WINTER PLEASURES IN THE SHEEPFOLD -- BLUE AND WHITE

"BLUE WILLOW"

My earliest recollections of enjoying dishes for the sheer pleasure of their beauty and creative appeal was as a child, I watched my mother organize and display her blue and white dishware. She collected what she could afford of any dishware in shades of blue and white. Now…when I visit the farm, I see blue and white in the homes of my sisters, a reflection of those bygone blue winters. Mary has the “Lochs of Scotland” handed down from my mother and in Laura’s farm kitchen, platters of Flow Blue and white adorn the walls. My personal favorite pattern is, “Late Snow at Riverwood by Bob Timberlake

LATE SNOW AT RIVERWOOD BY BOB TIMBERLAKE

WINTER BLUE IN THE HUTCH

CURRIER & IVES

LATE SNOW AT RIVERWOOD

A FAVORITE TEAPOT

Holiday preparations...

Wherever you live in the world so wide,

We wish you a nook on the sunny side,
With much love and little care,
A little purse with money to spare,
Your own little hearth when day is spent,
In a little house with hearts content.

A favorite time of year...a time of beauty and reflection. With the month of December comes many wonderful times and many memories of good times and winter love.

THANKSGIVING DAY FUN!

Son, James, and granddaughters, Andria, Audry, and Alicia

We celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way with a few Scottish customs thrown in for good measure. Although we realize that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, we celebrate victory over our enemies in the spiritual warfare for truth and right. The recipe below is a reminder of our many battles and many victories won with the help of our Lord.
A multitude of thanksgivings to God.

Scottish Warrior Apple Custard Pie

I

Ingredients:

Crust

½ tsp salt

¾-cup all-purpose flour

¾-cup whole-wheat flour

½-cup cold unsalted butter

Filling

1 large egg

1 cup evaporated milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon mixed with ¼-cup sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups sliced and peeled granny smith apples

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

In a bowl, sir the flours and salt, then cut in the butter until coarse crumbs show. Press on the bottom and up the sides of a nine-inch pie pan. Arrange apples over the crust. In another bowl, stir 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle over the apples. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the evaporated milk, egg, and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then pour over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Cut with a sword and enjoy like a warrior!!!

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 2Co 10:4

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Isa 54:17

Thanksgiving...

A Time To Be Thankful

THANKSGIVING

Throughout the United States and Canada, Thanksgiving Day is an annual legal holiday. It is one of the oldest and most widespread of celebrations. This American holiday commemorates the harvest celebration held by the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Society in 1621. The Pilgrims had come ashore from the Mayflower on Dec. 21, 1620. During the first hard winter, only about half of the original group had survived. Despite such heartbreaking losses, the harvest was very bountiful. The Indians had supplied them with corn seeds and there was corn in abundance as well as barley and plenty of meat, fish, and fowl.

The pilgrims set aside a day of thanksgiving to God for this wonderful harvest. They invited their Indian friends and ninety Indians and their chief, Massasoit, responded to the invitation. They brought five deer to the feast and celebrated with the Pilgrims as they gave thanks to God. The pilgrims often set aside days of thanksgiving whenever they wished to praise and thank God for His blessings and help but this harvest day feast soon became an annual day of thanksgiving. The actual dates varied according to the end of the harvest season but it was soon an established annual event.

Although Thanksgiving was widely celebrated as an annual celebration during the following years, it did not become a national holiday until Oct, 3, 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln declared it a national holiday. This was during the great Civil War when our nation's very foundations were being shaken. All seemed dark and bleak to President Lincoln but he realized more than ever the need to be thankful. How fitting it is that we should give thanks to God during the time of battle as well as in the time of victory.

To the Christian, every day is "thanksgiving." If we waited until our designated holiday to praise God for His blessings, we would consider ourselves most ungrateful. However, we are glad for the true celebration of Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday. It reminds us all of our nations humble beginning and how God has blessed and preserved our land. We must never take this for granted or feel that somehow by our own strength or merit we have made America the greatest nation on the face of the earth. If God had not been our Helper, then our history as a nation would have been quite different. It is God who has blessed, God who has prospered, and God who has kept us to this present hour.

Words from the Shepherdess...

My antique rose lamp above the table in our cottage

Anything with roses is pure delight!

What is so lovely as a lamp with light streaming through the darkness to show us the way?
The soft glow of lamplight is one of my favorite things. Therefore, I love lamps. I love to see light streaming softly from a window when I walk up to a home. The light speaks of warmth and friendship, a place where I want to visit. With light, there is welcome and love waiting inside.

The shepherdess loves the light and brings the sheep to the welcoming warmth of the sheepfold. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” How lovely is that?

Rearranged…

Rearranged…

What if God rearranges our lives? What if life as we know it now is suddenly turned upside down, turned around and we find ourselves traveling in another direction altogether? I cannot help thinking of my own grandmother, Elizabeth, whose life took a sudden and drastic turn in the road. Her first response was—where are you, God? What are you doing? Where am I going?

My own life has been that way, too. Looking back, I understand that God had a better idea, a plan that was far superior to my paltry attempt to direct my own path. Every bend in the road was for my good.

Thank you , Lord, for ordering my steps…even when I can’t see where I’m going. Still, I feel your hand in mine.

Cover art for “The Wild Rose of Lancaster” book #1 in the Wildrose series.