If at first . . .

"Far away, there in the sunshine, are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow their lead."
~Louisa May Alcott

I don't think there are too many of us who wouldn't think that we could improve ourselves in one area or another when it comes to daily living. Perhaps we might strive to be more patient, or more thoughtful . . . to take off a few pounds, or be a little kinder. There is no end to the improvements we can think of, I am sure.

We shouldn't be too hard on ourselves though, if we sometimes fail. We are only human after all. It is not all that important whether we win or lose in the long run . . . only that we play the game, and try our best. We shouldn't let ourselves become discouraged by what we may see as failure. After all, tomorrow is another day and we can always pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin again, vowing to do better the next time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will we be!!



We didn't have an overly huge turnout last night to the Relief Society activity, but the ones that were able to come seemed to have had a lovely time. With it being half term for the children, a lot of people are away or otherwise occupied. I was a bit nervous about it all, as I have not taught adults for a very long time, having spent a long time in our children's Sunday School program. It was probably good that it was only a small crowd. I think I did ok with it though, and everyone came away spiritually fed. We did enjoy very much making our scrap book pages also, and the build your own Ice Cream Sundae's were a hit! I didn't get home until after 10 pm! (That is a late night out for me!)

I am looking forward to the next activity, which won't be until September now. In July we have a combined camp with the Young Women and then apparently they don't hold one in August as a lot of people are away. In September we are going to be doing something for the technologically challenged! (I hold my hand up as a card carrying member of that crew!!) We thought it would be a good way to get some of the younger ladies involved, and that they would be able to help us older ones out with some of the things we find hard to figure out in these modern times . . . things such as texting, etc. All this modern stuff seems to come so easily to the younger folk!



Todd's brother and his wife are coming up in August, which is something to look forward to! They usually go to Devon on holidays each year, so it is exciting to think that they are going to come here this year instead! I am quite looking forward to seeing them! We have so very little family over here, it will be nice to spend some time with them!

Then in September we have booked ourselves a week up in Cumbria at the place we always go to. We will be taking Mitzie with us and enjoy a few days relaxation away from it all. It's been several years since we have been and we are quite looking forward to it. It's so beautiful there, and peaceful. It won't take as long to get there either, this time around, as we live that much closer! We thought we would go in September as the schools are back in and the holiday sites won't be as busy and crowded. The weather is usually still fairly good in September as well, and it will be nice to get away for a little change of scenery. Because we are repeat customers, we are always given a good deal on the cottage as well, which helps!



Here is a delicious burger to cook up for supper on one of these warmer nights we are enjoying. It is a Greek Burger, made with ground lamb. If lamb is not something you fancy or can get ahold of very easily, rest easy . . . they are also very delicious when made with ground turkey or veal! Moist and delicious, with lots of feta cheese, grilled vegetables and a tasty balsamic drizzle, these lovely open faced burgers please on many levels!



*Greek Lamb Burgers*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Deliciously different. All of your favourite meditterranean flavours in a tasty burger!

1 1/2lb of ground lamb
3/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese
2 TBS Italian bread crumbs
6 TBS olive oil, divided
1 tsp of minced garlic, divided
1 tsp dried oregano
2 large portabello mushroom caps
1 medium red pepper, quartered lengthwise
salt and pepper to taste
4 thick slices of firm Italian bread
1/4 cup of good quality balsamic vinegar

Preheat your grill to medium heat. Crumble the lamb into a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of feta cheese, bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon garlic and the oregano. Mix all together well and then shape into four 1/2-inch thick oval patties.

Brush the mushrooms and red pepper with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season the patties and vegetables with salt and pepper. Grill patties for five minutes, then turn and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes, until no longer pink inside. Grill the vegetables about 6 minutes or until desired doneness, turning ocassionally. Peel the skin from the red peppers, if desired, and discard. Cut peppers and mushrooms into thin strips.

Cook the remaining 1/2 teaspoon garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add an additional 2 tablespoons olive oil, then whisk in the vinegar. Remove from heat. Grill the bread slices for about a minute on each side or until lightly toasted. Place bread on serving plates. Top with the burgers. Spoon the vegetables over the burgers. Drizzle with the balsamic and olive oil mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup feta cheese and serve immediately.

