Welcome to my home . . .

Up in the North West, down a loooooooooong and bumpy road, you will come to the housing estate called Blacon, which is the housing estate that I now live on. It is said to be Chester's largest housing estate, which is a fancy word for sub division over here. It is a place where many people from many walks of life live and work together. There are schools, and shops, and pubs, a library, and homes of all kinds . . . filled with lovely people, of which now, Todd and I are two!



There is a quiet road, almost at the edge of the Estate, along another roadway filled with bumps, that you will find a very lovely set of terraced homes. A terraced home is a fancy name for a townhouse. They are houses all joined together in one lovely line. Each one set back a bit from the roadway, with a garden in the front and a garden in the back. We are lucky . . . we have an alley between us and the next house, so our house is only joined to theirs upstairs. It is a good way to be able to bring our bins out to the front of the house on bin collection day without having to either bring them through the house, or keeping them out front. Someone was using their 'noggin' when they built these for sure!



And there she is . . . our little home, with the gates out front open wide to welcome you. The blooming rhodendron right by our front door, and two lovely strips of garden bordering our parking area. They are filled with Hydrangea bushes and rose bushes, so come a few more weeks, they will be a lovely riot of colour and bloom! I can't wait!



If you were to open the door and come inside, this would greet you. There are no strangers here, only friends we have yet to meet. The Saviour is the head of this household and He reigns with love and warmth. I can't think of any better way to welcome someone into our home, can you?



Right off the front hallway you will find yourself in our lounge/dining area. The front end of this long room is our lounge. This is where you would find a cosy place to sit on a cold winter's day, a place to sit and relax by the fire and to warm your fingers and toes in comfortable repose . . .



I think this is a room that says welcome home. I would love for you to think of this as your home away from home and for you to be comfortable here and to feel at ease. I have tried to make it as warm and welcoming as I can . . . with the family photos over the mantle and the Jim Shore Angels that grace it's surface . . . and then there is our cuckoo clock, a much loved souvenier from our trip to the Black Forest in Germany several years back . . . and my lovely angel candle holder I got from my friend Angela which graces our coffee table. I just love this room. Sometime down the road we may get an armchair to curl up in, but for now, we just have our little sofa and a few chairs that we can pull out from around the dining table if need be.



Here is our dining area, which is at the other end of the room. It looks alot smaller than it really is, but with the table closed up and snuggled next to the window is it perfect for just us two. We can sit there and eat our tea and look out onto our back garden . . . watch the birds at the feeders, or watch our peas and carrots growing. It is a lovely sunny spot on a sunny day. Oops! Someone hasn't done the ironing yet! I think that would be me!! *blush* I am enjoying taking back over the household duties that I have not had time to embrace over these past seven years . . . the hanging out of the clothes on the wash line, the dish washing, the hoovering, the ironing . . . I know, I am a crazy women. I just love that feeling of nesting and caring for a home.



This is our lovely new sideboard that we built together. We got it from Ikea and I just love it. I have all my treasures in here. My china and my crystal and in those drawers are my chef's knives and doodads that I don't have room for in the kitchen cupboards and drawers. We had ever so much fun building it. I think Ikea directions are the best, especially if you take the time ahead of time to lay all the pieces out in order according to the directions in the book. I did that and it went together very easily. We only wanted to kill each other a few times during the process!



Along the top I have my little bird collection of salt and pepper shakers, including the sweetest little pair of Blue Tits that my good friend Margaret gave me as a remembrance of her. I just love them. In the middle is the Orchid that the girls from work at my old job brought over to me the day before I left. I hope that I don't kill it down the road, as it looks really lovely there! Beneath is a coffee set that I won a long time ago and have kept because it is really pretty and my little wooden Birdhouse, graced with cherries which is one of the first things I painted in my Tole Painting class . . . a long time ago . . .



At the other end is a bookcase filled with my favourite use most of the time cookery books and topped with a part of my chicken collection. Yes, I love chickens, and not just to eat. Somebody hasn't eaten their Easter bunny!! I'll have to take care of that I think!!



Just through the door to the right of that bookcase will find you in our cozy little kitchen. This is the command station from where I work all of my culinary magic. It is tiny, but I think I have been able to organize it and find a place for everything and put everything into it's place!



It's been a bit of a struggle, and I have to take umpteen things out before I use something and then put umpteen things back in the same way in order to have everything fit, but such is the price one pays . . .



We decided to buy a rolling cart the other day to stick at the end of the counter so that I had a bit of extra counter space to work on. It has shelves underneath that I can keep all my canisters and things on so that they don't clutter up the top of the counter. It is sooo much better. Up to that point I had been trying to work in a space about 12 inches square! It just did not work very well!



