Marie's Sunday Six

Welcome to my Sunday Six Smile Makers for the first week in November 2011. It's sure been a different sort of week this week. One that I might not have anticipated even just a few weeks ago, but life is like that isn't it? We never know what lies around the corner. Despite anything this past week which may have caused me some concern, it was still a week filled with lots of smiles and plenty of good.

Is this not the cutest little ladybird you have ever seen? This is my granddaughter Maryn on Halloween. If she had come to my door she would surely have gotten lots of treats, cuddles and kisses too! (Not the candy kind!) That is one thing that I miss living over here in the UK . . . being able to see my grandchildren frequently. Thank goodness for the internet as it allows instant communication! What a blessing that is. Seeing this picture of Maryn in her Halloween Duds surely made me smile!



Here's another little girl that surely makes me smile. We have had lots of cuddles this week, as we always do and lots of walks and treats and playtimes. She sure brings lots of joy into our lives. Last night was bonfire night. Our Jess used to be very upset on Bonfire Night, but not Mitzie. She looked at the window wondering what all the ruckus was and then as we were not bothered she wasn't bothered and so she went back to doing what she normally does with no fear as to what all the noise was about. She is so laid back. The only time she goes spastic is when someone comes in that she hasn't seen before. She is sooooo sociable and wants to be their friend RIGHT NOW! This can be a bit of a problem when it is someone who doesn't necessarily like dogs. We are working on it!

Source: google.com via Marie on Pinterest

My family has surely made me smile this week. The love and support of those nearest and dearest has been a great comfort. From my mother and my Todd to my sister and brother and my oldest son . . . all have been reassuring and loving and kind . . . and most importantly of all, positive. My family means the world to me. I love each of them with all of my heart. I know that I have been blessed in a very special way to have the family that I do. I wish sometimes that some of them were a bit more communicative, but . . . they do their best. That is all anyone does and I am grateful for whatever. My family makes me smile.

Source: google.com via Marie on Pinterest

All of your love and support and prayers have surely made me smile in a very big way. Keep it coming! I need all that I can get. I do so appreciate every one of you and all that you do for me. I was able to talk to Lura on the telephone this week, not once, but twice. She always makes me smile. I talked to my good friend Hazel from down South twice this week also. All of your messages and e-mails . . . they all mean the world to me and have brought a smile to my face. I love you all and you are all so special to me. You make me smile.

Source: Uploaded by user via Marie on Pinterest

This made me smile. As you know I am a great believer in Faith and in Miracles. In fact Faith often precedes a miracle.

“Faith precedes the miracle. It has ever been so and shall ever be. It was not raining when Noah was commanded to build an ark. There was no visible ram in the thicket when Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Two heavenly personages were not yet seen when Joseph knelt and prayed. First came the test of faith–and then the miracle. Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith.” ~Thomas S Monson

I love the leaders in my church. They always make me smile. Which brings me down to another smile for the week.

Source: lds.org via Marie on Pinterest

Getting a letter in the post from this man surely made me smile big time! This is Dieter F Uchtdorf, the second counselor in the Presidency of my church. He is an apostle of the Lord. To get a personal letter from him, handsigned was a really big thing for me. It arrived the same day as my hospital letter and I know that was meant to be. Things never happen by accident. This is how our Heavenly Father manifests Himself in our lives at times and how He lets us know He is there. It is called a Divine Signature . . . not a co-incidence. I lay in bed that night reading it again and again and his words spoke to my heart, helping to allay the fear that I had felt when I had read the hospital letter. "Your Heavenly Father loves you, is proud of you and is mindful of the desires of your heart." Oh what a wonderful reassurance these words brought to my heart. They made me smile. I have no words to explain how very much they meant and mean to me.



This man means the world to me. He is the Yin to my Yang. He is my everything. I waited a lifetime to find him and he was worth every minute of the wait. I am so glad that we have been sealed to each other for time and all eternity as I could not imagine anyone I would rather spend my eternity with. I am so thankful for his loving presence in my life . . . for his calmness and his steadfastness. I know he will help to carry me through whatever I have to go through. He, like the Saviour, and my Heavenly Father . . . will be with me every step of the way. I love him dearly. He makes me smile, every moment of every day of my life. Ok . . . so perhaps there are times when I may get a bit annoyed with him . . . but they are truly far and few between. He is all that I could ever have hoped for and ever will be.



