Homemaking Mondays: Fresh Bread and Spoon Butter

 

Hello! 
How are you this morning! 

The sun has been waring with the clouds

lately and it's been going back and forth 

from being overcast to being clear blue.

When the sun shines the icicles drip and 

when the clouds come there are light fluffy flakes 

floating down through the trees.

The air smells different and fresh. 

This week I pulled out my sourdough again after a break.

I tried a new recipe from Farmhouse on Boone.

It didn't turn out great for my first try...looks pretty but

inside isn't totally cooked and very dense.

I need to find a warmer place for it to rise I think. 

One factor is putting it in the fridge at night before cooking it.

It was nice to cut and made for a pretty design though. 

I put away the fresh eggs in their basket on the counter.

I love getting fresh eggs from a friend....one day

I dream of having our own chickens. 

Keeping them in a basket on the counter is still my 

favourite place to store them.

They look pretty and are handy.

This week I have been doing a bit of maintenance at home.

You know those little jobs that often get 

put off in the routines of life. 

One of them was conditioning my wooden tools in the kitchen.

I put together another batch of spoon butter 

that I learned from the Prairie Homestead Blog. 

It's also in her cookbook that I have.

I love it because it smells nice with the beeswax and also 

seems to last well on the wood. 

I got the spoons and cutting boards all 

conditioned and leave it overnight before using them. 

As you can see from the jar above I started to use it before it 

cooled completely so I used the soft part in the middle. 

I love cutting boards and use them all the time. 

Do you have a collection of them? 

I keep mine out on my counter for easy access

beside my stove and knives.

I also keep my one serving tray with them and tucked

behind it my tea cozies.

I was watching a couple videos from Inspired by Nikki

Lady of the House. 
She shared one video about re-arranging the house. 

I  personally like to do this but no so much my family. 

It's nice to change up little things 

though to just make things fresh and new.

Plus sometimes it is more functional as well. 

Do you like to re-arrange your home just for fun?

I hope you have a beautiful day

keeping your home!

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Pesto Cheese Buns and Sunshine Inspirations

 

Hello! 

It's been a lovely week here and I have been 

enjoying the longer daylight and the fresh air. 

It's been warm enough to open up some windows and 

air the house out. 

The air has that smell of the early days of spring.

I got a post from a site I follow 

Farmhouse on Boone. 

She posted sourdough herb buns. 

Yeah...I had to make my own version of them. 

I added pesto and aged cheddar cheese to my buns today.

With the coconut oil in the pan and the olive oil from the pesto

the bottoms were so crispy and flaky!

Then of course there needed to be some loaves

for sandwiches and toast this week.

At the free store this past weekend I found this cute candle.

It's beeswax and it was super dirty from sitting a long time.

After being washed up some

I popped it in a jar I had on the counter. 

I added some rocks to the sides to hold it in place. 

It'll be nice to light up some evening.

I do love the honeycomb design! 

From the top or the sides.

With all the beautiful sunlight these days

the violet starters are growing quickly. 

I hope to separate them out in to their own pots soon.

Then to find homes for them all.

With the extra warmth and sunshine the icicles on the house have been 

growing and falling in repetition. 

One of those interesting things the Lord has created 

that brings me to a stand still to just watch.  

Also with this beautiful sunshine the lemon oregano

has been exploding.  

At one point I thought the plant wasn't going to make it and 

I started some cuttings.  

Now it's growing well again and I have to say

it's one of my favourite plants now.  

Just brush the leaves and the aroma is enough to 

cheer you! 

Oh and we have a very friendly squirrel that has been running 

along the side of the house and windowsills. 

This morning it stopped in the kitchen window to listen to 

my daughter and I chat with it.  

How has your week been? 

Have you been baking anything someone inspired you to bake?

I hope you have a beautiful day! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Tiny Houses and Sunshine

 

Hello! 

It's another beautiful day.

The sunshine has been poking out here and there

and it's warmth is very welcome!

I wanted to share with you some pictures of the finished 

tiny houses my sons built. 

We talked about the importance of the structure build

and what goes into the real houses.  

They used hot glue because the wood glue took so long to dry.

The boys took these mini lights to illuminate the inside.

Then they also took rocks to build fireplaces/stoves.

My one son sewed some felt bedding for the bed.

They also both decided to paint the outsides

and one of them did the inside floor.  

They also put up some cardboard for the walls and roof to glue the

siding and shingles onto.  

Something fun and a bit informative to.

The tiny growing things are doing well 

and today I transplanted the tomatoes for the first time.

I have a big pot of bone broth on the stove boiling away for the day.

I'll can it up after a few more hours.  

For small batches of bone broth I use my Instantpot but to can it

I like to make enough to make using the canner worthwhile. 

My daughter is baking mincemeat cookies today 

and I'm looking forward to  eating some. 

Yesterday my children and I went to one of their friends birthday party.

It was an outdoor sliding party and it was super fun! 

The kids flew down the hill so fast as it was packed and warmed from the sunshine.

Thankfully no accidents happened! 

I hope you are having a beautiful day where you are as well! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Seedlings and Canning Chickpeas

 

Hello! 
It's been a lovely week with some sunshine and a few snow flurries.

Last Monday my boys helped me with starting seeds. 

Now we have a whole bunch of little seedlings

sprouting and reaching for the light.  

Yes, some will be a tad spindly in the end

but they'll still be beautiful! 

My friend Judith gave me some pink lupins and I'm happy 

that some of those are starting to sprout as well. 

Last year our resident squirrels ate off the ones I planted out

so this year I started a bunch more and will put 

up some protective structure around them. 

I like the squirrels and sharing seeds with them...

but some things I won't share! 

This week I also canned up some chickpeas for the first time.  

I have lots of things I want to try in canning and this is one of them.

First time canning anything like this.  I'm going to be 

trying some black beans next. 

I didn't soak the peas overnight so used the quick method to re-hydrate them.

The bag of dry chickpeas I used filled 12 pints. 

I use chickpeas primarily for making hummus but am going to try 

adding them to soups as well. 

I did open up a jar of them and made some hummus right away. 

It made a great texture and it was smoother then some of the 

other canned chickpeas I've bought at the store. 

My violet is starting to flower again with the return of the sunshine and longer light.

Funny thing is I do really like the soft fuzzy leaves violets have. 

My tomato seedlings have come up and I always smile and remember

my friend Ingrid who taught me how to start them.  

Nothing better then a fresh tomato from the greenhouse she'd say! 

Makes all the work worth it with that bite of warm juicy goodness. :) 

My cosmos seedlings are super tall and so they'll need some 

extra special attention as they grow.  

One thing I do is brush my hand through the seedlings and that 

seems to help them toughen up as if they had light wind 

blowing on them at times.

I'll also be separating them out some so that they have more 

space to spread out their roots to.  

The spread of seedlings has begun and from now 

till planting out time the windows are going to be full. 

With gardening there needs to be balance between 

edible and beautiful. 

My boys are working on building small tiny houses today. 

March break in our house isn't going to be a break from all lessons.

For us the break is just going to be a change in what 

we are doing. 

So some fun projects are on the table. 

Hope you have a beautiful day! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Let Gardening Begin!

 

Hello! 
It's time to start gardening again and I'm so happy about that!

The sun is shining more and more and is warmer.

Today my boys had a homeschool garden planning day.

We had a great discussion and note taking time and then we got 

our hands dirty! 

Because of course you can't garden without getting dirty now can you?

I'm not one for gloves so my hands have dirt in them often 

from now till fall time. 

We headed out to the shed to collect trays and pots.

I have some heating mats and a grow light to that will be plugged in.

OH, and this year the boys put together

the indoor greenhouse for me. 

It was a gift from my husband and I've had it for years.

Still works great and I've used it inside and outside.

Sometimes I think that I need more pots...but really 

no, I don't. hehehe

Now with seeds...I can't be honest with myself and always buy more then I need. 

But then again...I always plant more then I need. 

No problem really as I can give them away.

Pulled out my seeds and found the ones that I can plant early.  

Tomatoes, herbs, and some flowers.

I lined up the seed packets on the trays so that I could 

see what I needed to fill with soil.

I don't like to pull out more soil then I need to for it often just gets 

dumped or just dries out and gets dusty.  

Of course I could just plant some extra plants???

Soon there will be lots of little seedlings to care for and that will be lovely! 

I think gardening is one of the many blessings the Lord has given.

To watch each stage of growth and pay attention to the details of 

God's creation is amazing and to me calming. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Renewed

 

Hello! 
It was time for some renewing in the house. 

Sometimes in the middle of the winter things just need 

a fresh touch.  

I changed up the top of my one kitchen hutch

and dusted off this little framed verse that was there. 

I must admit I am not great at dusting often.

This is one of my favourite verses and it is a good 

reminder as we can loose our focus on things. 

God's will is much different then the worlds.

It is good to have verses put up around our homes to bring 

our attention to the Lord and what His will is for us.

A short bit ago a friend of ours retired from his job so we made 

some fun carrot cake cupcakes for him and his wife to enjoy.

It's a diabetic carrot cake with lots of carrots and flaxseeds. 

So it's not only delicious but better for us. Not that cake can really 

be labeled healthy...but it sounds good. :) 

We have accumulated a few different fun cupcake papers. 

I did have them stuffed in a drawer but saw this

fun idea on Pinterest.  

Yes, sometimes creativity needs a boost at times. 

I had just finished using this one jar and thought it would 

make a great place to store them so that we could enjoy 

their cheerful colours and then be inspired to use them more. 

I found this beautiful large doily at the free store and it 

was perfect paired with a blue ribbon and bow.

I put a new plant on the top of my hutch as I sadly

ended up killing my ivy that was there.  

Not sure what I did, but it didn't make it through this winter.

I have started a new jar of clippings that will hopefully take root

and become a new plant in the spring. 

I still very much enjoy using the little candy jar with the bird on top. 

It was a gift from a friend and it makes me smile. 

It's been fairly warm and I was surprised to wake up to 

almost -30C this morning.  

The sky is mostly blue and the sun is shining on 

the icicles hanging from the eves.  

The sunshine brings a warmth to the inside of the house

as it shines in the windows. 

Thanks for dropping by! 

What do you like to do in your homes to 

renew them in the middle of winter? 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer

Homemaking Mondays: Pink Petals and Darning Socks

 

Hello! 
It has been so wonderful to have more sunshine!

It seems to brighten so much and not just with light.

My husband bought me these beautiful flowers 

for the remembrance of 26 years since he proposed to me. 

I've stared some darning.

It is a sad reality that with wool socks 

come holes  that need to be fixed. 

I inherited a darning egg and it is quite helpful.

So...with the holes comes a new

skill to learn. 

I collected all the socks to be mended

some extra wool, my darning egg, a darning needle,

my glasses and my sharp scissors that were a gift from a dear friend.

The first one wasn't too pretty...but 

I think I got the hang of it as I went along. 

The next time I might try the knitting patch technique

just to see what I like to do better.

It is so fun to have cheerful flowers in the house.  

Plus...I think they smell lovely to.

I made a few cards with the new papers I've acquired.

It's nice to be able to give a personal touch to what is sent.

I'm truthfully not good at making wintery cards...so

flowery it is. :)

Thank you for dropping by! 

I hope you are having a lovely day keeping your home as well. 

Love and Prayers,

Jennifer