Christmas at Kings Landing

KINGS LANDING CHRISTMAS 

One of my favourite places has kicked it up a notch at Christmas 2021 by opening the historic site for two weekends of the holiday season! The day was brisk but clear and the company of my spouse and three  friends just perfect. Enjoy a look at Kings Landing,New Brunswick.

Each doorway was bedecked so beguilingly…

Hubby jokingly staging an outhouse visit…

Stone homes make my heart pitter-patter

The old ribbon caught my eye

We attended a portion of an Anglican service complete with carols…

This tea pattern… woah!

The simpler the better…

The St John River hugs the site and is just beginning to ice over

The gingerbread men emerge fragrant and enticing 

These made the most wonderful little gingerbread men. Coming from the hearth added to the taste but I made them at home and halved the recipe. The remaining directions are: refrigerate at least an hour, roll out to about 1/4 inch and cut into shapes. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes or until just done. 

My hubby loves this clock- and it all wrapped up in a bow for him!

The birth and death room: found in most middle class homes of the era

Anglican church

Through the berries

The door to Kings Head Inn. The site offers Christmas meals with period entertainment, candlelight, story telling and sherry. 

This is the result of a cookie swap. New Brunswick is in love with butter tarts at Christmas. I made German
Vanillekipferl- a buttery cookie with vanilla sugar and ground almonds but I used pecans. 

Happy Sunday

I wanted to hook a snowman for a friend of mine. Free pattern of ‘Lil Jack Mat by Jenny Rupp was turned into a snowman with the addition of a hat and change of colours.

This photo was taken before I dabbed rose lipstick on his cheeks! I will make him into a pocket and insert candy canes and I’ll fashion a hanger by twisting two pipe cleaners together and covering them with wool strips.

My floral shaded mat is coming along. Doris Norman is a good teacher !

The pattern is by Doris. The rest of the class did three and four cuts. Mine is # 6.

In sad news, Bruce Bolivar, creator of the Bolivar rug hooking cutter passed away. I got his machine last year and two heads with it. It’s beautiful. 

And… we got our first snow dusting and have the promise of more to come Monday and Tuesday.

 We’re headed to our first Christmas party now, complete with Yankee swap. My silly gift is a pair of socks with pics of poutine  all over them. A very Canadian dish. 

🇨🇦 

Hooks and Scales

What a treat! A two-weekend rug hooking class in person! Local and taught by Doris Norman, Celtic hooker extraordinary. 

I’m a primitive hooker for sure, but I’d heard learning fine shading would help me anyway. I say fine shading but I’m using a #6 to do the fingering and mock shading methods.

This is what we’re working on; not my piece but I’ll post a pic when it’s done. 

I’ve also been busy baking in cast iron. My daughter is anemic and I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to boost iron intake- though she lives far away.

Tea biscuits 

Cornbread!

I love the the little loaf sized pan.

Baking means I eat a little and freeze the rest. Hubby is on keto and I don’t eat a lot.

I’ve been doing auctions again. 

Scored this fantastic “ash laundry basket” for $30. 

I bid and won on a “counter scale.”

Because this auction was online I had no idea how big it really was— it just appealed to my style. 

Well, it must have an 18” base and it’s iron so it’s heavy as all get-out. It’s got a small stamp that reads “Howe Made in Canada.”

I think I’ll resell it. 

Question to the knowledgeable:

Should I clean up the iron before posting and what should I ask for it? 

Paid $31, so I’m sure I got a deal. 

This week I’m looking forward to craft night with the gals and the second half of the hooking class!

Dribs & Drabs

 Well, here we are in a very rainy Sunday trying to be productive. I did prep and freeze apple pie fillings:

My father- in-law taught me this and it is so simple and makes for a delicious pie. Just peel and slice the apples and sprinkle with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Freeze. Our fav apple is the Sandow which is a relative of the Northern Spy. Yummy!

I also made a new candle scent. 

It’s a Christmas tree and  fireplace scent.

 I hope it doesn’t burn with the soapy smell I get when some manufacturers produce a “Fir” candle. Ugh. But I must wait 2 weeks for the candles to rest before testing. 

 

I named it “Posey Holler Tree Farm”— that being an area I grew up near in Old Virginia. There wasn’t a tree farm there per say, but my father being very frugal, took up an offer from a local man for a free tree. This old man was peculiar but friendly and we’d drive way out to his land and hike to the evergreen area. When we’d get out of the car my dad would say, “Now watch your step for bear traps, you know Fred!” And we’d most definitely have to watch. If you ask me, that was a steep price for a Christmas tree… 

My thrift shop finds this week were this red ware looking teapot ($5), and these spectacular vintage Halloween decorations! They have a Kmart sticker and a reduced price of forty-seven cents.

And this week has been a superb time for woods walks. I’d say our leaves peaked and the temps were just perfect. Willie and I went for some wanders.

And in honour of the approaching Halloween, I’ll leave you with 

some truly scary pics from my trip to Atlantic          Superstore yesterday. The first two are for a pound of 

butter.