I got these quite a while back and I did make 2 of the Christmas stokings….I packed them away last year and I don’t remember what box!
I came across the pillow cutouts and the remaining two stockings when I went through my old trunk looking for a glue gun and sticks.
Decided it was about time that Carl the dog and Bernard the moose make an appearance on the sofa via pillows and the stocking will be full of goodies Christmas morning.
They are not completely finished yet. I have to do the blanket stick on the green stocking and the last pillow has to be sewed and stuffed.
Just a fun post today. I have been swamped the last week and a half finishing up some homemade gifts, so…… I have some baking to do over the week end and I have another Coolio fermenting post to come….stay tuned everyone and if you think of someone reach out and call them or send them a msg. Chances are they need to hear from someone.
Blessings everyone, praying for friends and family, near and far. Share Jesus with as many as you can and if you don’t know him yet, I urge you to seek him, you will not regret it♡
Back in mid November I went antiquing with a friend and I was able to pick up several used old cast iron pans.
The new “old” pans needed a really good cleaning so that’s what I did today. Of course I was right into the process and I forgot to snap a few before pics. Needless to say they look really amazing and they are cooking up in the oven with a good double seasoning…..
The kitchen is a bit smokey but nothing I can’t live with for a bit. All I had to do was put a fan in the window, pop open another window and the smokey air is clearing up.
Can’t wait til they are done as it is such a beautiful collection now. When the pans are all cooled off I will grab a nice pic and post it on say ….. we will call it “tickle tuesday”. Something posted that is amusing, interesting or tickle my funny bone 😄.
Just a little something that I did today.
I did start on Christmas cookies and I will share that with you in a day or two♡
I haven’t written a letter in a while. Letters to family and friends was how this blog started….. so here is a letter
Dear family and friends,
I hope that this year, so far, has found many of you well. It has been a year of up and downs, happiness and sadness…strengths and weaknesses but far above all, that God has been by our side through it all. He has drawn us closer to Him and the hope in Him is greater.
I had a few health challenges at the beginning of the year. One was quite a bit more serious then the second. It literally took me all spring, summer and fall to finally feel like myself again. The serious issue has settled down…. the knee surgery has healed up very nicely. I know through all that time it was extremely difficult for Russ. He had quite a bit of stress but I believe that he is doing much better.
The health challenges I had really did changed things for us this year. We did not get the chance to give our home renos that big boost that we had hoped for. On the farming side of things it didn’t go like usual as well. I didn’t do anything for customers this year…. what ended up happening was that I grew for us…I canned and put food away for us. We gave food away too, but mostly, when I felt well enough, I put food away in our pantry.
We enjoyed a more laid back summer and fall. It was really nice not stressing over what did and did not grow in thr gardens. The peace and satisfaction of eating from the gardens was beautiful…. I(we) really felt like a homesteaders once again.
Of course the virus really put a damper on all life as we know it. Ry and Kristina got married in June, the ceremony was small because of all the restrictions. I couldn’t travel, so we had to decline being there. That was so hard to do…. not an easy choice. They did to our surprise and excitement decided to reschedule the wedding for later in the year…. September when things opened up and they could actually have a ceremony and reception. I think the second decline was much harder then the first. Of course you all know that Rusty is a general contractor and they have been so busy. They had been booking jobs months in advance because of how busy they were. So early in the spring Bob and Rusty had a house build booked for August into October. It was not a small job and they were on a strict timeline to get it done so the clients could move in as they had sold their house. When the guys booked the job we didn’t know that Ry & Kristina were going to rebook the ceremony and reception in September. So when we sat down and looked at all the logistics involved with trying to make it work we just could not no matter how we looked at it. We were both so disappointed we had hoped that our stupid province would actually open up and allow free travel between provinces but nope we would have to self isolate for 8-14 days on top of the time spent driving to Ontario, ceremony and back if we left pei and returned. So it was with heavy hearts ❤ that we had to tell them we couldn’t go. We just couldn’t afford the time loss with travel and being quarantined with the job they had committed too. Rusty couldn’t leave bob working alone for 2 weeks plus. We did however get to watch them get married via live feed which was so beautiful. It certainly did match being there in person but we were so blessed to see them do it “live”. We hope they understood why we couldn’t be there in person. But know that all our love and thoughts were with them….