Note - You may also use an equal quantity of veal or turkey for the burgers.



Baking in The English Kitchen today, some delicious Strawberry Shortcake Rock Cakes!

The shore of His love . . .

There was once a little boy who was sailing his toy boat on a pond in a park. He was having a lovely time watching it float along. He had a long stick that he was using to guide it along . . . after a time however, the boat drifted further away and he was unable to catch it with his stick. He began to cry.

Before too long a man came along and saw his predicament and he picked up some stones, which he began to throw in the water on the far side of the boat.



"What are you doing?" cried out the little boy, but as he did so, something amazing began to happen.

As the stones hit the water at the far side of the boat, they created ripples which began to push the boat back towards the little boy. Even though the stones had disturbed the smooth surface of the water, they had achieved the desired result.



I think that is how it is with God sometimes . . . although we can't always see it happening at the time. When we begin to drift away from Him, as we all can from time to time . . . He throws some disturbing stones out into our water, just beyond us . . . in order to push us back to the shore of His love. And so it goes . . .



I thought I hadn't shown you a picture of little Mitzie lately, so here she is in all her glory, snuggled up to one of her favourite people! Todd got a bit annoyed with her the other day. He had just put some new plants in his pond and she fished them all out and chewed them all up when he wasn't looking. They were special floating plants that were supposed to help aerate the water. I expect she had a good time when she was doing it, but then . . . she is only a puppy and they do get up to mischief! Lesson learnt and the pond now has netting around it so that she can't get near! I have to show you this picture of her as well.



This is how she sometimes sits, upright, like a human. I think it's so funny, but I worry that she will hurt her back, so I make her lay down. Yesterday I took a quick picture first though. She was being quite co-operative yesterday when I took her pictures and was almost posing for them. She just may be ready for a family portrait, do you think?

I am off to my one-step program this morning. I don't feel as if I have lost any weight this week, and am worried I may even have gained some, so I am not looking forward to it. My knees have been very poorly and I haven't been able to do a lot of exercise, not that that is any excuse!

I have to do some baking this afternoon for a church do tomorrow as well. I promised brownies and cupcakes for 50! I think I have my work cut out for me, don't you?

Here's a tasty burger recipe I found on the Kraft site. I think kids would love these. I know mine would have. They loved taco anything, and were quite disappointed when our local Taco Bell shut down back home!!



*Taco Burgers*
Serves 4
Printable recipe

I wish I'd had this recipe when my kids were growing up. They would have loved them. All their favourite flavours in a burger!

1 lb of ground steak
1 package of Taco Seasoning Mix
1/4 cup of Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
1/2 cup grated strong Cheddar Cheese
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices

Heat your gas grill to medium heat.

Mix your ground meat and the seasoning mix together in a bowl, making sure they are well combined. Shape into 4 flat patties, with a little dip in the middle. (The dip in the middle helps them to stay flat and not buldge up in the middle.) Grill for 8 to 10 minutes, until no longer pink in the middle, turning after 4 minutes.

Stir together the salsa and light mayonnaise. Top the bottom halves of each toasted bun with a grilled burger and a portion of the salsa mayonnaise. Sprinkle with the cheese and top with a lettuce leaf and slice of tomato. Place the top bun on half and serve immediately!

Alternatively, you can cook the meat patties in a grill pan or ordinary skillet.



Cooking over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Honeyed Tomato Soup with Cheddar and Onion Marmalade Panini!

Finding The Simple Life

‘Tis a gift to be simple,

‘Tis a gift to be free,

‘Tis a gift to come down

Where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves

In the place that’s right

‘Twill be in the valley

Of love and delight.

~Nineteenth Century Shaker hymn

There used to be a show on the television called “The Simple Life.” It was about two rich girls moving to the middle of the sticks in the middle of nowhere and their struggle to get along without all the things they were used to in life. They got into all kinds of scrapes and I think they were miserable all the time and really kind of nasty, looking down their noses at simple people and country ways, elevating themselves in their minds to something better than where they found themselves and who they found themselves with. Some people called it entertainment. I just thought it was stupid and very sad.

The other night Todd and I were sitting there watching one of our favourite shows that we have on DVD. “The Waltons.” He looked at me and he said, “If you could trade your life right now and go back and live in that house, with that family, in that time, would you?” That question really made me think. Who wouldn’t want to live in a simpler time, when all you had to think about was whether the chickens laid any eggs last night and what to cook for breakfast, and the rest of the day unfolded itself in the gentle ease of whatever happened next …

Who, today, doesn’t yearn for a simpler life? But what is it we are hankering for? To give everything we have up, and move into a log cabin somewhere in the wilds of Cornwall? We find ourselves living busier and busier lives. Time seems to pass by far too quickly. Todd always jokes and says it’s a wonder that our faces aren’t all warped from the “G-force” of it all passing by so quickly! It seems the week has hardly begun before it is Saturday again and we are staring Sunday in the face, and we wonder where the week has gone. I think if we only made a few changes in our lives we could transform all of that, and it starts with something as fundamental as the simple pleasure of concentrating on one task at a time. Time can indeed stand still, and it starts with the importance of living and appreciating each moment for what it is, therein lies the secret to having and living a simpler life.

If we could take stock of our lives and be grateful for all that we have and let that gratefulness begin to transform our lives I think our lives will naturally evolve into simpler lives. In appreciating how much we have already, we can feel the urge to get rid of all the clutter in our lives, and to get back to basics and discover the things that truly make us happy. We can begin to realize the things in life that are truly important, and those things have nothing to do with new carpets or furniture, or attending the ladies club, or driving the kids to the mall. Perhaps better choices such as cleaning the carpets you already have and buying some chair covers and some pretty new cushions for the couch you already have could be a part of simplifying your life?

Some people think that simplicity means doing without. In all actuality simplicity as a conscious life choice can help illuminate our life from within. It helps us appreciate all the blessings in life that are ours already and liberates our spirits from the bondage and burden of excess and extravagance. It can help lift ordinary moments, dreary lives and inanimate objects from the mundane to the transcendent. Simply put, less can and will become more.

There is nothing more beautiful than a simple jug full of wildflowers sitting in the middle of your kitchen table, while the glow of sunlight streaming in through the windows gives the room a feeling of peace and comfort, and of home. When we concentrate on the simple things of life, the simple pleasures … we can calm our frazzled and weary minds and find the place our souls ought to be. Lets embrace the simplicity of each day and take the gifts it offers, and stop looking for something out there beyond our own reach. Lets be content with the place that’s already ours. Living a simple life has nothing to do with living in a certain house, in a certain time, or with a “Walton” like family … it is searching our hearts for the place that’s right for each of us and accepting the simple gifts life offers us each and every day of our lives. Its not about having what you want in life so much as it’s about wanting what you already have …

We had some sun yesterday, and some rain and some wind. It was really a mixed bag. I had a yearning for some burgers for our supper, but because of all the wind and uncertainty of the weather I cooked them indoors instead of out on the barbeque like I wanted to. Burgers is comfort food …

*Tasty Cheese and Bacon Burgers*

Serves 4

Delicious and moist beef burgers topped with a mixture of three lovely cheeses and sitting on a bed of shaved onions, lettuce, tomatoes and crisp bacon … what more could a person want in life?

1 pound of ground beef

1 clove garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper to taste

8 slices streaky bacon

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

4 ounces cream cheese

4 slices medium cheddar cheese

4 TBS mayonnaise

1 medium onion, peeled and shaved

Lettuce leaves

1 large tomato, sliced thinly

4 large buns, sliced in half and toasted

Combine the blue cheese and the cream cheese in a small bowl, mixing them together well. Set aside.

Mix together the ground beef, garlic and a little salt and pepper. Shape into 4 round patties. Let sit for a few minutes for the flavours to melt together while you slice the onions and tomatoes.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Fry the bacon slices in the heated skillet until they are crisp. Remove to paper towelling to drain some of the fat off. Keep them warm while you are cooking the burgers. Cook the burgers in the pan drippings, browning them well on each side until they are done the way you prefer them. Once they are cooked, top each with ¼ of the blue cheese mixture, with a slice of cheddar on top.

Spread the mayonnaise onto the bottom half of each bun, top with two slices of the bacon, and divide the onions, lettuce and tomatoes equally amongst them, laying them on top of the bacon. When the cheese has melted a bit on the burgers, carefully place one on top of each dressed bun bottom, and cover with the top halves of the buns. Serve.