Wednesday, April 14, 2021

A tribute pattern plus the final postcard...

 


What a promise, yes?! Sealed as His very own. You know all through the Bible God tells us how He will shelter His own, protect His own, deliver His own, provide for His own, sanctify His own...save His own.

"(He) set His seal of ownership on us, and put His spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1:22)

What a wonderful promise to hold dear to, my friends. 


I decided to display this postcard as something other than a small bound quilt which could be posted. Instead, it has been finished as a pretty pincushion because I think it is a lovely alternate display for our own use, as well as for gifting.


Just out of interest, how are you displaying the postcards? Use the link below to download the pattern.

DOWNLOAD Postcards From Heaven week 6 pattern

It's been a lovely week so far, and today the sting of the sun is not so severe which makes my new seedlings very happy. Perhaps autumn is not so far away? Come May we just might be able to turn the air conditioner off at last - and oh how I love the months without it, when we can leave the windows open and the doors flung wide. That to me is bliss to the soul after a very long hot summer.

I find myself more often in the kitchen (is that possible?) preparing ahead for our meals, whilst also making and baking as surprise gifts for Blossom and the children. Her girls love my quiche so I tend to make one every week for them, the bonus being it uses up some of our egg abundance. And speaking of egg, our Penny-Pen continues to lay enormous eggs which make me think "ouch" when I take them from the nesting box.
She's always laying eggs that weigh between 80-90g, but just the other day she laid a whopper 100g beauty!  The brown eggs from Bernadette and Amy were dwarfed by this monster.


Blossom's hubby, Ross, loves eggs, especially the way Blossom poaches them, so I sent it home to him along with a few more of Penny-Pen's larger than average contributions. 

I was also able to use up more eggs yesterday by baking a loaf of gluten free bread for Bloss, along with gluten free honey cakes and a gluten free apple cinnamon tea cake. I find gluten free cake/bread recipes use a lot more eggs than those made with regular wheat flour, so when my fridge is overflowing with a bounty of goodness from our hens I have some good GF recipes to work with. 

Also in the kitchen the past few days I've made chicken bone broth from the carcass of the roast chicken we had at the family dinner earlier in the week. It was simmered for 24 hours in the crockpot and produced three litres.



I was able to use some of the broth in a lentil, spinach and chicken curry, which was delicious served with brown rice yesterday.



I also roasted pumpkin with garlic, which I later blitzed in the blender with some more of the bone broth, a can of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of curry paste and the juice of half a lemon. It becomes the most delicious soup and will be my lunch for the rest of the week with sour dough toast and a sprinkling of fresh coriander leaves.



Hubby loves my salmon patties so I also made up a big batch of them, served with fresh avocado slices, fresh coleslaw and pickled beetroot slices. A big squeeze of whole egg mayo and lemon juice and my man had a smile a mile wide. There was enough for two meals so we have leftovers for another meal.



Lunches lately (for me) have been thin toasted slices of sour dough with lashing of avocado mixed with lemon juice and seasonings. This is my favourite avocado season of the year! 



Most of the year we only get the Hass avos, but in the autumn through to late winter it's Shepherd season and they are simply delicious. Harder to peel away the skin (when ripe) than a Hass, but the flavour and texture is supreme. Our fruit bowl always abounds with avocadoes (and passionfruit too at the moment) and I even make hubby a delicious chocolate mousse with them.



I meant to mention this the other day, but forgot. As I've written previously, we were vegan for a while and then introduced meat back in to our diet around August last year. I felt the difference and my migraines were becoming extreme again so I assumed it was the meat. Turned out I have quite a few food triggers and over these past few months have been eliminating them one by one (sadly, they were all favourite foods) to the point that now I rarely get a migraine - usually only if I inadvertently eat a trigger food, or if there's low cloud cover and an unavoidable barometric migraine erupts. 

For my husband, during this same period of time, he was suffering through additional digestive issues (he already had a digestive health issue) which we had attributed to the re-introduction of meat. But we were wrong. 
For my beloved, it was all the beans and legumes which triggered his horrendous digestive problems  (because I still included lots of them in our every day diet - even more than when we were vegan). 
Once we eliminated all of them, his digestive health improved again. He eats a little meat now, but mostly loves bread, an assortment of vegetables, bananas, salads and rice - it's made a world of difference. His body simply cannot tolerate beans, peas or legumes and we're so relieved to have found this out.