I had ever so many more smiles this week as well. Dinners out with the ladies from church, taking up an old hobby (crocheting), being able to create (painting) . . . and many more blessings both large and small. You see, that is what life is all about . . . that is what brings joy. Faith, Family, Friends and Love. Nothing else is as important as those four things. If you have even one of those, you have everything . . . and if you have all four . . . well, you've won the lottery my friend!

Happy day everyone. I wish each of you a wonderful, safe, happy and blessed Sabbath day!



*Roast Chicken Pie*
Makes one 9 inch pie
Printable Recipe

When we were growing up we loved pies. My mother could have taken anything and put it between two crusts, called it a pie and we would have inhaled it. She often made pies with leftover chicken and gravy and we loved them most of all!

3 cups of leftover cooked chicken, cut into cubes (you can use turkey as well if you have it)
2 TBS butter
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 cup leftover chicken gravy
1 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
Salt and pepper to taste
Pastry for a two crust pie (your own recipe or storebought)
1 egg yolk, beaten

Melt the butter in a skillet and heat it until it is foaming. Add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring from time to time, for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are quite soft. Add the chicken, gravy, parsley, sage and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F.

Roll out half of the pasty and use it to line a 9 inch pie tin. Pour in the chicken mixture and smooth out. Roll out the other half of the pasty and cover the mixture. Trim the edges flush, seal and then flute decoratively. Brush the top with the beaten egg yolk and cut a few slits just in the top with a sharp knife to vent, or stick in a pie bird if you have one. Place on a baking sheet and pop into the heated oven.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the pastry is nicely browned and the filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before cutting into slices to serve.

Sometimes if my mother also had leftover vegetables she would add them as well. I sometimes cook vegetables just to put in. This helps a smaller amount of meat go further. Just cut the amount of chopped chicken down to about 1 ½ cups and then add an equal amount of cubed cooked potatoes, carrots, peas, corn and green beans. Delicious!




Baking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Chocolate Cola Cake!

PS - I am sorry if I have not been able to make it around to all of your pages to read this week. I've been a bit distracted and unable to settle. I promise to do better in the week to come! I love you all and you are all important to me!

Setting forth on wings of faith . . .

If the migrant bird could see the way it had to fly . . .
It might not risk the long hard flight, across the unmapped sky,
But God gives it sufficient strength to launch out into space
Setting forth on wings of faith, for some far distant place.
~Patience Strong

That's kind of like life isn't it? If we knew what tomorrow would bring, would we move forward without hesitation? It would not be very hard if we knew that tomorrow would be filled with happy and pleasant things . . . but what about the tomorrow's that would be filled with the not so happy things . . . the sorrow, or pain . . . the loss or injury . . . ill health . . .

I'm not so sure that I would march forward in faith, did I know the outcome. That's not faith anyways is it? Faith is trusting an unknown future to a known God, and moving forward irregardless of what tomorrow may or may not bring.



Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
~Hebrews 11:1

It is jumping in at the deep end . . . and trusting in a God that will be there to help to keep us afloat. It's trusting in the strength of our God and Saviour to help get us through anything that life may and probably will throw our way.



Just my thoughts this morning.

Todd is still not very well. If you could spare a few happy thoughts for him, I would most appreciate them. It's just a nasty infection that is keeping him down and out of sorts, nothing serious so far as we know. Hoping that he will feel much better today.

For the past few weeks the hedgerows have been just bursting with beautiful blackberries, their heavily laden branches bowed beneath the weight of these lovely, shiny black fruits. It's been a race between the birds and us to see who can gather the most.

I like to freeze them. I place them on parchment paper lined, rimmed baking trays in single layers and then pop them into my freezer. Once they are frozen solid, I then pour them into zip lock bags. That way they are loose frozen and in the long winter months ahead I can take out just as many or as few as I need to use, at any one given time. I do the same with all my berries that I freeze.



In Canada, when my family was growing up, I used to put up pints of blackberry jelly for the winter every late summer. At one time we lived in a rented farmhouse, which lay on the banks of the Georgian Bay, and the hillside down towards the water was stogged full of wild black berries. Every year, I regularly donned a long sleeved shirt and faced the brambles in my quest for the lovely black beauties. Afterwards, back home, I would make jar after jar of Blackberry jelly, to be enjoyed in the coming winter on thick slices of freshly toasted homemade bread or spread in between the soft sweet layers of a freshly baked Victorian sponge. It also made the loveliest of jam tarts. What didn't make it into the jelly pot made it into my freezer, to be enjoyed at a later date, baked up into delicious dessert bakes, muffins, cobblers and pies.



I have't made much in the way of jams and jellies since I moved over here. Todd and I are just two people, and it takes us ever so long to eat them up. So long, that I fear they will spoil long before we can get them used. Instead, I gather them up, leaving some for the birds, and what I am not able to use right away fresh, gets frozen for use in the cooler months ahead. They are lovely in crumbles and pies. A little taste of summer to light up a dreary winter's day ...



*Blackberry Pie with Streusal Topping*
Makes one 9 inch pie
Printable Recipe

You can use store-bought blackberries for this delicious pie if you wish, but I prefer to use the wild ones picked from the bramble hedges. They seem to have so much more flavour, and I suppose the effort one has to make in order to acquire them makes them taste all the better . . .

prepared pie crust to line the bottom of a nine inch pie dish
(ready made or make your own)
1/2 cup of caster sugar
2 1/2 TBS of cornflour
pinch of salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
the juice of 1 lemon
1 pound of fresh blackberries
Streusal Topping:
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of plainflour
1 TBS water
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup of butter softened

Preheat the oven to 205*C/425*F.
Make the streusal topping by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl until crumbly. Set aside.

Roll out the flakey pastry to about 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Carefully transfer it to your pie tin. Trim the edges to about a 1/2 inch over hang. Fold this under until even with the rim of the pie dish all around and then flute the edge decoratively.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornflour, salt, lemon juice and lemon zest. (I only use unwaxed lemons. Who wants to eat wax. If you don't have unwaxed lemons wash them really well in soapy water to remove the wax coating. I have a microplane that I used for zesting. It does a lovely job!) Put the blackberries in a bowl and pour this mixture over them, tossing them gently to coat. Try not to crush the berries too much. Let them sit for about fifteen minutes and then, giving them a final gentle toss, pour the whole mixture into the prepared and waiting crust. Sprinkle the top evenly with the streusal mixture. You will most likely have too much, but that's ok. Just freeze what you don't use in a zip lock bag to bring out and use another time. It goes great on muffins, coffee cakes and other things.

Place on a cookie sheet that you have lined with aluminum foil and bake in the pre-heated oven for 30 to 45 minutes until the filling is all bubbly and the streusal all crunchily golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack before serving. We like to have it warm with big scoops of cold vanilla ice cream.



For my first Meat free Monday post over in The English Kitchen there is a delicious casserole today, Washday Macaroni and Cheese!

The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, September 29th, 2011...

Outside My Window...
It is dark, dark . . . dark. Tis dark now when I get up and when I go to bed. The days seem to have gotten way shorter seemingly overnight!

I am thinking...
They are just now beginning to bring a lot of those MP's to justice now over their fiddling of their expense accounts It sure has taken a long while for that to happen. One wonders why . . . Our Government is now hiring a bunch of people to keep their eyes on all the rich people who manage to evade paying taxes, which I think is a real positive step. I know my ex boss used to keep all his money in off shore accounts until the Government stopped them from doing that. I know that we pay really high taxes in this country, but it's all relative isn't it? The more you make, the more you pay, and that is as it should be!

I am thankful for...
That we were carried around in safety whilst we were away on our hols and arrived back home safe and sound. I am sure it was the prayers of people who love us that helped to carry us!

From the kitchen...
There's leftover cookies, but not a lot of anything else. I am trying not to bake so many goodies. They have a habit of getting into my mouth.

I am wearing...
Nightie, robe, slippers. Same old, same old . . .

I am creating...
I did this one up in Cumbria. It's the second one of my shops:



I got another one sketched, but still need to paint it. This one is "La Boutique." The third one will be "La Patisserie."

