Home Again

 

An old-style wheelbarrow at Fort Louisbourg, Nova Scotia

I couldn't help smiling as we turned into our street. Arriving home after a lovely adventure is one of the best parts of travel. We walked through our front door late on Monday night after spending a day with my parents on the mainland. 

That first evening, in the dark, I took a tour of my garden. Dahlias are going strong, there are a few zinnias and roses. Lots of purple Concord grapes and some very sweet green ones whose name escapes me. 

Fishing floats dangling in the sun

Since then we've been busy - clearing out the camping trailer, laundry, shopping for groceries - and to complicate matters, our daughter-in-law broke her ankle Tuesday morning. Surgery was today. Family is pulling together with meals and chauffeur duties. 

Beautiful views from a cliff on Newfoundland

When I have enough of inside duties, I go out to the garden for a stint of clipping and weeding. There is a lot to be done and the weather is cooperating. Roses have grown long thorny branches that I am cutting ruthlessly. I'm eyeing the apples - our children have assured us that they have picked all they need and we've offered them to others, but there is still a goodly amount to be made into applesauce and pies. All in good time.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. The children have everything organized and we were tasked to bring drinks. Now that Katie is immobilized for a few weeks, I volunteered to make dessert - her task. 

As I sort through photos and sift memories in my mind, there will be stories shared here in between the everyday happenings. I've begun reading and commenting on blogs once again and look forward to catching up with you all soon. 

Home is a Lovely Place

 

Travel is wonderful, but coming home is so very lovely. We enjoyed dinner with my parents, and spent one last night in the trailer before catching the 8 am ferry on Thursday morning. What joy to pull up to our home and begin the task of settling in once again. 

Our Iranian tenants took good care of the garden (with help from neighbours and our children), and gave us the vase of flowers seen above, as well as some delicious date pastries. 

The garden is calling out cutting back, harvesting, and weeding, and we spent much of yesterday doing just that. I clipped the very first bouquet of sweet peas before leaving home on July 22, and was able to cut another when I returned home. They sit on my windowsill along with ripening peaches. Soon they will be pulled and put on the compost pile.

Yesterday evening we spent with our children and grandchildren, and it was a wonderful time with delicious food - salads, hamburgers, and an apple cake. 

This morning I did a few in-house chores and some grocery shopping, and this afternoon I'm heading out into the garden once again. Thankfully, the weather has cooled off (we missed almost all of the heat this year). I'll be reading a few blogs when I need to have a bit of a break. 

We are filled with gratitude for our trip, and with pockets full of stories to pull out and share. I'll write some of them up for you in the coming weeks. 

Friday Five

 

West coast winter weather arrived early this year. Wave after wave of rain blows in from the Pacific, sometimes with wind, sometimes with a steady quiet patter and cool air blowing in from the open window where I sleep. How I love listening to the rain fall at night. 

These are good days for staying indoors, for quiet evenings by the fire. I rescued a handful of roses from the elements and they brighten up the coffee table with rosy pink and deep crimson. 

Youngest daughter Ashley, along with Iris and Cora, came for tea this morning. It was cozy to sit and visit. Cora is not yet walking but crawls really fast and heads for the fireplace every time. There was a lot of picking her up and trying to distract her. Peek-a-boo was a good game, also "why does Nana have a book on her head, and why isn't there a book on my head?" Iris is enthralled with puzzles and to watch her concentration is delightful. 

I made madeleines to enjoy with our tea. These have a hint of lemon in them, and ground almonds. (from Will Torrent's cookbook Patisserie at Home)

We invited Cristal and her family for a simple supper this evening. As I set the table I thought about my mom who made the quilted placemats, and about our trip to France in 2007 when I purchased the napkins in Avignon. I like surrounding myself with things that have personal meaning and are useful.

After a supper of Chicken Tortilla Soup, and madeleines and chocolate for dessert, we played the board game Carcassonne. There are so many great games these days, and our children trade around and have oodles of fun with them. 

In the evenings I've been paper piecing hexagons and stitching them together in simple ornaments for Christmas. I'll back them with felt and add a hanger. Fussy cutting the fabric scraps takes the most time, and the flower shapes come together quickly. 

We don't decorate the house for Christmas until Advent begins, and put up the real tree 10-14 days before the 25th so it doesn't shed entirely. In the meantime, I am thinking about projects and gifts and enjoy this time of preparation. 

November is a month that often slips under the radar after the beautiful autumn of October and the festivities of December. It takes intention to make the most of each day of this month and to enjoy it for what it is - a prelude to winter with its own quiet melody. 

It's Almost Christmas!

 

Sunday afternoon and dusk is falling. The tree lights cast a soft glow in the quickly darkening room. Soon it will be time to draw the curtains and turn on more lights. Then I'll think about a light supper. 

My husband is ostensibly on vacation until after Christmas. However, he's been on the phone dealing with some health facility staffing issues related to the pandemic, and the weekend has not been very restful. Hopefully the next few days will be easier. 

I love setting a tea tray and carrying it into the living room for my husband and I to enjoy in the afternoon or evening. I usually just serve the teacup and saucer, but a tray makes everything just a wee bit more special. 

I'm so enjoying all the lights and decorations around the house just now. The little scene above was created for our grandchildren a few years ago. Most of them won't be able to play with it this year, but over the weekend young Iris came over to give her parents a break. I had so much fun introducing her to the three little mice and one hedgehog and their houses and toys. I must look for one more woodland creature to represent Cora in this scene. I've not spent a lot of time in stores just looking at things. 

The birds visiting our garden are so plentiful just now. I watch them alight and lift off as I work in the kitchen. Over the days of Christmas I do want to eat well, but I don't want to spend much time preparing. It's different when there's a crew of us pulling a big dinner together and there's lots of visiting while working. So I've made the turkey dressing and a braised cabbage dish and have them ready in the freezer. This afternoon I made 7 half-pints of cranberry sauce. The sweet potato dish can be done ahead, leaving not much to prepare for our dinner for two. 

On Christmas Eve we traditionally have a dish from Ecuador - ceviche - a sort of shrimp cocktail. I've prepared the sauce for it, and will share some with our son, who also enjoys it. Our eldest daughter is making some on the other side of town and will share it with her sister there. The children-in-law are not as fond of the dish as we are. 

Our weather continues wet and mild, although there is a drying trend towards mid-week. Not really any chance of snow, which I always long for. Instead, we have roses forming buds. 

The baking is done, most of the presents are wrapped, and I'm enjoying the last bits and pieces of Christmas preparations. There will be a house-cleaning this week, some more babysitting, and some arranging of gifts and food. All lovely, puttery delights that I so enjoy. I've crossed some items off my list as unimportant at this stage. Such a freeing gesture!

I wish you gentle moments of joy these days before Christmas. If you're feeling frazzled, make a tray of tea and a treat, and cross something off your list, too!

Linking with No Place Like Home hosted by Sandi. 

PS

One commenter from my last post asked for the scone recipe. Here it is, an easy-to-make recipe from Jean Pare, who published an extensive series of books in the 1980s. This recipe is from Muffins and More.

Rich Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour (450 ml)

½ cup white sugar (125 ml)

1 Tablespoon baking powder (15 ml)

½ teaspoon salt (2 ml)

½ cup butter, cool (125 ml)

1 egg

2/3 cup milk (150 ml)

 

Additional milk or cream for brushing tops

Granulated sugar for sprinkling

 

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. 

Beat egg with fork in small bowl; add milk. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to make a soft dough. Do not overmix. Pat into two 6-inch (15cm) rounds. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. 

Brush tops with milk. Sprinkle with sugar. Score each circle into 6 pie-shaped wedges. Bake at 425 F (220 C) for 15 minutes until golden brown. Split and butter, or serve with strawberry jam or preserves, and whipped cream. 

Making Christmas - No Place Like Home

 

Late Sunday afternoon Tim and I walked down Oak Bay Avenue, a part of town that has old-world charm and lots of Christmas lights. This is a wordy post, so maybe get a cup of tea and a cookie to nibble on as you read.

As a child, Christmas always involved lots and lots of family - aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins galore. It was merry bedlam. There was a huge dinner, carol singing, presents, and bags of nuts and candies containing a single mandarin orange from Japan handed out by my grandparents (on both sides). 

When I was 13 we moved further away and trips to visit extended family were much fewer and far between. However, one or two of my mother's sisters and their families also lived in the northern interior of BC and we celebrated Christmas with them. After dinner, the adults visited and we cousins played. For a number of years we organized (I was probably very bossy) a little nativity play and performed it for our parents. Christmas was more than a one-day affair. We alternated Christmas Eve at one home and Christmas Day at another. Delicious food, lots of laughter, and a lovely sense of satisfaction to end the day. 

With minor adjustments, these traditions carried on after I married. Tim and I alternated Christmas Day and Christmas Eve with his family and mine. 

In 1981 we moved to a small jungle town in Ecuador. The climate and culture were all very strange to us, and to me particularly. Nothing felt familiar. It was Christmas pared down to bare bones. On Christmas Eve Tim and I sat in front of our ugly little tree and we both cried. We cuddled our 8-week old daughter and wept with loneliness. And I vowed then that the next year would be different. 

I learned that I couldn't rely on the culture around me to evoke the meaning I wanted from Christmas. As a child and young bride, I relied on my parents and extended family to prepare and lead our Christmas celebrations, and they in turn were guided by society and by our faith traditions. 

The next year was different. I took the time to prepare my heart and my home. Our home was the centre of our celebration of Christ's birth. Advent calendars, reading the Christmas story from the Bible or from children's story books, lots of music, baking, and a big dinner to which we always invited lots of people became our family traditions. 

And Christmas was good. It was beautiful and fun. But always, there was, in my heart, a turning towards home, towards my parents and siblings gathered so far away. As I dressed for the day, thoughts of home filled my mind and a few tears fell. I learned to acknowledge the grief even as it eased over the years. And then, hair combed, make-up applied, I tucked away the sadness, and went out to celebrate Christmas with my beautiful children and husband and had a perfectly wonderful day. 

This year is going to be unlike any other Christmas. Our Provincial Health Officer has said that we are restricted to our own households and we are not to gather in an effort to flatten the curve of coronavirus. It is hard to imagine. The news doesn't surprise me, for cases have been much higher recently. Once again, I will acknowledge the sadness and grieve a little over not being able to be with our parents, children and grandchildren. Tim and I are talking about how we will make the day special for just the two of us. It will be a good day. There will likely be gift deliveries and Zoom calls. And through it all, we will remember the reason for our celebration - the birth of the Christ Child. 

We'll be at home a lot. On Saturday we decorated with lots of twinkle lights on the mantels and piano, and around the kitchen windows. The tree lights reflect in the window and across the room onto the glass of a large picture. Home is a good place to be. 

Linking to Sandi's No Place Like Home. 

Christmas Reading List and Some News

 

Shall we hear the news first? We welcomed a new little granddaughter into our family on Saturday. More details will follow, but everyone is well. We had Big Sister Iris (almost 18-months) stay with us for three days and had so much fun with her. However, having children is definitely for the younger set. 

Christmas decorating was set aside while I sang songs, played games, and cuddled with a sweet little one. I'll get back into it later this week.  

A few weeks ago I wrote about books and stories I like to read at Christmas time, and asked for your suggestions. I've compiled a list for your reading delight. I've not read everything on the list, but on your recommendation I found a copy of Christmas at Fairacre (includes No Holly for Miss Quinn, The Christmas Mouse, and another story), and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Christmas at Fairacre - Miss Read

No Holly for Miss Quinn - Miss Read

Miss Read's Christmas - Miss Read

Shepherds Abiding - Jan Karon

Winter Solstice - Rosamunde Pilcher

Debbie MacComber - Angels books about Shirley, Goodness, Mercy

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

A Redbird Christmas - Fannie Flagg

Snowflake - Paul Gallico

Miracle in the Wilderness - Paul Gallico

The Night Before Christmas - Jan Brett

Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old - Plough Publishing House

Papa Panov's Special Day - based on a Tolstoy story

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson

The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas - Madeleine L'Engle

I Saw Three Ships - Elizabeth Goudge

God is in the Manger - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

An Irish Country Christmas - Patrick Read

A Christmas Memory - Truman Capote

A Star for Christmas - Trisha Romance

I Spy Christmas, A Book of Picture Riddles - Scholastic

A Pussycat's Christmas - Margaret Wise Brown and Anne Mortimer

Christmas with Anne and other Holiday Stories - L. M. Montgomery

Christmas in My Heart: A Timeless Treasury of Heartwarming Stories - Compiled by Joe Wheeler

Christmas Classics from the Modern Library - 1997 Random House

Christmas Not Just Once a Year - Heinrich Böll

Letters from Father Christmas - J. R. R. Tolkien

Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie

The Mistletoe Murder and other Stories - P. D. James

Skipping Christmas - John Grisham

The Christmas Chronicles - Nigel Slater

Linking to No Place Like Home, hosted by Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage. 

No Place Like Home

 

Jane Austen said it well, "There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." I'm so thankful for our home - it is a place of rest and restoration, of laughter and tears, and certainly, of comfort. 

My American friends are thinking about Thanksgiving, but since we here in Canada celebrated last month, I'm thinking about Christmas. Most of my shopping is done, and making of gifts is well underway. 

I've not really begun decorating - I like to wait until Advent for that, but I did pull out my red dishes. Then I thought it looked a little bare, so I went out with my clippers and snipped some greenery. It will all have to be changed and freshened up a couple of times between now and Christmas. 

When I bring in greenery from my garden, I plunge it all into a sink (or tub) full of water with some white vinegar added, to clean it and get rid of any lurking bugs. 

I love the graceful shape of this teacup, purchased in Switzerland when I went on a tour with my mom and sister in 2009. 

Everywhere I look in my home, objects spark memories. There's the watercolour painting we bought while boating one year, and the store wrapped it up well because we had an open dinghy ride over choppy water before getting back to the boat. There are plants from friends, and furniture made by Tim, and it all adds layers of meaning to us. Homes are very personal places and should reflect the personalities of the people who live there. 

Yesterday I roasted a chicken for a midday dinner, and served it on the red plates. I'll use them regularly now. I served a sliced orange and avocado salad alongside. 

This weekend was Christmas Fruitcake time, too. I chopped and mixed all the fruit - dates, raisins, glace cherries, nuts, and cranberries with some liqueur and let it sit overnight before mixing up the batter and baking the cakes. This recipe is one I have not tried before and I don't think I'll make it again. It's okay, but has pineapple in it and we think the pineapple dominates the flavour too much. Still, it's quite edible. I'll be brushing them with rum over the next weeks, and some will be given away. 

Sandi, at Rose Chintz Cottage, is hosting a weekly "No Place Like Home" link up for a few weeks. She's a fellow Canadian, living on an Island on the opposite side of Canada from me. Blogging is a wonderful way to make connections. 

Are you thinking about Christmas yet? 

January Quiet

10 AM on January 2, East Sooke Park, walking towards the water

Is any month more conducive to dreaming than January? The earth tilts ever so slowly towards the sun; cold settles deep into the land. Life is centered indoors, where fires glow and soups and stews provide sustaining warmth.  

Moss drips from the trees against a tangle of rocks and driftwood along the shore - East Sooke Park

Gardeners dream of colour and make long lists from the seed catalogues. Travelers begin thinking of trips to take. It's a good month to consider home improvements. Considering takes time and thought, not energy, and I enjoy the considering after a day of teaching. 

Arbutus tree bark detail 

After the rush of December, this month is ideal for delving into new interests - a photography course, writing down family stories, learning upholstery, starting ( or picking up again) a new embroidery or knitting project. I'm currently working on sewing a shirt.

Detail from moss/lichen/fern growth on a rock

I like to read recipe books in the evening and consider what I might make in the next week or two - a chicken pot pie, a fresh salad, or perhaps a vanilla cake with whipped cream. 

After the Christmas decor is boxed away for another year, the house can benefit by changing things up a little. Today, the paper whites are blooming on the mantel, tall and fragrant, flanked by tea lights set into vases with sea glass.

Looking westward from Beechy Head in East Sooke Park

Not all of January is white and grey. When the sun burns through the clouds, invigorating colour appears. I feel more energetic and am glad to bundle up and go for a walk or hike. 

Tea on a rock at Beechy Head, East Sooke Park

And always, there is tea, indoors or out. Copious cups of varying flavours delight my taste buds.  