So we won't return to a vegan diet, but enjoy small amounts of meat with lots of fresh veggies, fruit, eggs, sour dough breads and rice as our main sustenance. We don't eat dairy so that won't change, in fact we've switched from almond milk to oat milk and even that has been beneficial. 


The world was saddened last week at the passing of Prince Phillip. He's been beside the Queen all my life, and I have admired them both always. 
However, as much as I have studied the life of Her Majesty and grown to love her with immense respect, praying the Lord keeps her on the throne for many more years, I never thought to study the life of her beloved husband in the same way. 
Blossom and I wept for Queen Elizabeth when the news broke last week, and have prayed more intentionally for her than ever before. 

My own roots lie in England and Scotland, my husband's in Ireland (and Italy). Blossom's husband is Greek/Cypriot (Prince Phillip was Greek) - so the grandchildren are a wonderful mix of us all. In 2012 darling Blossom, aged just 18, travelled to England alone to spend time with a homeschool friend, who's family welcomed her with open arms and took her to some of the most beautiful places around the English countryside, leaving memories that will stay with her forever. So we do love old England and the fact that Australia is still part of the British Commonwealth.

Just a small thing, but after Prince Phillip died, I was reminded of the British-themed cushion I made a number of years ago, "Not Quite the Union Jack". I gave it that name because I used pastel colours instead of the traditional red, white and blue. It was an expression of my convict roots, as my English ggggg-grandfather arrived here as a convict in 1788.


Perhaps you'd like to make it?
I think I'll make it again in traditional colours.

Enjoy this free pattern and even if you don't make it for yourself, do you have a British friend?


Use the link below to access the pattern..


Well dear friends, that's it from me today. I'll leave you with a photo of the new Zinnia seedlings I have been planting out and around the garden. Last year they captured my gardener heart so this year I'm planting them again in a wider variety of colours. Flowers are a true joy to gardeners, don't you agree?



God bless your lovely kind hearts, and I pray the days ahead bring good news, happy gatherings, and simple joys in abundance.

hugs
PS: If you missed the news, I opened a homemaking page on Instagram. Want to know why? It's in THIS blog post.
You'll find me HERE or look for @homelifewithjennifer

16 comments:

Lin said...

Lots of delicious things happening in your kitchen Jennifer! xx

PennyP said...

Thank you for mentioning Prince Philips passing and your sadness for the Queen. We have had a sombre few days and will miss his service and devotion to the Queen, the nation and the Commonwealth. He deserves his rest.

Joanne said...

Hi Jennifer,
Zinnias are such happy flowers in the garden :)
Seeing the Not quite the Union Jack in different colour ways is encouraging to give it a try :) Thanks for posting!
Beans and legumes...good to know...we tried soy milk for a while and that turned out to be a no, not a good choice!
All those food photos look so yummy and colourful :) Thanks for spending time writing, typing and posting !
hugs,
Joanne

Dots said...

I, too, was sad at the passing of the Queen's devoted husband Prince Philip. I also have generational roots in the U.K. I pray the Queen lives many more years. I admire her greatly. Your post today was fascinating about this. Thanks for sharing it.
Be well, Jennifer.

Tammy said...

I love flowers .. My azalea's are currently in full bloom they are gorgeous all in a pinkish magenta color... I have assembled some of my pots with dirt/compost and manure today. I hope to be able to plant seeds tomorrow for flours and herbs in them. Then I need to get dirt/ compost and manure mixtures into the bigger pots to get some vegetable seeds started. I am running way behind this year in the gardening Dept. Your cooking looks divine. And thank you for the union jack pillow design.

mom2three said...

A lovely post, as always. I love to read your blog, and I'm happy that you write so often. I'd love it if you'd share good gluten free bread/cake recipe sometime. I've had celiac for the past 4 years, and have yet to find a bread that isn't heavier than a rock. I tried to make a loaf once and it actually came out of the machine harder than a rock - would've broken a knife if I'd tried cutting it.... so I've mostly given up all bread and cake. Your family is so lucky to have you to bake for them!

Angie in SoCal said...

Another wonderful post. It was interesting to read about how you managed to overcome the allergies. Where does this leave you in the dessert category? I still love cake. Thank you for the pillow pattern.