Carrie & Chris also got married in the Uk and then made there way back to Canada. Something about Carrie’s work visa expiring I think. Anyways they had just made it back in time for the wedding from what Gloria said. We did see them in the crowd at the church. I don’t think they are into big parties so I am not expecting them to do what Ry & Kristina did with a second ceremony to celebrate. (P.s don’t have a wedding picture from Carrie & Chris.)
This was the first summer in a while that I enjoyed my gardens so completely….. it was the year of taking steps back and being drawn back into what brought us here in the first place. It was so nice to go out and grab a handful of this and that and cooking it up for our meal that night.
I got my first pressure canner, a presto 23 liter. I got over my fears and wow I am so excited. I use it freely now. I participated in a “every little bit food preservation” challenge for 30 days in September it was so much fun. I did small batch preserving every day and posted it on my Instagram account.
I also learned a lot from the other homesteaders… recipes, procedures etc. Rusty is a happy camper cause he benefits from all the goodies I put away. Cowboy candy, mustard pickles, hot pepper jelly, etc.
I grew some different stuff in the gardens too. It was a new experience…. like the garden huckleberries they taste horrible raw….. but cooked…..oh so good. My freezers are full, my buckets have dried goods in them and my shelves have so many colorful jars of yumminess.
It’s just like old fashioned living, what I call “the farmhouse movement”
Part of that movement is getting back to the roots… like how our grandparents etc use to live. Focusing on the important things in life and moving away from the sterile, distant, constant moving, life of rushing through, day by day, week by week, in constant busyness.
We got our firewood logs early this year and were able to get them cut and split and stacked in the basement for the most part. I helped as much as I could and we got a good chunk done….. there is a little outside that needs to be chucked up and stacked but there is no more room in the basement at this time. We also were able to clean up some stuff in the yard. I didn’t get a chance to tiddy up my veggie beds…. but who knows we still might get some warm days that will allow me to tiddy up a bit.
The house is coming along guys….. we got the main room on the first floor gutted, blocked, insulated, drywalled and primed….. and I can actually decorate for Christmas so much more this year. It looks so nice. We have some projects to work on to get us through the winter which of course will make everything so much nicer on the main floor. It is a labor of love and even though its taking a bit longer then we want it is getting done and it is satisfying.
If things ever open up freely again and if the Lord tarries I am sure we will get some visitors. Can’t wait♡
So I think I am in christmas baking season now. The Christmas music is on and the snow ❄ is flurrying and its colder. So hard to believe that we are 3 days into December already. How the time goes.
Now not sure how much baking rusty Is going to enjoy this year. We are trying to figure out if some issues he is having for a while now is related to gluten. We have made a few changes in hopes to figure out what’s going on and it’s kinds frustrating for him but we are making the best of things.
My two favorites ♡
Rusty is not big on talking about himself and I’m sure he will not be to excited that I have said something about this but maybe some of you prayer warriors can pray with us that we can figure out what is upsetting his tummy and fix the problem.
I guess we are getting older and we don’t react to stuff the same anymore. Change is inevitable and really sometimes it can be an easy change. We eat pretty clean, I cook from scratch mostly but since the end of August I did buy a lot of breads, bagels, etc to eat with our jams and jellies….. I think its more of a glyposate and chemical thing then a gluten…. time will tell. I think because we eat clean when you add some of these processed foods the fertilizers and pesticides that are built into regular everyday flour foods affect you and make you feel not so well.
So we are now getting ready for Christmas….. I sent out my cards and baking is starting ….. gift giving is engaged and wrapping will soon entail and before we all know it the 24th will be here. It always happens in such a flurry.
Animal update…. murdoch is doing really well…. we changed him over to a raw diet earlier this year cause his health was not good. He has since really picked up and is much, much better. I did quite a bit of research to help him after the vet wanted to out him on steroids and antibiotics every 2 or 3 months. That stuff was making all his outward symptoms worse and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I research his symptoms and found a few protocols(natural) to help him and it is amazing how his health is so much better. Even his skin is almost completely cleared up too and his ears are not an issue anymore….. go figure looking at natural ways to heal the body and it heals. I am so happy for him… he is 12 plus years old and we are aware that his time with us is numbered but at least his health is so much better and he is a happier dog.
My happy boy
A few weeks ago I had to put barney down. I’ve never felt so sad….. he was in full heart failure and there was nothing that could be done to heal him. We have him buried out back with the others♡♡.
My good bye my sweet boy
We have Daisy, Angel and Charlie. They are now doing better there was a period of grieving and that was hard but they are cheering up and little rascals again. Charlie, Russ will confirm is a mommy’s boy….. he cuddles with me and is sookie around me….he is a little with Rusty but mostly me….. other then that the xats are happy and settling into the fact that winter is coming curling up in front of or next to the wood stove.
Daisy loves tractors Angel pie Cuddly Charlie
So I hope December finds you all well and we get some letters in return letting us know how your season went. May the Lord keep you all safe and close to him and may we not forget why He came as a baby and then as a man to free the sinful man and give us eternal life through Jesus death on the cross.
Thinking and praying for you all. Have a very blessed Christmas if we don’t share with one another sooner. Love you all, Nessie & Rusty.
Merry Christmas, from our home to yours
Check out the blog as I am sure there are more stories from our year there that I have missed here♡.
Back on October 29th I did a post on fire cider. I think I only did the intro on my Instagram page so I thought I would share a little here.
I am always looking good for recipes, foods, veggies, fruits stuff that will ultimately be good for us and our health. Okay sometimes I sneak in the odd treat but it’s usually from scratch and made with good ingredients:)
This is something that I have heard about for a long time now and I finally made the push to make it.
FIRE CIDER….. that sounds ominous, yes but it is supposed to be an old folk tonic for the body, good health. 1 tablespoon, aka a shot a day is supposed to help with digestion, appetite, immune boost, inflamation, blood sugar….. the list is longer those are but a few. What you put in it also helps, and this recipes has a bunch of stuff in it….
The main part of this recipe came from Mother Earth News…. I added a few extra ingredients, most from the garden others bought.
Ingredients: raw apple cider vinegar with the mother (braggs) onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, thyme, rosemary, oranges, lemons, horseradish, jalapeno peppers, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, whole allspice. This concoction sat in a big mason jar for over a month in the dark, shaken every other day.
So yesterday I decided to strain it and today I added the raw honey….mixed it up and wow it’s awesome.
So it is also used in salad dressing and as a marinade….so multi-purposeful.
We will let you know how it goes…. just another really good immune boost and tool for good health….. Here is to happy health
I have a smaller flock of chickens this year for two reasons.
Firstly, because quite a few were picked off by the foxes and coyotes in the spring and summer when I was unable to defend my flock.
Secondly, because I decided that I want to keep it smaller for a time as I reassess our self-sustainability. What other animals I may want to add this coming spring.
We have a couple farm mixes plus our dedicated layers. Blue, green, brown white and cream color eggs.
So I have 12 layers and 3 roosters… one of the roosters is going to a neighbor over the hill and the other one will either stay or become soup and big red is of breeding quality so he stays for now until he attacks me again then he is soup too.
So I get 10-12 eggs every day which is more then we can eat. So I come up with different ways to use them: fried, pickled, breakfast, hard boiled for a snack, with murdochs food, baking and a new thing today…..
Baked egg muffins. What’s that you say….. 🤔 not an egg sandwich…. an egg muffin made in a muffin pan and paper muffin cups.
I have a huge muffin tray and well I filled it with ingredients and baked them oh so good.
You can be creative with whatever veggies, cheese and meats in them, really whatever your tummy contents.
Today’s had two kinds: a western with red onion, red peppers and diced ham. The second was spinach, bacon and mushrooms. Both were topped with old cheddar. The eggs were mixed with cream, salt and pepper. They cooked for 20 mins and were so delicious. So they are packed up in the fridge ready for breakfast for Rusty and me too…
They are definately farmhouse movement kitchen recipe worthy♡
Recipe
4 eggs, 2 tablespoons cream, pinch of salt and pepper, grated cheese, mixture of veggies and meats precooked. For my big muffin tray it makes 24 and I used 16 eggs bake on 400 for 15-20 minutes depending on your stove. You don’t want to under Cook them so that they are wet and not too much and they are dry so make sure your tester stick comes out clean.
We spent the weekend tidying up outside and buttoning down the hatches as some call it because today Monday (which I guess as I type turns into yesterday….
We have been under a weather statement for a few days of heavy rains and winds. Not unlike maritime weather, just not looking forward to it.
They are calling this a atmospheric river… several fronts or weather patterns that cause the tropical moisture to stall over the maritimes or really anywhere that unleashes copious amounts of rain. Last week it was the west coast, BC that got it and it caused major trouble if you have been watching the news.
I have family out west and although they didn’t get flooded rhey did across the main highway in Abbotsford….the results of the washouts and floods are affecting them. The lack of basic groceries and the gas shortage are a couple things…and really the stress of everything. They are scheduled to get more rains this week so please keep the people of bc in your prayers. Those damages are going to trickle down and affect the rest of Canada soon as goods that are delivered in the port of Vancouver can’t go by train or truck through bc and East because of the roads and highways and train tracks that are washed out.
So back to our old house and farm….. we got things buttoned down, put away….tidied up…. the pre rains started late yesterday afternoon and then the serious rains and wind started Monday.
We have the garbage bins tied up together…. we have the chickens 🐔 closed up…. we have my greenhouse closed up (plastic on the screen doors)
The sump pump house has been extended about 20 feet plus from the house, out back. We have had rain off and on for about a week and the ground is not mucky around the house, it’s wet but firm….. the chicken coop well that is another stinky, mucky, nasty mess 😳😑😐😒
The chickens however are happy doing thier last run around the yard before the heavy rains.
It was amazing to see on Sunday how warm the overcast sky’s were and how warm my greenhouse got after the plastic was placed on the doors the screen doors for the winter.
Oh yes the generator is on standby…in the trailer for emergency use.
Since this is an 2-3 day rain and wind event it does not hurt to be ready for a few different scenarios.
As I lay here typing I can hear the heavy rain pounding the roof…. thats crazy…. the winds are from the south south east they wind change to south ? Then, south west then north west then tomorrow north…..
I guess I’m glad it’s not snow otherwise they would call it a nor’easter or even a blizzard because 100 mm of rains and the 80-100km winds. It could have been like Nov 2018…..lots of snow and wind early in the season ❄
I have a couple of buckets of water in the shower for toilet flushing and we have to listen for signs of power going out so that we can run down and get the sump pump hooked up to the generator to avoid flooding in the basement. Which is lots of fun.
When this is all over we will give you an update on the amount of rain, what the strongest winds were and some updates of pics of any damage that could happen.
Old Houses like our have quirks and perks…..rain coming though loose shingles and 130 year old paper that was used for a wind barrier. Can’t wait til we have the exterior shingles removed and replaced with a good moisture barrier and new shingles.
Do you remeber a post about this grand old house up the hill from us….she has collapsed even more. I think she will look even worse in a couple days with the 80-100km winds we are getting…. I’ll let you know. So sad….. there is still furniture in that old house.