I started a new project as well, called Ladies in Hats. I just adore hats myself. I never wear them because I don't think I look good in them, but I do love to look at them!



Hat number 1: Cherry Hat. I love the 20's feel to this hat and I love cherries in any way shape or form!



Hat Number 2: Pretty in Pink. Another 20's inspiration. I do love the shoes. They make the outfit complete don't you think?

I was inspired when we were on Holidays by this film that we watched on the telly. I can't remember the name of it now, but it was an old black and white film and it followed a family over many years whilst they were living in this house in London. It might have been The Happy Breed, but I'm not sure. Anyways, the mother always had these gorgeous hats and I sketched a few of them while we were watching the film, and I decided to do a series of paintings involving hats. As usual prints are available in my Etsy Shop.

I am going...
Our car has it's MOT today. I sure hope it makes it through without a lot of work having to be done. Then on Saturday we are having an activity at church with the RS called Desert Island Disks. We've invited all the sisters to bring in a piece of their favourite music. It should be fun! I have to think of some food to prepare for it. Something snacky and light!

I am reading...



Home Safe, by Elizabeth Berg

Beloved author Elizabeth Berg tells the story of the recently widowed Helen Ames and of her twenty seven year old daughter Tessa. Helen is shocked to discover that her mild-mannered and loyal husband had been leading a double life. The Ames's had saved money for a happy retirement, planned in minute detail, but that money has disappeared in several big withdrawals . . . spent by Helen's husband before he died. What could he possibly have been doing? And what is Helen to do now? Why does Helen's daughter object to her mother's applying for a job . . . and why doesn't Tessa meet a nice man and get married?

What Helen's husband did with all their money turns out to be provocative, revelatory . . . and leads Helen and her daughter to embark on new adventures, and change.

As usual Elizabeth Berg = Great Read! I am really enjoying this!

I am hoping...
I feel really discouraged about my artwork from time to time. I am good at pumping it out, but not so good at marketing it. I wish I were a lot better at that aspect of it. Sometimes I think I need an agent, but then I look at it and think to myself . . . is it worth the effort or expense of getting an agent and I think not.

I am hearing...
Early morning sounds . . . the clock on the mantle humming as the wheels inside it turn. The odd car as it goes by. Mitzie snuffling as she snoozes, all curled up behind me on the sofa. The tap tapping of the computer keys as I write. They are morning sounds. The sounds as I hear whilst the house wakes up around me and the day begins. I know I say the same thing every week, but that's just how it is! Sometime I may shock you and say something completely different!

Around the house...
Changes are afoot . . . we ordered that new sofa and chair and then I bought a new rug to go with them.



I fell right in love with it. I think the colour will go perfectly with the furniture. What do you think???



Now . . . if I could only convince Todd that we need a new coffee table . . . hmmmmm . . .


I am looking forward to...
Christmas. I am always looking forward to Christmas, and it's getting closer and closer. I want to do a lot more crafty things this year for Christmas.

I am pondering...
I hope that we have an Indian Summer this year. We certainly didn't have much of a summer. A nice Indian Summer would be quite wonderful I think! I'm also wishing that I could do hypnotherapy for my weight again. I had ever so much success with it before but then got derailed when I lost my job and we had to move. I would so like to get back on track . . .

One of my favourite things...
Is doing this daybook each week. I missed doing it last week when we were away.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
There are the daily reading lessons, the activity on Saturday at the chapel and we were thinking of having a movie night one night this week with some friends and watching Brigadoon. Watch this space!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



This is a picture of one of the cart horses at Erddig that I took the other day. (I am going to finish editing my photos today, I promise!) I love horses, even though I am a bit afraid of them, especially the large ones like this one. They are so beautiful and I love that horsey smell. I don't find it revolting in the least. I am reminded of the old blind horse that lived in the field next to my Great Aunt Orabel's house up in Inglesville back home. We used to love to go and feed it apples. I was never afraid of him . . . perhaps because he could not see . . .


And just as a closing thought for today . . .

"Stay present. You'll always have time to worry later on if you want to."
~Dan Millman

I think the Saviour put it another way . . .

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1)

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!