And now I'll take you up the stairs. Don't let the gingerbread men fool you! It is not a gingerbread house, but they are my ginger friends and I just can't stick them away in a closet somewhere. I love them so much I want to see them every day and they look so cute lining the stairs. Maybe one day they will reach all the way to the top? I don't know, but it sounds like a plan!



Right at the top of our stairs is our bath. It is a bright and sunny room. There is another window just like that one on the other side of that mirror and the tub beneath. I don't have a shower anymore . . . boo hoo . . . I love my showers every morning, but I am adjusting. It is not quite the same to have a bath every morning, but we do what we must do. Joy comes at a price and so we make do. ☺



Here is our lovely bedroom. It is large and spaceous and comfortable . . . and pink! I do love pink. We have filled it with lovely Ikea furniture that we built together . . . a wardrobe, two bureaus, and two nightstands, and once again, nobody was injured or killed in the process! I love my bedroom! It is comfortable and sweet. I have my fairy collection lined up all along the window sill and my dolls sit atop my bureau. I do think that picture over the bed has to go . . . but shhh . . . don't tell Todd! (I'll find something one day that will strike my fancy and the old one will come down and new will take it's place. I wonder if he will notice???)



Probably but . . . C'est la Vie!!



Here is a little peek into the second bedroom, which has become our library/sewing/painting room! The walls are lined with bookcases, filled with my various cookery books. There is a sewing corner, where my sewing machine sits, waiting for me to work my magic, and a table that I am using as my painting station . . . my paints and brushes all lined up and waiting for my hands to bring my imaginations to life. It is good to have a place like this to call my own, dedicated to my arts . . . I am so very blessed I think!!

The third and final bedroom is still a pile of boxes waiting to be sorted and unpacked. I sure hope we will find a place to stog everything! I am sure we will at some point. We need to put up a set of bunkbeds in there so that our guests have a place to lay their heads when they come to visit! We'll have to get rid of the boxes before we can do that!

I hope that you have enjoyed your little tour of my new home this morning. I surely had fun putting it together for you.

Always remember . . .



Building a home is more than an art . . . for home is where you hang your heart.

I wanted to share a dish with you this morning that I have been making for many years. Pierogi. What's that you say? Why they are delicious little dumplings that you first boil and then fry in butter with onions. You can fill them with numerous things . . . sauerkraut and mushrooms, cottage cheese, bacon, etc. but our favourite way to have them is to fill them with cheddar cheese, potato and onion. I got this recipe from a good friend of mine named Esther, back in the 1970's. I have very fond memories of making these together for the first time on a sunny winter's afternoon. Oh we did have a good time. I do love pierogi and I never make them or eat them without thinking of my good friend. Don't you just love it when food and such beautiful memories are intertwined? I do!



*Pierogi*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe

A delicious dumpling, filled with a variety of things, boiled and then browned in butter with onions. We like to fill ours with cheddar cheese, potato and onion. Served with sour cream these are a real treat. They also freeze very well. I just pop the unboiled pierogi on baking sheets and freeze, then pop them into zip lock baggies. Then I can take out only as many as I want at any given time!

Dough:
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 medium egg
1 cup water
oil

Mix the dry ingredients together. Beat the egg and water together. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Oil your hands and knead this mixture until you have a smooth dough. You may think that this is never going to happen, but be persistant. Just keep oiling your hands and kneading. Once you have a smooth dough, cover it and allow it to rest while you make the filling, or at least 1/2 hour.



Filling:
4 large floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 TBS butter
8 ounces of grated strong cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 small onion, peeled and grated
1 medium egg, beaten

Place the potatoes into a pot of lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and then cook the potatoes at a quick simmer until tender. Drain well and mash. Stir in the butter, cheese and onion, stirring until the butter and cheese are melted and completely amalgamated.

To shape, pinch of walnut sized pieces of the dough. Roll into balls and then roll out flat into 3 inch circles. Place a heaped tsp of the filling slightly off centre on top of the dough. Fold the dough over to cover and then pinch shut all the way around. Set aside on lightly oiled baking sheets while you make the rest, repeating with the rest of the filling and the dough.



To cook:
a pot of lightly salted boiling water
2 or 3 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
a large knob of butter

Sour Cream to serve

Melt the butter in a large skillet until it begins to foam. Add the onions. Cook and stir over medium heat until they soften and begin to caramelize and brown in spots. Keep warm.

Bring the water to the boil. Drop in the pierogi a few at a time. Cook until they rise to the surface. Allow to simmer for about a minute and then scoop out with a slotted spoon. Drop them into the pan of fried onions and cook, frying and turning them until they are golden brown. Repeat until all are cooked and browned.

Serve hot with sour cream.

Note - You need only cook as many as you wish to eat at one time. The rest can be frozen and kept until a later date.



I'm being really decadent over in The English Kitchen today. It's Nutty Chocolate and Marshmallow Mini Pizzas!