Never a dull moment on the homestead or in the community. Just wait til the next blog……
So stay safe everyone and send out prayers and love to all going through these times. Here and on the west coast.
I have collected antiques here and there through out my life. I have a beautiful collection of very old tea cups from Rusty’s grandma snow…. absolutely beautiful robust women of God. I also collected a couple on my own.
I have some old rolling pins and old kitchen gadgets an old treadle sewing machine that works….. as well as some beautiful cast iron ware.
So yesterday my friend Evelyn took me too her favorite antique store….. what a blast. He has such amazing stuff.
I picked up four cast iron pans that I will clean up and season for use one is actually from Bowmanville, On and it looks like I can date it to the 1920-1922. They are all different sized and I am thrilled for my find. I picked up a snuffer, an old flour sifter that I will clean up and use a cool heavy duty beater and a beautiful large glass oil lantern. P.S. That angel candle holder in the background is from Grandma Snow she gave that to Rusty and I our first Christmas married:)♡ I am sentimental about stuff.
So very amazing finds…. I can’t wait to go back and see new stuff he has coming. Now because it is the island he will be open til mid December and then close til the spring…. I am told he has some amazing glassware in lots of different colors can’t wait.
Thanks Evelyn, I had a great day with you and “tiquing”.
We took a leap of faith 8 years ago landed on the island November 14th after a very very very long drive with two drugged cats and one chocolate lab and hubby driving our uhual moving truck….. we crossed the bridge around 10:30 -11pm and I was so incredibly happy to see our motel room. After a quick sleep over night we made our way over to the bank and then the lawyers office to purchase our old farmhouse.
So I am gonna spam you all with pictures that kinda began our journey here in the first year and then some♡
We didn’t know anyone except our realtor…. what a way to start. We had the most amazing weather so that we could unload our truck with what belongings we had left after perging for weeks…. It was truly God sent weather, sunny and warm…. as soon as Monday came the weather changed.
Carl from Thompson Well showed up and started to dig our well on the Monday morning. Maritime Electric had come on the day before we closed I think, to turn on the power on.
It truly was an amazing week. We got our new temporary bathroom set up and cleaned everything up really well. As Rusty worked on building the new temporary bathroom and a few other things we needed….. I got the place cleaned up and started to set up some rooms like our bedroom, kitchen, living room. I think it was about 10 days that we stayed at the motel driving back and forth each day…..it was crazy. It started to snow on the Monday night into Tuesday after our well was dug….. then as we got settled into the new place it was snowing regularly until Christmas.
What an amazing journey so far. We met neighbors and strangers, people that knew previous occupants of the house. I experienced an absolutely awesome maritime Christmas and a few of my first n’or easters that November into 2014…
What an exciting time for us something we dreamed of doing for quite a long time….. renovating an old house. No family or friends ….. yet:)
Hard to beleive all the stuff we have done in the time that we have been here. Quite proud of our accomplishments so far. We are restoring a beautiful part of history in the community and living off the land. We have met some amazing neighbors and new friends. Although it’s been particularly hard on family ties because we all spent so much time together back in ON…. We try to make the best of it. It would have been awesome to transport them here…. we are still holding out that some might move out east….but are very happy we did.
Our million dollar view, fresh air, spring water…. beautiful gardens and animals….. glad we did it. I know murdoch has enjoyed the new yard and the trail at the bottom of the hill…. I am sure he could do less with the blinding snow storms we sometimes get but he truly loves chasing snow balls eating snow in the winter and fresh grass and veggies in the summers…. he barks at queen cause she is so big…. but chases the cats and chickens, he is the ultimate flock and homestead guard dog.
So do we have any regrets….No. I love our new life here with the love of my life. I have a wish list, some wishes might not happen, most have come true. Of course the past two years have been a real challenge…. if the Lord tarries then I will have beautiful gardens again this coming growing season, we will have a beautiful Christmas with good friends. I will enjoy the snow when we get it and hopefully we will build a ice skating rink/area in the backyard. As well….have fun social gatherings with the new tribe and grow it.
I am so proud of our accomplishments this year. It was a particularly rough and tough one but God has seen us through and provided so much for us this year…. Thank You so much God♡ the harvest for us living off the land was incredible considering all things.
So no regrets, no second thoughts only seeing God answer our prayers.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love the Christmas season. Rusty and I met and started dating at Christmas many moons ago. Seems so long ago and also doesn’t seem long at all…
So usually I have my Christmas decorations going up the day after remembrance day. I love the season, the food, the weather, the warm feelings….. family all of it. The cookies are especially yummy this time of year.
Now before I go too far I have to give you all an update on Barney. Our sweet, sweet Barney was being treated for bladder inflammation and on Friday he had a heart episode. Basically he had a cat stroke or heart attack. Part of a blood clot in the heart episode broke off and traveled to an area that is call a saddle thrombosis. It all happened so fast he went from walking to not walk to dragging his hind quarters to rolling in pain. I got to the Atlantic Vet College as soon as I could be there was absolutely nothing we could do for him he was in complete heart failure. I was without words….. just tears. We have buried him out back where the cats love to play and catch mice etc. It the same place the other barn cats we had have also been buried. We will miss him greatly and the remaining clan Daisy, Charlie and Angel also miss him a tonne as well♡♡♡.
Well, since we have been working on the main floor renos of our old farmhouse. I get to decorate a little more this year♡♡. The main room we are using at the moment has now been primed and is looking so much nicer ♡♡.
I have moved my canning pantry shelves to where for now, seems to be the best spot until the addition is insulated and I can move the shelves there. My old farmhouse table will move into this big room this week. It is feeling a little more homey. I have freed up the corner next to the TV and the Christmas 🎄 will be put up there.
I got my wreaths up in a few of the windows and it looks nice…. yeah! Far from what I would really like it to all look like but some much nicer this year.
The hallway and stairs are looking a bit festive as well in between the construction and construction materials. Small steps all in the right direction.
I put up the beautiful plates that my mom painted quite a few years ago and I still absolutely love them♡
So I will post again towards the end of the week when I have more decorations up and things are a little more settled.
I can’t tell you how nice this all is….
I am so grateful for my talented hubby and all he does to make it look so awesome….
There is a song from the sound of music that lists all the most wonderful and favorite things……
My most favorite thing……. soft cozy flannel sheets on my bed. I couldn’t make that rhyme.
I have to say since moving into our Old Island Farm House one thing for sure is that the flannel sheets get used so much more then the cotton sheets. There is something so inviting as knowing that you are going to crawl into bed were the sheets are soft, cozy, comforting, warm and blissfully wonderful. Even in the summer believe it or not. Now I am on the hunt for affordable jersey sheets to go on the bed for the summer months, for those warm nights but even just the flannel fitted and flat sheet are enough to keep warm and cool during those summer nights.
I have been on the hunt for some nice new flannel sheets but everything has been so hard to find either at a good price or to find availability in general. I was successful this past week when I thought I was gonna settle for those white flannel sheets with silver snowflakes…. as I went down the isle to find an extra couple of pillow cases I found these……
Now I know you can’t really see the true colour but they are a really nice pale blue, grey and white striped set that is awesome and neutral for all seasons.
When I just crawled under the blankies…….. oh my….. words just can not express that feel of soft gentle warm comfort that feels so good♡ Can’t wait to hear farmboys reaction…..lol
I think I’m gonna love these ones. When Charlie comes in the middle of the night and then again around 6am for snuggles I think that he is gonna love them too. I have him nicked him snuggle bunnie snookums…. lol he only really comes to cuddle with me up on my pillow by my head…. he purrs like mad and he absolutely has to face me and paw my face and neck…
Told you…
He just snook up on me…..
Anyways, please share what your “favorite comfort” is and why♡♡
Muddy Boots, Old Houses and The Farm 