Lori said...

Oh, your food looks so yummy! May I ask, what kind of curry paste do you use? I have never used any, but have come across several enticing recipes lately that include it. I can't have anything but mild, so I am not sure what to pick! So diligent of you to take the time to figure out your food triggers! Eating the right foods for your specific needs is so important. I had many gut issues this past year and through much trial and error with my diet choices I am feeling much better! Currently we are GF and dairy-free, and my hubby is also low-carb to control blood sugar. It makes for some interesting meals! Thank you for the patterns, you are so very generous. Enjoy the cooking weather! Gearing up for more heat here in TX.

Judy1522 said...

Even though I live in the states I have always had an interest in England and the Crown as I do have roots in England and Scotland on my mother's side. We were saddened to hear of Prince Phillip's death and also saddened that the Queen lost the person that she has spent 73 years with. One of our local tv stations had a great documentary about Prince Phillip's life which we enjoyed watching.

FlourishingPalms said...

Your eating regime sounds good for all of you. Those eggs, all of them, are remarkable. I can't imagine eating fresh ones each day. Your avocados captured my attention too. I just ate avo toast for breakfast (I use only salt)! Hass avos are readily available here, but I've never heard of the Shepherd variety. Your Union Jack pillow is really nice, though I don't have a reason to make it. Those of us here in the US don't have the connection with the UK that you do. However, it was interesting to watch a program about Prince Phillip on TV a few evenings ago. I didn't know a thing about him until I saw it. He lived a remarkable LONG life! To live into one's 90s is amazing, and makes me value how fortunate I am to still have my 91 year-old Dad.

JUDE3944 said...

it was so sad watching her sit all by herself... 70 plus years they were married how wonderful is that... Prince Phillip was very tearful too. I hope she lives to be as old as the Queen Mum did... I'd like to see William be King... I hope they healed their relationship William and Harry.... Thanks for the pillow pattern. Had my dna done and I am 44 percent scottish, 29 england.19 Irish.. never knew any of them except England my great grand mother was somehow kind to the Queen Mum.. So I will try making the pillow... Tank you enjoy your cooler weather...

Pcsavant said...

It’s such a pleasure to read your articles. Love hearing about your wonderful family. Thank you for the pillow pattern. I tried to make sourdough bread several times but wasn’t successful. Will you please share your sourdough bread receipe? Someday I hope to be successful at making it

KingsailK said...

Thank you Jenny as always!From N.Ireland!Yes we are praying for the Queen too!thank you for sharing!I love all your blogging!You and I have a lot in common! Welcome to visit us should you come over!My husband is up Cycling a 2oyearbold van to our camper van.atm!He is doing a great job ,I have done 2 Bible verse now with embroidery!Don't look too closely!!XXMLBut the main thing is I enjoy it and listen and relax to music or Bible teaching David Pawson.In u tube Unlocking the Bible

Jenny of Elefantz said...

We also watch David Pawson's teachings. :-)

Farm Quilter said...

I am so glad you have found your migraine triggers and Mr. E's digestive issues!! I'm struggling with my own digestive issues and honestly don't feel like eating anything - easier that way but I know it is not a long-term solution! I wish you would share your recipes for good GF bread and I need to make a sourdough starter so I can make that as well (it is my favorite bread, too bad it doesn't seem to work GF-wise!). So glad you are going into your cooler months and we are going into our warmer months! I love the hotter weather! So nice that you can bless Blossom and her family with the fruits of your labor in the kitchen!!

Xanthe @ Wife-made said...

Lovely to read what you're up to! I'll have to check out your new Instagram page. Interesting to read about your diet issues. With each of my children suffering from various ailments, as well as my own, and my husband having issues with certain foods I've been researching the GAPS diet (it focuses on the gut/brain connection) and I'm working towards getting the kids off the junk and onto healing foods. If you haven't read about it, it's very interesting. Check out www.quirkycooking.com.au/guide
I also just bought a yoghurt maker and have recently rid my house of all cleaning chemicals. It's been a big few weeks but I feel inspired and excited to keep going for our health's sake. I also had an iron infusion last Monday and I think it's kicking in haha! It feels good to be motivated again. Low iron has a terrible impact on daily life.