Sharing From My Heart

A friend is someone who opens doors for you - and if a door has quietly closed, dares to knock. - unknown

Good morning my dear friends! I have something I wish to share with you today. 

I have been doing much heart searching over the last number of months and I have come to a decision. I am cancelling No Place Like Home for a while.

I know this will take some of you by surprise and I'm sorry, but I hope you will understand when I explain why. 

Most of you are not aware of it because I don't like talking about it but I have a few health issues and I have not been feeling well since the beginning of the year. I feel at this time I need to step back for a while with my blogging. 

From my No Place Like Home party - Victoria Park

You see, I have been hosting blog parties since January 2010, almost seven years, with very few breaks and I feel I must take one now. Hosting a blog party takes a lot of time and preparation and as you all know, I try to visit every one who links up.

From one of my HOME parties

Those of you who have been following my blog and participating in my parties know that I take my obligations as a host very seriously. 

Treats from one of my Tea Time Tuesday parties

But to be honest, at this moment in time, I am exhausted. I haven't mentioned it until now but it has been a tough year.

Beautiful teacups from one of my Tea Time Tuesday parties

 I still hope to blog at least once a week but I won't be hosting any more parties for a while. Perhaps after the new year I will feel like partying again. We will see.

From my No Place Like Home party - Canoe Cove

I want to thank all of you who have been so faithful in linking up, visiting me and leaving your nice comments. I have loved having you and I still intend to visit you when I am able.

Brackley Beach

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou

I hope you all know how much you mean to me. You have made my blogging experience a delightful past time and I have learned so much from all of you. You are a very gracious and gifted group of ladies and I am honoured that you have linked up to my parties over the years.

The boardwalk at Victoria Park

Thank you for your friendship, your understanding, and for visiting today. Take care and may the Lord bless you all! I will be back soon.

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Soft and Sunny Tea Time

Friendship is a word the very sight of which in print makes the heart warm. ~ Augustine Birrell

Hello my lovely friends! I hope you are all having a lovely week.

The other day my son celebrated a birthday and I made him a trifle instead of birthday cake. I made this for my hubby back in May for his birthday and it went over very well.

For our tea today, I have brought out my sunny yellow teacups. I chose these cups because they both sit on pedestals and each cup has flowers inside. 

Royal Albert Shaftesbury sits on top and Paragon on the bottom. Stash lemon ginger tea is in the Grace teapot.

The trifle is simply angel food cake torn into pieces and layered with whipped topping and lemon pie filling. A cherry on top beckons you to savour a spoonful from the delicate pink depression glass dish.

Our weather for most of September has been lovely but there is a lot of rain coming over the next few days. Yellow just naturally brings a little sunshine into a room, don't you think? 

Won't you join me for some tea and trifle?

Life should be savoured; sipped like a cup of tea. ~ unknown

Thank you for visiting today and I wish you all a beautiful sunny weekend.



I am joining the following parties as well~

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Bernideen's Tea in the Garden
 Tea Cup Tuesday
 The Art of Home-Making Mondays
 Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
 Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

No Place Like Home

"Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest." ~ Robert Montgomery


Hello my lovely friends and welcome to No Place Like Home; a blog party where you are invited to share all your home and garden posts. A place to share your imagination, wonderful ideas and gifts with others.

The other day I shared a quiet and reflective tea time featuring one of my new teacups. If you missed that post, please click here. 

I also shared a sugar cookie recipe which you can find here.

Last week's party served up a wonderful variety of tips, ideas and recipes and I am honoured that you linked up to my party. You are a wonderfully talented group of ladies! 

I'm sorry I don't have any features for you today because I was under the weather most of the weekend. 

Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself.


Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest 

An InLinkz Link-up

 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Remembering 9-11

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Hello my lovely friends! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

I have a friend down south who has asked for my Sugar Cookie recipe. So, today I am sharing one of the recipes with you. Sugar cookie recipes are basically all the same but this one is my mother's and it has a sprinkle of nutmeg which makes them just a little bit special. This is for you, Sarah!

Sugar Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
Add:
1 beaten egg
2 TBSP milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat until light and fluffy
Blend:
1- 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Add to creamed mixture and blend well with mixer. Turn out the batter on to a floured surface and knead a few times then roll out. Cut into rounds with a cookie cutter. Place one or two raisins in the center. Bake on greased cookie sheets @ 375 for about 7-9 minutes. Watch that they don't brown too much. Optional: sprinkle with coloured sprinkles in place of the raisins. For Christmas, cut out into holiday shapes and ice with almond icing.

Sharing at these lovely parties~

The Art of Home-Making Mondays ~ http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.ca/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

A Quiet and Reflective Tea Time

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to my little tea time!

I don't really want more time; I just want enough time. Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long, time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy and just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven, or wild to get it all done - yesterday. ~ Ann Voskamp


Believe me when I tell you that I have enjoyed very few tea times this summer because we have been much too busy. I think it has been one of our busiest summers in recent years. Hubby and I kind of feel like we missed out on summertime this year. It was very late coming but when it did, it went so quickly.

All July and August we were on the go constantly. We do like our quiet time once in a while. We're at that age, you know, and to be honest, I wasn't feeling very well for most of it. 

Alas, we only got out to the beach four times and once to the south shore this year. I know, you're probably shocked because we normally live there in the summertime. Like I said, we've been busy, and sad with the passing of my BIL.

It is a dark day and the pictures are not very sharp, sorry. Today I have set the table with some pretty summery tea ware to try and squeeze a little more summertime into my day. Would you like to join me?

