sliced up a big bowl of apples.

I love doing these kinds of tasks with my children.

Some apples were mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon, 

some went into a big and small pies, 

and some into the dehydrator. 

I don't usually take time to make hand-pies

but today just felt like it was a day for some. 

I don't cook them as crispy as some others, 

but this is the way our family likes them. 

To me as I keep my home I try to consider what my family enjoys. 

I believe that we need to consider our families

 tastes as well when we cook.

Sometimes it's nice to just cook what we like...

but it's not fun to eat alone. 

Here is a picture of the lovely white lard that

I grated up for the pie crust.  

So lovely and it made for a delicious crust.

I also have been snitching the last of the flowers 

from the garden to enjoy in the house.

Pansies are my all time favourite

garden flower...

even though I do love so many.

Then the dusty miller fern is so perfect

to go along with them.  

I love how both of these plants do so well with the frosty weather. 

A special little delight 

that sits in the kitchen window and smiles 

at you as you work :) 

For the winter I also found this sweet sedum plant. 

It's found a home in the kitchen for now.  

What kinds of special touches have you added

to your home this week?

Do you like to bake treats for your family?

Do you like to bring in plants and flowers into your home?

Praying you have a beautiful day!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

 

Homemaking Mondays: Time to Come In and Warm Up

Hello! 

With fall in full bloom

it is time to come in and warm up.

Time for shawls and hot cups of tea.

I've started pulling out my throw blankets.

Time to bring in some flowers from the garden 

to keep them from the frost.

I am blessed at this new home to have a place

to bring in some plants out of the frosts.

It's a sunroom porch that has plastic

covering the window spaces and the screen door.

The above teapot I used is new to me.  

I found it at the dump unwanted so it came home with me. 

It matches the blue in my favourite tea set (that had no teapot).

The burst of colour there is still lovely and it's 

a pretty place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea.

I have one pot of strawberries still ripening as well. 

The ground has been quite crispy with frost

so I decided it was time to bring the potatoes in out of the cold.

They sat out to dry on my countertop 

then I put them in a bowl to take to the cool-room/pantry.

They will taste good this winter. 

I have also brought in some more lemon balm and mint plants.

I like to have some in the house all winter. 

Some are left out to see if they will overwinter.

That way we will always have some.

Besides...I like it fresh best. 

The pots sit in the window....or close to it in the dinning room. 

Easy for grabbing some for tea or a flavoured water.

Do you bring plants in for the winter?

The winter's chill can be felt late at night. 

When taking the dog out one last time. 

The stars are sparkling clear in the night sky....

and now in the north it is dark enough to see them again.

I was out picking cranberries again with my daughter.

More are ready to go into jam this week.  

I also picked some wild rose-hips to add to them.

I was talking to my brother this week and he wrote...

"It's hard to describe the sweet smell of muskeg and the flavour of ripe cranberries!"

He right..something that has it's very own distinction. 

Those who have never experienced those smells or tastes will not understand.

The last harvest market at our community centre is done. 

I bought some more produce to tuck away in our pantry for the winter. 

We sold some jam, relish, and salsa as well.

Soon we'll be finished and can hole away in our warm cozy home

and enjoy the last of the colour 

as it floats down to the forest floor. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

 

Homemaking Mondays: Frosty Morning and Comfort Foods

Hello! 

We have now hit the major frosts here in the Yukon.

There have been a few things hanging on but not for long.  

I took this picture of of one of my last petunias. 

The wild roses are glorious in all their colour with their frosty accents.

There are not many plants still coming back after the melting the sun brings. 

I dug up my dahlia bulbs yesterday and brought them in for the winter.

My boys helped me dig up the last of the potatoes as well. 

Surprisingly my mint plants have come back after the sun hit them this morning. 

So more fresh mint tea today! :) 

We have ben airing out our quilts a few at a time 

the last couple days. 

Some are super heavy so we are staggering them.

While the weather is still nice during the days we've 

started to pick cranberries.  

They are so good in jam and put into muffins. 

I made some orange glaze cinnamon buns this week. 

A family favourite comfort food. 

It's just some bread dough rolled with 

brown sugar and cinnamon. 

Then I add a icing sugar glaze that has a bit of butter 

and some orange extract in it.  

Warm or cold it's delicious!

Then I made a big batch of chicken stock. 

This time I put a couple chickens (not just the bones) in 

and boiled them along with the

veggies and herbs.

I was able to make enough stock for 8 quart jars. 

Some went for a soup meal the first day and some is in the fridge for later.

Then I pressure canned up 6 quarts for the pantry. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

What have you been doing this week to get ready 

for colder days? 

ps.  Sunshine Country because I cannot respond to your comment. 

For my spuce tip tea I pick the buds in the springtime.  

That is when they are sweet.

You can use spruce tips later in the year but they are much

more pungent but still healthy. 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

 

Homemaking Mondays: Homemade and a Spot of Tea

 

Hello! 

Today I'd like to share with you a bit more of my kitchen. 

For my birthday I received this delightful 

homemade sign from my daughters. 

It really fit nicely and brightened that empty space above

the kitchen sink.  

Yes, my kitchen sink looks pretty much the same 

as it usually does.  With a mixture

of dirty glasses and tea strainers scattered about it. 

Here is the lovely view from my kitchen window.  

The fall colours are starting to deepen and the leaves are coming off the trees.  

It's hard to see in the picture, 

but there is mist rising from the water. 

It's been below freezing for a few mornings and 

the frost is quite lovely. 

With the coolness I have been drinking more tea.

I had also realized that my tea cupboard

was in need of some tidying up. 

I found a 2x6 board in the yard and 

tucked that in the second shelf under some doilies. 

I thought it would help to be able to the tea pots better. 

Then I also moved all the tea cups to the top shelf.  

This is the hutch that stands in my kitchen and I love it! 

It is where I keep my tea things as I use them a lot. 

Then the cupboard at the bottom is where I store my flour and sugar.

The cookbooks are at hand when they're needed. 

Plus I received a lovely new 

proofing basket for my birthday. 

Just need to wake up my sourdough starter

and try it out.

I keep my cast iron griddles against the hutch to. 

They are pretty and easy to get to when I need them. 

I put up a command non marking hook for 

some of our aprons.  

With organizing the tea pots, 

I thought I should contain some of the tea strainers. 

Now they have their own little basket 

that I found in my crafting room. 

I pulled out a little pot that my children 

brought me one day. 

It holds the tea spoons nicely. 

There was some tea in the cupboard with the tea cups....

but here is my tea cupboard 

where I keep the rest of our tea and 

the cookie jars. :) 

So all in all.... I kind of have a tea station.  

I thought about doing it all on the hutch with the kettle and all. 

Then I thought it would function a bit better this way for the needs of my family. 

The kettle is always on the counter close to the tea...

and then the teapots and cups are all in one place to. 

So....if any of you would love to come for a cup of tea? 

You would be most welcome to come and pick out 

a tea pot and a cup to use.

Thank you so much for dropping by! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer