KITCHEN PICTURES

Some pictures of my Kitchen

My Cranberry coloured Clock

(I am not spelling colour wrong, this is how we spell it in Canada :)

Google keeps giving me nasty messages :(

Olde Black Crow Coffee sign that I received from Nancy in the

"Olde Fashioned"

Christmas Swap hosted by Char

My Blue Cupboard

More of my Graniteware Collection

Grapevine Wreath with Crow

Cupboard, Bowl Rack, Herb Rack, and stitchery of my recipe (Curried Parsnip, Pear and Apple Soup) that was published in MERCANTILE GATHERINGS MAGAZINE, CHRISTMAS issue a couple of years ago.

Jelly Cupboard and Clock with some of my Graniteware collection.

Bakers' Table....It took me three years to find this. And yes that is a real pumpkin. I just LOVE pumpkins and try to keep them on display as long as possible.

Cream coloured cupboard and spice rack. Crow wreath

Kitchen counter and stove

Dough Bowl and Quilt that I made for my kitchen table in the

colours of my kitchen. I have my kitchen done in

Tans, Cranberry, and Liberty Blue.

Another picture of the Quilt on the table. I take it off

when we eat, but it looks so nice with all of my kitchen colours in it.

BUTTERY SIGN

I just thought I would post a picture of the sign I just finished. It is a special order for a customer and I will be shipping it off to the USA this week. I like the way it turned out and I might even have to make one for myself.

QUILTS

Seeing Quilts were listed on A Primitive Place as one of the 10 things we like to collect, I thought I would post some pictures of a few of the ones that I have  done.

This pattern is called "Wacky Stars"

The "Gardeners Journal"

"Four Patch Scrappy"

"Log Cabin"

CRANBERRY BANANA LOAF

This is a great recipe. I just made this to take to our Quilters' Guild meeting tomorrow. Our group is in charge of refreshments for our break this month. It is a quick easy recipe.

TIP: If you have any over ripe bananas, just peel them and put into ziplock bags and freeze them.

Take them out for a recipe that calls for them and thaw them out and mash them.

RECIPE

1/4 CUP BUTTER

1     CUP GRANULATED SUGAR

2    EGGS

3    MASHED RIPE BANANA

1    CUP CHOPPED CRANBERRIES

1 1/2 CUPS ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 1/2 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER

1/2    TEASPOON BAKING SODA

1/2    TEASPOON SALT

1/2    TEASPOON CINNAMON

1        PINCH OF CARDAMON

Combine butter, sugar, and 1 egg in mixing bowl. Beat until smooth. Beat in second egg. Stir in banana and cranberries.

 

In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon and cardamon.

Stir well. Add all at once to banana mixture. Stir only to moisten. Scrape into a 9x5x3 inch

loaf pan (greased). Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Sylvester (AKA Fluffy Muffy)

Sydney and Louis ( two crazy Aussies )

Shorty

Sambo

Dolly

A Happy New Year from some of the gang at Mapleview Farm and Olde

Crow Primitives.

A GREAT CHRISTMAS

Primitive Crow stitchery from my sister Karen in British Columbia
Another picture of the stitchery

Primitive table topper hand made by my sister Karen

I hope everyone had a great Christmas this year. Ours was pretty quiet, but we enjoyed it just the same. On Christmas day we went to visit my father-in-law where he is in long term care and had Christmas dinner in there with him. He enjoyed our visit, I'm sure. On boxing day I cooked a small turkey for DH and I and we had all the traditional "fixins" that we have every year. We have the stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, mashed turnip and carrots, turkey and gravy. Then for desert, I made my English trifle which is a family tradition. Can you tell my background is British :)?

I just had to post the pictures of a couple of gifts that my sister Karen from British Columbia sent me.

She made me this primitive pumpkin/crow table topper. She also sent me a primitive crow stitchery. I just love them. She knows my taste by now....LOL. I was out in B.C. visiting her in October and while shopping in my favorite store out there (The Weathered Rooster), I was drooling over the crow stitchery. My sister must have taken note of this, as it is mine now :)
I will be finding special places in my home for these for sure. Thank you Karen.  It would have been nice if we could have spent Christmas out there with all of my family, but we have way too many critters  and some of them are getting quite old and need lots of Love and Attention. Maybe some day we can enjoy Christmas together.

A GATHERING OF GURLFRENZ

On Monday night we had a Christmas Gathering at the Marsh Store

in Coldstream. Shirley put on a fantastic dinner for the five of us.

When we arrived, she had a table all set up in the classroom of the Quilt shop with her good Christmas china, candlelight and some great appetizers. We had a choice of red or white wine. For the main course, Shirley made a wonderful salad to compliment the spinach and onion pie that she made. We all enjoyed the meal tremendously! For desert, Shirley made a Chocolate truffle cake that was just awesome so we enjoyed that with some coffee. Thank you so much Shirley!

Shirley had planned a project for our night of sewing. She designed a Christmas placemat and we all made four placemats using the stack and wack method. Shirley brought out her stash of Christmas fabric and let us all choose which fabric we would like to make our placemats out of. There was something for everyone, as we all have unique tastes in fabrics. This was a super fast project.

Seeing we all had such a great time, we have decided to make this Christmas Gathering a yearly event.

Mary was the photographer, so she didn't make it into the picture, but there was five of us that got together to enjoy the evening.

Merry Christmas~Janet

CHRISTMAS BAKING

Hello everyone.

I thought I would share a picture of my Christmas baking. I got up early this morning and started making the shortbread recipes and made about 6 batches. I also made some icebox cookies and they are rolled in plastic wrap and in the refrigerator to be sliced and baked tomorrow. This is such a busy time of year but fun. Just have to watch that I don't eat too many of these myself!

IT IS FINISHED!!

Woodburning Cookstove
The Buck Saw table

Another shot of the Buck Saw table

The "Huge" Primitive cupboard

I even have a small freezer next to it.

1930 Findlay Oval woodburning Cookstove

and Look!!!

Deb's Hard Tack Candy is sitting up on the warming shelf.

I put it there so that I could get a shot of it.

Well after lots of hours of hard work, the summer kitchen is finished. There still needs to be some finishing up on the inside. I am planning on painting the legs of my buck saw table a barn red colour and the top will just be stained in Early American. The huge...and I mean huge primitive storage cupboard will be painted a barn red also. I will leave the painting for a later date. I took DH out for supper last night to thank him for all of his hard work. I helped out too, but he did most of the work. He finished around midnight Monday. He is glad that it is finished.

I am posting a picture of the outside that I took this morning. I will post pictures of the inside later when my camera is charged...LOL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Today I got a parcel in my mailbox and it was the hard tack candy that I won on Crow's Creek Primitives Blog give away. http://debsprimitivecountrykitchen.blogspot.com

Thank you so much Deb. DH and I will be sampling it tonight.

Deb also sent me in the package, a wonderful rusty bell tree ornament.

SUMMER KITCHEN

Well, DH and I have been working diligently on my summer kitchen. We worked last night until midnight and we got all of the insulation in and the vapor barrier and most of the ceiling installed. I am so glad that we installed the woodstove, at least we have some heat while we are working. It has been so cold lately. Now I have to tell you that the ceiling is a huge job. The whole inside of this summer kitchen is going to be pine, so the ceiling is 16 ft. lengths. We had ladders at each end, one for me and one for DH. I would go up my ladder and then he would hand me one of the ends, then he took the other end and went up with that. Then he had to start nailing the boards in place. I ordered pizza and caesar salad for supper and after we ate that, we got back to work. I will tell you, this morning my neck and shoulders are so sore from working above my head :( 

DH isn't up yet, but I'll bet he will be sore too, if not more sore from nailing the boards in place above his head. The walls will seem so easy after the ceiling. DH is also going to build me a huge primitive cupboard  and a Buck Saw table for the room. I designed both of these pieces and he is making them for me. The cupboard is going to be painted a Barn Red and I will do my distressing technique on it, same for the legs on the Buck saw table, the top of the table will be natural pine, stained and sealed with a mat varnish. I can't wait for the room to finished, it will be well worth all of the effort. I am so thankful to DH for all of his hard work on this.

Hopefully I will have some pictures to post of the finished project.

WOW! I HAVE BEEN SPOILED!

Last night, I picked up a parcel on my way up to Exeter to an evening of sewing, socializing, and a great Potluck supper at "Quilts and Calicos." When I got home last night, I was so tired that I didn't open the parcel, I thought I would leave it until morning. Well, it was a good job that I did that because if I had opened it before I went to bed, I would not have been able to sleep....LOL.

Nancy from stitchesnstrokes.blogspot.com and I were swap partners in the "Olde Fashioned Christmas" swap organized by Char. Funny enough, Nancy and I were also partners in the "Harvest Swap". We were actually excited that we were paired up again! In fact I almost feel like we are related now..LOL. Seeing I don't have a wide angle lense on my digital camera, I had to take several pictures to get it all in. Nancy sent me a beautiful handwritten Christmas Card, Christmas napkins, several tree ornaments, a handmade Santa ornie, a Candy Cane ornie, a beautiful handmade crow make-do and a Christmas Tree make-do. A Cardinal and snowmen lamp which is absolutely gorgeous and a handmade pincushion and a jar of her homemade Salsa.

Nancy......Thank You so much!! I just LOVE everything!! You can tell that you put a lot of thought into this package and I appreciate it so much.

Janet

You can check out Nancy's Blog at http://stitchesnstrokes.blogspot.com

Nancy's home made salsa, hand made pincushion, Crow Make-do,

Christmas Tree make-do and several tree ornaments!

Santa ornie, crow note pad and a beautiful handwritten
Christmas card from Nancy

Handmade pinchushion, Candy Cane ornie,

Nancy's homemade Salsa and Christmas Card

Cardinal and Snowmen Light (I just love this lamp) The picture does not do this justice, Apple Cinnamon Rosehips (smells wonderful)

Olde Black Crow Coffee Sign, ornaments and pincushion

A GREAT RECIPE

Here is a great recipe not just for the Christmas Season, but for all year round. I did a stitchery in this so I would like to share the recipe.

"Recipe for a Happy Home"

4 cups of Love

5 spoons of Hope

2 cups of  Loyalty

1 cup of Kindness

3 cups of Forgiveness

1 cup of Friendship

2 spoons of Tenderness

4 quarts of Faith

1 barrel of Laughter

Take hope and loyalty, mix thoroughly with faith.

Blend it with tenderness, kindness and understanding. Add friendship and hope. 

Sprinkle abundantly with laughter.

Bake it with sunshine.

Serve generously daily!

COMPUTER WITHDRAWL

Well I sure had a busy weekend. The Christmas show at a local Mennonite Church where I had my hand mades at went really well! I had a great time too. I met some really nice people. I couldn't believe that I didn't even get near my computer for two whole days. I wasn't feeling well when I got home last and I think it must have been computer withdrawl......LOL. I was so busy all last week getting things together for the show. I wanted my table to look just right. I did have a lot of compliments about it which was worth the effort. So this week it is back to normal. I was supposed to start school at a private College tomorrow, but for now that has fallen through. I was so looking forward to it. So the College has put me on the list for a March start date. I had also worked so hard to get accepted into the College. Months of studying to pass that entrance exam. Now it is just a matter of the Government. The second career program has made some changes. I have been told they have been having a high drop out rate so they are making you jump through a few hundred more hoops until you are approved now. That is ok......I can jump! I guess they have been funding people, they get into courses and if they find a job in the meantime, they drop out. Well I can sure suggest a solution to that. Make the people pay it all back if they drop out. That way, the people who really want the re-training can get it and not be hindered by the irresponsible people. It is funny, but there are always people who make it really hard for others just by their irresponsible actions. We all end up paying for it one way or another. So I am looking ahead to March.

I Won!!!

Well, I can't believe my luck..........I never win anything :(

I won the giveaway for the 1 pound of hard tack candy on Crow's Creek Crossing's Blog.

Thanks so much Deb. I told DH I would share :)

Deb's blog address is: debsprimitivecountrykitchen.blogspot.com

TART SWAP FROM ANNE

Yesterday I picked up a parcel from our Post Office and it was my Tart Swap package from Anne from Seasons of the Past. Her Blog id is seasonsofthepast.blogspot.com

Thank you Anne for everything. It was very kind of you. There is much more here than the 12 tarts we were supposed to receive. I especially LOVE the bowl fixins........I can't stop smelling them :)

CRANBERRY SALAD

This is a great recipe for Thanksgiving or Christmas

9 oz rasberry flavored gelatin

3 cups boiling water

2 cups of cold water

20 oz can of crushed pineapple

12 oz cranberries

3 oranges peeled and seeded

1 orange peel

1 cup of sugar

4 to 5 apples, diced small

1 cup of nuts, chopped

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add cold water. When partially set add undrained pineapple. Blend fresh or frozen cranberries in blender until fine. Add orange chunks and orange peel and blend until fine. Add sugar. Fold cranberry mixture into gelatin mixture, add apples and nuts. Pour into molds or 13x9 inch pan. Chill overnight.

MY KITCHEN SMELLS WONDERFUL!

You wouldn't believe the smell of my kitchen! I have been making batches of soap like crazy for Christmas orders. My whole table is covered in trays of soap that has to cure. It smells so good I could eat it. DH says he almost took a bite as he walked by..LOL.

I am thankful to my wonderful friends who have ordered soaps and candles from me for Christmas gift giving. I know there are lots of places to buy soap and candles, but my friends know that DH and I have been out of work since last March. The factory where we worked as Quality Assurance employees for 17 years closed down and moved to Mexico. Thank you ladies....you know who you are. It is so nice to have the support of  your friends :) I am looking forward to getting together with all of you tonight for dinner and sewing......and Linda, I am looking forward to your lasagna! I bet it will be wonderful. See you at 5:30......I am getting hungry already :)

Janet

MY NEW BUSINESS SIGN

Today, I made this sign for my business. I am doing a couple of Christmas shows at local churches with a friend of mine and we are selling our handmade goods. It is aged and antiqued, then hand rubbed with my special burnt umber/danish oil rub.

THE AIRPLANE HANGAR

DH has been working hard these past few weeks trying to get his airplane hangar finished before the snow flies! He is on the homeward stretch, working on putting the steel on the roof.

Last night, he finished the roof on the North side and today he is working on the South side.

I took some pictures of him hard at work. He should have the project finished up by the end of the week if all goes well. The weather has been perfect for him. After this, the corn has to be harvested and then he will be able to finish my summer kitchen :)

I can hardly wait!

This is Sydney, our Australian Shepherd

(He is supervising the building project)