Serenity is a solitary cup of tea; pleasure is sharing it with another. ~ Victoria magazine

Since I love the soothing colour of pink, my table is set with that colour. It makes me feel good and appeals to my girly side. 

I am also sharing another new to me teacup that I found a few months ago. 

This is Royal Albert and I am loving all the gold gilding and pink roses! Isn't she lovely?

I am sipping on a lovely kombucha tea from David's Tea. It is called Happy Kombucha and is an oolong tea with mango, pineapple, kombucha powder, safflower petals. Apparently this fruity blend has its roots in the 1960s, when every cool hippie was growing kombucha. Well, I was never a hippie nor did I grow kombucha. All I know is that it is a lovely tea!

If you look closely, you can see the roses at the bottom of the cup. A lovely cup of tea, some home made cookies, and some quiet time is just what the doctor ordered. 

Soon, the lovely green leaves on the maple tree out front will turn a brilliant yellow and the scent of summer will be gone. 

Hmm, I see a peanut butter-chocolate chip cookie is missing. The cookie monster {Hubby} must have snatched one!

Meanwhile, I'm going to reflect on this very busy summer we've had and savour those lovely moments we have spent with my family and friends. Although it was busier than I like, I am very grateful for memories made and the love of family. And yes, I will enjoy my cuppa too. 

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. - French Proverb

Wishing you, my dear friends, all a day filled with delight, and enjoy a lovely weekend.

I am joining the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/
 Bernideen's Tea in the Garden ~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
 Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
 The Art of Home-Making Mondays ~ http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.ca/
 Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
 Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/


 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

No Place Like Home

A real home is a shelter from the storms of life, a place in which to relax, a place of peace and rest. ~ Dr. Clifford R. Anderson

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to No Place Like Home; a blog party where you are invited to share all your home and garden posts. A place to share your imagination, wonderful ideas and gifts with others. 

I hope you're all enjoying your long weekend.

The other day I shared several of our lighthouses here on the Island.

Each one is a special reminder of how they stand tall and guide those at sea into port. They also remind me of how our Saviour guides our lives each day because He is the Light of the World. If you would like to see that post please click here.

Last week's party served up a wonderful variety of ideas and recipes. They were all splendid and thank you so much for sharing. I am honoured that you linked up to my party. You are a wonderfully talented group of ladies!

These are a few posts from last week that caught my eye ~

Debbie @ Debbie-Dabble Blog shared her adorable beverage centre complete with many cute vintage items.

Penny @ Penny's Vintage Home shared a sweet blanket storage basket makeover which resembles a doll house. 

Amy @ A Day of Small Things shared her recipe for Tomato Pie; mmm! Doesn't it look delicious?

Janice @ Curtains In My Tree shared some beautiful spoon art. If you love old silver spoons like I do, as well as sparkles, then you will love her creations. 

Tea drinkers will enjoy reading about Relevant Tea Leaf Phyllis' outing at a lovely Tea Room in Lakeside, Ohio with a gathering of her friends.

Thank you everyone for participating last week. If you have been featured here at No Place Like Home, feel free to take my button.

As a courtesy, it would be nice if you would include a link back to my party. Now let's see what you are creating in your home to make it a cozy place to come home to for your family, your friends, and yourself. 

Lord, this humble house we'd keep 
Sweet with play and calm with sleep. 
Help us so that we may give 
Beauty to the lives we live. 
Let Thy love and let Thy grace 
Shine upon our dwelling place. - Edgar A. Guest 

An InLinkz Link-up

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

The Lighthouse

"Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world." ~ Hans Margolius

Hello dear friends. Here it is September already. Where does the time go? It's like I blinked and summer is gone.


On our beautiful Island we have many lighthouses. A number of folks are fascinated by lighthouses and I happen to be one of them. Perhaps you don't live near water and have never seen one. My son hasn't seen them in the last two States he has lived in. 

A lighthouse is a tower topped with a very bright light called a beacon. The beacon is used by sailors to help guide their ship at sea. Lighthouses come in all shapes and sizes. They are usually located on the coast, on islands, or in the middle of busy harbours.

These are a few Hubby and I have visited over the last number of years -

We visited this one last year. The West Point lighthouse was constructed in 1875. At one time this light house was called home for some and today it is an historic site. It is the only functioning light house with an inn located in Canada. It also houses a museum. I think it's a handsome lighthouse.

The East Point lighthouse was constructed in 1866-67 and is located in Elmira, PEI.

This is the Brighton Front Range lighthouse which one can find at the end of the boardwalk in Victoria Park in Charlottetown.

The Covehead Harbour lighthouse was built in 1967.

The last lighthouse I am going to show you is located out in Victoria-by-the-Sea where we will be having dinner with friends one night next week.

The Victoria Range lighthouse was built in 1879. It was once one of the busiest seaports on PEI.

The lighthouse is a beacon, a welcome sight for those out at sea. It is also a reminder to me of our Lord who guides us each day. He makes our paths straight and helps us to see in which direction we should go.

THE LIGHTHOUSE - written by Ronnie Hinson - 1970

I thank God for the lighthouse 

I owe my life to Him 

Jesus is the Lighthouse 

And from the rocks of sin 

He has shown a light around me 

That I might clearly see 

If it wasn't for the lighthouse 

Tell me where would this ship be?

It's tea time and I am savouring a cup of tea. My cup is RA Lady Carlyle and the Thomas Kincade lighthouse was a gift to my hubby from one of our parishioners at our last church. 

The beautiful flowers are going to my mother for her birthday.

Thank you for visiting today and have a lovely and safe long holiday weekend everyone.

The Art of Home-Making Mondays ~ http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.ca/
 Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
 Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/


 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi