How To Build A Happy Home

Can you tell me how to build a happy home?
Integrity must be the Architect, Tidiness the
Upholsterer. It must be warmed by affection,
Lighted up by cheerfulness.
Industry must be the ventilator. But the greatest
requisite of all is "The Sunshine From Above."
~Author Unknown

One of the things the Victorians were well known for was their ability to build houses to last. This great country is bespeckled with wonderful Victorian terraced homes and the such. I found the above words on an old Victorian card and it would seem to me that not only were they masters of construction, and rulers of a vast empire, but that they also relied on a greater Power for true happiness and fulfilment. There is a lesson there that would and could go a long ways towards healing the hurt and disappointment in our Twenty First Century homes.



I'm really excited today for today is the day that I am the featured Creative Woman on my friend Duckie's page A Duck In Her Pond. She is doing a whole feature on just me! I've never quite been the feature of anyone's anything before so this is a first for me! I've known Miranda for a couple of years now. She used to visit me over at my old blog on AOL Journals and left a comment there one day. I followed her back to her pond and we've been fast friends ever since. She is one very talented writer and weaves the most wonderful stories. She serializes them on her page and right now has no less than four going. In between she entertains us with her wonderful wit and whimsy, tales of the babies (her two chiuauas Bitty and Bear), delicious recipes etc. We've been collaborating together on a special project that hopefully we'll be able to reveal to you all soon. In the meantime, do hop on over to her page later on today to see what transpired when she interviewed me for this special post today! (I know I already said it, but I'm SO excited doncha know!)



If you are visiting me from Duckie's page, and it's your first time here at Oak Cottage, I want to wish you a warm welcome to my humble home. I like to think of my page as being like a warm visit with a close and dearest friend. On here you'll find a little bit of everything . . . food for the eyes, the mind, the soul and the tummy! I may not be everyone's cup of tea, but that's ok. I just can't help being me. Feel free to kick your shoes off and have a good mosey around my home, and . . . when you get tired of looking around this page, I have two more . . . Blossomtime Creations, where I post all my artwork, and Marie Cooks Britain . . . where I am cooking my way through Britain and it's culture, one delicious recipe at a time. It's a great culinary adventure.



A house that's built to live in
And not just a place for show,
With growing plants on every sill,
And warmth of fire glow;

A window looking to the lake
With a wide table there,
Where one can eat a simple meal
That tastes like angel's fare;

A bedroom high against the eaves,
Where birds will build a nest;
A home where happiness is found,
And laughter is a guest;

A house where all your dreams are kept,
Untarnished and unspoiled;
A bit of land toward the lake
Where you have sweat and toiled;

A place of dignity and charm,
Shaded by age-old trees -
O God, when folks are tired out,
Let them find homes like these.
~Edna Jaques

Oh, I do so love the poetry of Edna Jaques. My mother used to have an old book called "Fireside Poems," that I read often and there was a lot of Edna's work amongst it's pages. I think Edna was describing the way I feel about my own home when she wrote this one. I wonder . . . how did she know??


I had some leftover chicken sitting in my fridge the other day and so I decided to make a delicious casserole with it for Todd and myself. My, but it was good. I baked a couple of potatoes to serve along side of it and we were both well pleased. It's a recipe that I have had kicking around in my Big Blue Binder forever and a day. You can make it with low fat ingredients if you wish and if you are calorie conscious, or you can go whole hog and make it will full fat everything. The choice is yours. I'm not going to tell you which route I chose to take, but then again . . . you probably already know . . .



*Chicken Special*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This wonderful dish is a delicious way to use up leftover chicken or turkey and leftover vegetables. It was something I always made after Thanksgiving when I was raising my family, but more often than not I now make it when we have had a roast chicken. There being only two of us here at Oak Cottage, means that a roast chicken goes a very long and delicious way . . .

2 slices bacon (Streaky or back, it's up to you)
1 pound cooked chicken or turkey breast meat, cut into cubes
2 cups cooked broccoli, peas or sweetcorn
2 (1o 3/4 ounce) tins of Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
(Over here use Batchelor's. It's the kind you need to add a tin of water to
if you are having it as soup. You can use the half fat one.)
1 cup good quality mayonnaise (you can use the very low fat one if you wish)
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup grated strong cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain potato chips, crushed
(I use the baked ones)



Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F.

Fry the bacon in a hot skillet until crisp. Remove from the pan, drain well and then chop it up into pieces.

Place the chicken (turkey), bacon, and vegetables into an oven proof dish.

Combine the soups, mayonnaise, lemon juice and curry powder in a bowl. Pour this mixture evenly over top of the chicken and vegetables.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over top and then sprinkle over the crushed potato chips. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot.

We like baked potatoes with this, but it goes well with rice and pasta as well.