I found a whole bunch of blueberries at the store the other day that were marked down and thought to myself . . . I should make a blueberry pie! When I was a kid I didn’t really like blueberry pie all that much. I guess we had so many of them I didn’t really appreciate them for what they were. Now as an adult I adore them. Mind you . . . blueberries are a little bit harder to come by over here, and a lot more expensive. Back home they grew wild in my back garden, and were free for the picking . . .



*Fresh Blueberry Pie*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

There is no taste on earth that can equal the taste of blueberries baked into a luscious pie. It’s really not that hard to make one if you buy a ready made crust, but then again your own pie crust is not that hard to make either, and probably a lot tastier!

Pastry for a two crust pie (your own recipe or a good quality
purchased ready made pastry)
5 cups fresh blueberries
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
½ cup of plain flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 TBS butter
1 large egg, beaten
2 tsp sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat your oven to 200*C/400*F. Clean and pick over the berries. Put them into a large bowl and sprinkle them with the lemon juice. Set aside.

Roll out half of your pastry to fit into the bottom of a 9 inch pie dish, leaving about an inch overhanging the sides.

Combine the 1 cup of sugar with the flour, salt and cinnamon. Add this to the berries and mix well with your hands. Pour into the pastry shell and then dot the butter here and there over the top.

Roll out the other half of the pastry to fit over the top and carefully place it over the filling. Press the edges together all around, and then trim evenly and crimp as you wish. Cut some slits in the top to allow any steam to escape.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg and then sprinkle with the 2 tsp of sugar. Place on a baking sheet to catch any drips and then slice the pie into the heated oven. Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cover the edges with aluminium foil if they are browning too quickly.

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before eating. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . some delicious Zesty Honey and Lime Chicken Wings.

A Monday to do about nothing . . .

A bunch of friends and I were talking about gossip one day and how harmful it can be. We all agreed that the best approach would be not to listen and never to pass it on. One mentioned this old saying:



"Why do dogs have so many friends? Because they wag their tails, not their tongues!"



It seem to me that that is the best approach of all! I've often thought that if someone is really keen to talk about others to you . . . then you can be most assured that when they leave your presence they are awfully keen to talk about you to others too!







Speaking of dogs, yesterday afternoon we could hear Mitzie barking oddly in the back garden. She never barks at anything, so I knew that there must be something out there that was upsetting her and, sure enough, upon investigation we discovered that there was a wee little hedgehog sitting in the grass and she was a big frightened of it. Her bark was warning us of impending danger I think . . . either that or she was asking for help! I did managed to snap a photo of her with it.







Of course she got a little braver once we appeard on the scene and got quite close to it, although she still kept a bit of a distance! And who could blame her, I am sure those prickles could really tickle your nose, if not hurt a bit! Not like a porqupine though . . . they actually "throw" their quills at unlucky investigators and the unhappy recipients must needs to to a Doctor (or a Vet) to have them removed, as they have little barbs on the ends like fish hooks.



We were to a friend's house for dinner last night and it was just lovely. The missionaries were there, as well as another lady, and she had cooked a lovely Roast Dinner. We sat down to a lovely meal of delicious roast chicken with all the trimmings. Her Roast Potatoes were gorgeous and her chicken was one of the best I had ever tasted. I asked her what her secret was and she said lots of butter! For dessert we feasted on hot fudge cake and clotted cream ice cream . . . I think I will have to do push ups for a week to make up for that one!







On the way home from church yesterday we noticed that many leaves are beginning to turn . . . ambers and yellows are showing up on the tree tops and a few trees are actually beginning to shed their leaves. I noticed too, that the evenings are becoming decidedly cooler and even wondered the other night as we crawled into bed should I dig out the warm blanket now . . . Autumn seems in a hurry to arrive it seems, and we've had hardly any summer it seems! I know they had somewhat of a heatwave down South a few weeks back, but we only had maybe two nights where it was a bit warmish upstairs for sleeping. Todd always gets a bit sad when we don't have much of a summer. He looks forward to summer all year long, and then it is seemingly gone in no time at all. Me, I prefer to find something to enjoy in all the seasons . . . that way I am always happy no matter the weather! (Although I will admit that the rain does get me down a bit from time to time!)







