Tuesday 11 December 2012

The Simple Woman's Day Book


FOR TODAY, December 11th, 2012...

Outside My Window...

It's dark and cold and looking decidedly frosty.  At first I thought it was snow on the car, but . . . alas . . . it is not.  We are planning on going in to town today so probably better that it isn't snow.  I will have to wear my mittens though, and my hat!  UGH . . . hat hair.  I hate it.

I am thinking...
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone;
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
~Adam Lindsay Gordon

Nobody leads a charmed life, even if it looks like they do.  The rain falls even on the righteous.  WE must learn to be brave and practice kindness, always.

I am thankful for...

 All of your continuing prayers.  My mother goes for her cat scan tomorrow.  In speaking to her on Sunday she mentioned that she had two nickle sized spots on her back, which they had been watching, but which have changed drastically.  She thinks they are melanoma.  Praying that they are not.  She was going to her Doctor yesterday to have him take a look.  I may call her this afternoon to see how she made out.  Thank you so much for keeping her in your prayers.  I know my mother will die one day.  We all will.  I just don't want her to suffer.

From the kitchen... 
Well . . . cream filled donuts.  We had company last night for FHE and yes, I bought cream filled donuts.  There are two left, but I am resisting, even though I know one would be very tasty for breakfast.  I will not partake.

I am wearing...  

Flannel teddy bear jim jams and slippers.  It's cold.  I should have my robe on too, but I am too lazy to go upstairs and get it.  Resisting putting the heat on . . . expense you know.  I will put it off as long as possible.

I am creating...  





This is my latest piece, a commission for a friend.  I thought it turned out quite nice.  Well pleased with this actually.

 

I think that the cat is the best one I have ever done.  It makes me wonder what I might have been able to accomplish had I ever been allowed to go to Art School.



More Matchbox dolls.  I really enjoy making them.  They take a lot of time, but I do lose myself in them once I get started.

Also continuing to work on the children's book illustrations.  Not colouring just yet.




I think a red and green yarn pom pom garland would be lovely hanging across our mantle.  This looks quite easy to do.



I spent yesterday afternoon writing out my Christmas Cards and getting them ready to post.  I think I am done with that now.  Must think about decorating the house now I suppose.

I am going... 
I want to go into town today, pay a bill and then I have a few things to pick up.  Our Relief Society Christmas Party is on Friday evening and I want to make my Smoked Salmon spread for that as I think the ladies will love it.  I need to pick up some smoked salmon bits at the Waitrose.  It's what I always used when I worked at the Manor and I know they aren't that expensive.  I also want some Non Pareil Capers for it.  I have vouchers for Waitrose, so that won't be a problem!

Dentist on Thursday morning and I can't wait.  My tooth is really beginning to aggravate me now.  It feels like I have a constant ear ache.

I am reading...

Borrowed Light, by Carla Kelly
Julia Darling never expected to cook for some cowboys in Wyoming, but when she breaks off her engagement in Salt Lake City, it's the perfect opportunity for her to escape. Determined to stick the job out, Julia faces her biggest challenge yet - letting go of borrowed light to find her own testimony. Set in the early 1900s.

I am really enjoying this book!  It is a historical romance, but without the smut, and very entertaining.  The characters are very real and the main character is a cook!  Absolutely loving this.  It's refreshing and funny and interesting!  The characters are sweet, loveable and believable.  The perfect escape.  I really love this writer!  Her writing in refreshing and inspiring.

 

Jesus, a novel,  by Walter Wangerin Jr

With eloquence and beauty, the award-winning author of Book of the Dun Cow, The Book of God, and Paul: A Novel turns his pen to history’s most compelling figure: Jesus of Nazareth. In vibrant language, Walter Wangerin Jr. sweeps away centuries of tradition and reveals a man of flesh-and-heart immediacy. Passionate, intelligent, and irresistibly real, this is a Jesus pulsing with life who will captivate you as thoroughly as he did the men and women who walked with him across Galilee’s golden countryside.
Days of centuries past become today, lit with bright colors of the imagination. Wangerin shows you Jesus through the eyes of the two people who were with him at very the foot of the cross, the two who knew and loved him best: John the apostle, and Jesus’ beloved mother, Mary. . . .

 I am reading this one on my Kindle.  I've read it before, but wanted to read it again.  It's a fab book.  He is a brilliant writer.  I've also read his "Book of God."  Another fab read!  He brings the scriptures to life in a wonderful way.

I am still reading these.  I know . . . it's slow going.  That's because I only really read at night and I don't get very far before I am falling asleep!

Nothing has changed.

 I am hoping...
I am hoping for tender mercies where my mother is concerned.  Not for me, although I do love my mother and will be ecstatic if she has a clean bill of health.  I know that it is inevitable that we all lose our parents one day. We will all die.  That is a fact.  I just don't want my mom to suffer.  That is all.  I don't want any of my loved ones to suffer.

I am hearing...
Nothing new really. 
Same old sounds, but that's a good thing.  It could be so much worse. The police here have a search helicopter which sometimes flies overhead for annoyingly loud long periods of time.  That is when they are looking for someone or something.  It makes an awful racket and is kind of scary because you wonder who they are looking for, especially when it is right overhead . . . and you think . . . is there a really bad person in MY neighborhood??

Around the house...




It's time to get cracking on the decorating. I won't quite look as cute as this however . . . nor will there be all those gifts under the tree.  We are simple folk.  We don't require much.  We have each other and that is pretty special.


One of my favourite things . . .  


At this time of year it has to be watching the old Christmas Favorites on dvd.  Charlie Brown's Christmas.  The original Grinch, Frosty the Snowman . . . Rudolph.  A Christmas Story.  Home Alone.  The Santa Claus.  Miracle on 34th Street.  Meet Me In St Louis.  White Christmas.  It's a Wonderful Life.  Todd moans and groans . . . but these are such a big part of the fabric of my life and I need to watch them each year.  It just wouldn't be Christmas without them. 


Something new about me ...
I am a very forgiving person.  I will forgive people of just about anything.  I am not perfect myself, so how can I expect others to be.  However I don't find it as easy to forgive myself for some reason, as hard as I try to do so.  I wonder if everyone is like that?


One of my guilty pleasures ...



I believe in magic.  Not magician type of magic, but miracle type of magic.  I believe in miracles.  I do.  I also believe in angels and fairies.  Just so you know . . . ☺


Pet Peeves...   


Packaging that is so difficult to open that you feel like pulling your hair out, or you damage what you are trying to remove in trying to remove it from the packaging!  I know that theft is a HUGE problem but  . . . really.  Enough already!  I should not need a jack hammer to get into something which I have bought!  Isn't there a magic wand you can wave over it to make sure I can open it easier after I have bought it???

Here is picture thought I am sharing...






"Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth:  the only way to help yourself is to help others."
~Elbert Hubbard

That is the secret of a happy life and let's be honest here.  It's what Jesus would have us do. 

As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:

"Surprise and confound the world with your enthusiasm and optimism; you know something they don't!"
G.W.F

And there you have it . . . my day book for this week. Don't forget to hop on over to the Simple Woman to check out the other day book entries! (Or better yet, do a simple day book entry yourself! It's not that hard and I am betting you would enjoy it! 


 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Spaghetti with Butternut Squash, Sage and Pecorino.

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