In January, my heart is warm from the glow of Christmas, and I welcome the quiet. January is a month for thinking and pondering, providing moments of peace in which to plan for the months ahead.  

How will you make the most of January days?

Linking to No Place Like Home, hosted by Sandi.  

Thoughts on Hospitality

There comes a time, usually 5-6 hours before friends are due to arrive for dinner, when I think to myself, "Why did I want to have company? I'd like nothing better than to sit down in front of the television with a tray of leftovers." 

Then, once I begin executing the plans I've made, I feel much better and look forward to the evening. For me, planning and working ahead is key. One evening earlier in the week I ironed the tablecloth and napkins of vintage linen. 

Things that can be done ahead I do the night before - this time it was peeling and cubing the butternut squash, trimming the brussels sprouts, and making the salad dressing. 

For this particular get together, one friend offered to bring dessert and another brought appetizers. I augmented the latter with a bowl of nuts. Tim takes care of the wine. 

Saturday morning I vacuumed and dusted, and cleaned bathrooms. I would have done those things on Friday but didn't have the energy after working all day. 

I really enjoy setting the table and do that before I begin cooking so I can take my time. This table setting is simple. The photos were taken during daylight, and in the evening, with the lights low and the candles lit, the space was cozy for the six of us. Years ago I purchased a box of tiny brass stars. These I fling over the table in a scattered constellation. They catch the light and are often played with by dinner guests as we chat late into the evening.

I started cooking around 3:00 and had plenty of time - enough to decorate the mantel and set out the nativity set. 

So what was on the menu? To start, a salad with greens, avocado and orange slices, sprinkled with cinnamon candied almond flakes. For the main course, stuffed chicken breasts, potato stacks, butternut squash with brussels sprouts and cranberries, and steamed asparagus. 

Hospitality is something I learned from my mother. Having guests over was a regular occurrence in our home. My mom still entertains regularly. She taught me the value of working ahead and having a plan. 

During our years overseas I had plenty of opportunity to practice the skills Mom taught me. Guests at the dinner table (and breakfast and lunch) were a part of life. They came from the four corners of the globe - Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the South Pacific.

The conversation last night ranged from politics and literature to boating and religion. Lots of laughter. Some teasing. Yes, the food was delicious, and I took extra care last night. In the end, however, it's the people sitting around the table who are most important. Sharing life. A bowl of soup and chunk of bread can accomplish the same meeting of minds. 

After the guests left and Tim and I finished cleaning up the kitchen, I went to bed content with the evening.      

After church on Sunday morning, the same six of us went for a boat ride (not ours). And we enjoyed another meal together in Fulford Harbour on Saltspring Island. Once again, it's all about the people in our lives.

Do you enjoy having guests in your home? What tips help make things simpler for you?

I'll be linking to No Place Like Home, hosted by Sandi of Rose Chintz Cottage.  

A Restful Weekend and Baked Eggs

It's been a quiet weekend. A few chores, a little sewing, a long walk in the rain with my husband (very Bronte-ish), some television watching, and very little computer time.

No photos, either, so I've recycled some from last fall. I played with still life arrangements for Donna's Personal Photo Challenge. This time I created a collage of a few of my favorites. (The link goes to her regular blog, as the photo challenge has been discontinued for now, after the death of her husband last December.) 

We've been working, over the past few months, on renovating our upstairs bathrooms. They are to the point of choosing tile for the back splash. Do you have any idea how many choices there are for tile? I'm sure it numbers in the thousands of thousands. I sort of know what I want. Tim needed to see for himself. We decided on something, then I found a sample of the same tile with grout and he decided he didn't like it. So we started all over again. No decision yet. 

A number of people commented on the breakfast I showed earlier in the week. The eggs are baked in ham cups - an easy way to prepare breakfast for a crowd (or one or two). 

You can use a muffin tin, but I like using my ramekins. Lightly grease the ramekins, then place a slice of Black Forest ham inside. Crack open an egg into the ham. Spoon 1-2 teaspoons cream over top. Sprinkle with cheese, salt, pepper and herbs, as desired. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes, depending how well you like the eggs cooked.

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Judith of Lavender Cottage, and No Place Like Home, hosted by Sandi.