I must dash now and make up for yesterday when I hadn't the time to read many of your blogs. I find it really hard on Sunday mornings to make my way around the blog block, and yesterday afternoon I didn't have time either, once I had called my mother and then we went out, so I am going to do a bit of reading this morning before I start my day. I do hope that wherever you are and whatever you are doing that Monday gives you a day that is special and blessed in many little ways!



My culinary offering for you today is a delicious Banoffee Pie. Credit for the pie's invention is claimed by Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie of The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex. They claim to have invented the pie in 1972, and the restaurant's exterior bears a blue plaque to that effect. The dish, with various stories of its source, spread, and in 1994 a number of supermarkets began selling it as an American pie, leading Dowding and Mackenzie to offer a £10,000 prize to anyone who could disprove their claim. From what I understand, nobody has been able to claim the prize, as of yet.







*Banoffee Pie*

Serves 8

Printable Recipe



The lovely taste of banana, cloaked in sweet, delicious caramel, over top of a crunchy biscuit crust and covered in rich, sweetly whipped cream. This dessert is to die for, I kid you not! Sinfully rich and incredibly easy to make! Making the caramel does take some time though, so plan ahead!



1 1/2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs (Or graham cracker crumbs if you can get them)

10 tablespoons butter, softened

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

3 large bananas

1 1/2 cups double cream

1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup hard toffees, crushed into bits

Dark cocoa powder for dusting

A few toasted walnuts, broken into pieces



Preheat oven to 180*C/350* F.



Mix graham cracker crumbs with softened butter and press mixture into 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.



Lower the oven to 150*C/300*F to make the toffee filling.



To create the toffee filling you must caramelise the sweetened condensed milk, which is really quite easy. Pour the condensed milk into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and place dish inside a larger baking dish. Add water to the larger dish until it comes half way up sides of baking dish. Place into the oven and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and remove the dish with the caramel from the hot water. Let cool.



Once both the crust and toffee filling are cooled, spread half of the toffee filling evenly inside crust. Slice the bananas and layer on top of the filling. Pour the remaining half of the toffee filling over bananas, spreading evenly. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla and spread on top of toffee filling and bananas. Dust the top with a sprinkling of dark cocoa powder. Scatter the crushed toffees and toasted walnut pieces over the top and serve.







Cooking in The English Kitchen today a delicious Tuna Melt! I'm also testing a fab one cup water heater!

Home is where you hang your heart . . .

“Ah! There’s nothing like staying home for real comfort.” ~Jane Austen



I’ve always loved reading Jane Austen. Her novels are always full of witty irony, and compelling slices of eighteenth century English family life. They are also cosy and full of the author’s love of comfort. Reading one is just like nestling back into a big puffy chair, next to a warm, companionable fire. They feel like home.



The big house I used to work in, while very beautiful to look at . . . and full of many treasures of art and antiques . . . felt quite far removed from those feelings. It felt a little bit like working in a museum. Most of the rooms, while beautifully decorated, were quite cold and imposing. Not many felt like a home, except for maybe the laundry room, which was the servant's domain!! It was all done in a very formal French Country style . . . even the family pictures that were situated here and there in strategic positions seemed posed and artificial. There was not one room that was warm and inviting, not even the rooms they actually lived in. Everything was for show.







Personally, I don’t really have a decorating style, not unless you can call “shabby clutter” a style! What I do have, and what I strive to present to all those who come to visit us . . . is a home with a spiritual grace that presents the solace of comfort to all.



Here in the lounge/diner, because it is the main room we spend time in, we have a comfy two-seater sofa . . . always free and welcoming for anyone who enters our domain to sit in themselves. It is nothing special, really. I hope to one day get an arm chair to go with it. There is a cosy electric fire in here that looks like a real coal fireplace . . . and when it’s on you can see the flames flickering through the coals in the fire grate. Even when the heating element isn’t turned on, but just the flickering coals, it immediately presents you with the feeling of warmth and cosiness. On a rainy day, you just want to grab a blanket and curl up next to it.







Even our bedroom is cosy and comfortable. I have endeavoured to make it so by putting a patchwork quilt on the bed and a lovely inviting pile of books sitting next to the bed, just waiting to be read. On the walls are pictures of things that have meaning to us, such as the Saviour, and water colour prints of country scenes of areas in England that we love.



My house is full of a collection of odd plants and curiosities that I have picked up on my travels . . . and little trinkets that have been given to me, that hold special places in my heart. Nothing much of worth to anyone else but me. There is a tale to be told about each object, a special story attached to each trinket. Each one holding my history, and a tiny bit of my soul. Dust collectors to some, but treasures to me.







When I am at home I am at peace, for that is the feeling I get while I am there. It makes me never want to leave, however humble it is. It is a place I long to return to when I am away. It is clean, and comfortable and it cradles my body and soul. It looks and smells of home. It is a place that shelters dreams. It is my own personal little nest, and I have built it in the same way as a bird that gathers bits of fluff and debris from the garden to cradle her chicks, weaving it into what is, to me, warm and inviting, and comforting.







I do hope that everyone who comes to visit us feels those same comforts. I have a door that always swings open to those whom I care about . . . be they an old friend or a new friend . . . or simply an acquaintance. I hope that when they leave my home, after having spent some time within it's beating heart . . . they will feel as if they have just been stroked like an old cat stretched in front of a fire . . . and that they will want to return one day soon.



Home is truly where you hang your heart.







I wanted to tell you about the promptings of the heart today as well. Todd had a Dr's appointment yesterday regarding his hearing aid. I normally wouldn't go with him, but yesterday I felt prompted to do so and so . . . I did! As we went into the waiting room, I looked over and there I saw a woman I had not seen since we had lived in Chester before, quite a few years. She was someone I had worked with in the Care Home and someone that I had truly treasured at a work mate. Most of the girls there had been quite ignorant to me, but not Rose . . . she was a foreigner too, from Germany and so I spose we were in the same boat. She had always been really friendly to me and I had thought a lot of her. I had actually been looking for her since my return, hoping that I would see her on the street one day or in a shop.



I greeted her, and sat next to her, and then we began to chat. She told me that she had had breast cancer and a radical mastectomy on her left side, and that now the cancer had returned and was on the right side. She has had a rough few years and was no longer able to work. I was able to put my arm around her and comfort her, and I will go to see her soon as I know where she lives, and I think she would like that. Because she has epilepsy they will not give her radiation or chemo, and so it will be another mastectomy for her. I think she needs to know the Lord's love more than ever . . . I would ask if you could keep my Rose in your special prayers.



There is a great debate raging over here at the moment about the strictness of the punishments that are being handed out to the rioters and those who incited others to riot last week. There are some who think that they are being dealt with too harshly. Perhaps if the bleeding hearts had been the ones who had their homes burnt to the ground, or their shops looted, emptied and burnt . . . they might feel differently. As far as I am concerned there is no punishment too harsh for these people. Sending someone to the colonies as slave labour for stealing a crust of bread to feed their family is harsh . . . sending someone to jail for a few months because of their complete selfish and total disregard and lack of feeling for others is not harsh enough in my opinion . . . it's a good thing I am not a judge I guess!!



It's for cert I would not be feeding them pie, especially not this tasty pie here today. This one is dangerously good people!! Dangerously good!







*Chocolate Chunk Pie*

Serves 12

Printable Recipe



This is a rich and sweet little taste of home. Who doesn’t love chocolate chunk cookies, filled with nuts . . . this is the same, only moreish. I like it warm, accompanied with a nice scoop of ice cold vanilla ice cream melting over the top . . .



PASTRY:

2 cups plain flour

2 TBS caster sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into bits

1 large egg yolk

2 to 3 TBS ice water



FILLING:

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup soft light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup plain flour

2 large eggs, slightly beaten

½ cup butter, melted

½ cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts

1 ½ bars of good quality milk chocolate (100g each) cut into chunks

(I use Green and Black’s organic)



First of all make the pastry. Put the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to combine. Add the butter and the egg yolk and blitz again, pulsing only until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the motor running, add 2 TBS of the ice water and process only until the dough masses into a ball, adding the extra TBS only if needed. Remove the dough from the processor. Shape into a ball, kneading in any remaining flour if necessary. Shape into a disc, wrap in plastic and chill for about 30 minutes.



Pre-heat the oven to 150*C/300*F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface, Line a deep, 10 inch, pie dish with it. Trim and crimp the edges. Set aside.



Mix the sugars and flour together in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs and then the melted butter, mixing well to combine. Fold in the nuts and the chocolate chunks. Spread the mixture into the prepared crust and bake in the heated oven until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean, approximately 60 to 70 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool when done. Serve warm with some ice cream, or let cool completely before serving. Either way it’s delicious!







In The English Kitchen today, Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob with Herbs!

Do you know who you really are?

"Your hands have made me and fashioned me."
~Job 10:8

Do you know who you really are? For years, I struggled with the answer to this question. Oh . . . I knew that I was the daughter of my parents, and a wife to my husband . . . a mother to my children . . . but who was I really???

For years I had been told that I was incompetent . . . and stupid. That I was lazy, and incapable of doing things on my own. It didn't matter that I did just that for months at a time while my husband was away on training courses, or other Military duties . . . I had been made to feel that I was not very much at all. Even the very way I walked was mocked and made fun of.



Not smart. Not attractive. Not competent. No talents. A big nobody, who didn't have opinions, or thoughts, or needs . . . . or anything that mattered at all.

It was not until I joined my present church, that I began to realize just who I really was. I learned that I was the much loved and precious daughter of a Heavenly Father . . . reserved in the Heavens to come to the earth at this special time . . . the end of times.

A beloved and valiant spirit, with a multitude of talents and skills. Beautiful and strong. Intelligent and oh so very precious to my Heavenly family. What a wonderful awakening that was!!



It was not an awakening that occured overnight. I didn't all of a sudden wake up one morning and know this. It happened over a series of days . . . and weeks . . . and months . . . after hours of prayer and study. You can be told something, but it is not until you begin to feel it's truth in your heart, that it becomes real to you. It is not until you can look into the mirror and recognize what has really been there all along, that it makes a difference . . . and this is a beautiful knowledge that is truly life transforming.

The more you soak yourself in the truth of God's word . . . the more you come to realize just who you are and how very important you are to Him. How very much He loves and cares about you. This knowledge is empowering and uplifting and it can change your life for the better . . . because you are the spirit daughter of the King as well. Did you know that? A Princess from the heavens . . .

You are not your broken body, or your imperfect face. That is not where your worth lies. You are not where you live, or who you live with. You are that you which lives inside yourself . . . that beautiful spirit which was created in the Heavens just to come to this earth at this time. And you are so very special, and so very loved . . .



Just my thoughts on this beautiful spring morning . . . I hope you will watch the video.

Here's one of Todd's favourite dessert. His mother made beautiful apple pies apparently. I never got to taste them and I am afraid that I never quite get my apple pies like hers, but I do make quite a good North American version! He does enjoy it, even if it's not quite like hers!




*Caramel Apple Pie*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

A delicious apple pie topped with sweet caramel and the crunch of toasted pecans.

Crust:
prepared pastry to fit a double crust 9 inch pie
1/4 cup of finely chopped toasted pecans

Filling:
3/4 cup of sugar
2 TBS flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 TBS lemon juice
6 medium cooking apples peeled (6 cups)

Topping:
1/3 cup of caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup of chopped toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 225*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. Roll out half of your pastry on a lightly floured surface and use it to line a 9 inch glass pie dish. Sprinkle the finely chopped toasted pecans on the bottom of the crust.

Mix together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and apples for the filling in a large bowl. ( I use my hands to gently toss them together.) Pour this mixture, with all the juices, into the crust lined pie dish.

Roll the remaining half of the pastry into a circle large enough to cover the top with a bit of overhang. (Again on a lightly floured surface) Place over top of the filling. Trim around and seal and flute the edges. Cut some vents into the top in order to allow steam to escape. Place onto a large baking tray.

Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown. If after 15 to 20 minutes you think the edges of the crust are getting too brown you may cover the with strips of foil to protect them.

Allow to cool for at least an hour before serving.

Serve warm cut into wedges. Drizzle some of the caramel topping on each piece and sprinkle with the remaining toasted pecans. (A scoop of vanilla ice cream also goes very well!)



There's an old standby over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Ham and Mac Bake.