The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, February 14th, 2012...

Outside My Window...
It is cool and the sky is just beginning to turn light. They say it will be clear, but cool today. Perfect for Valentines Day. I would not want it to be raining. All the world seems a better place when the sun shines don't you think?

I am thinking...
How did I get so lucky??? I have a lovely comfortable home. A husband who loves the socks off me. A beautiful pup who does likewise. The Gospel in my life. Enough to eat, warm clothes to wear and to keep me dry. More friends than I can shake a stick at. I want for nothing. I have my relative health. I have lovely children . . . beautiful grandchildren. What more could anybody want?? Not much , I dare say! Life is good and I am happy.

I am thankful for...
A Heavenly Father who KNOWS and who LOVES ME! As Angie would say . . . warts-n-arl.

From the kitchen...
All is in preparation for tonight's festive celebratory Valentines Dinner. An intimate Dinner a Deux. Thai Fish Cakes served on a bed of salad with a Thai Dressing to begin. (We love Thai Fish Cakes.) For the main, Seared Steaks with a Cognac and Pepper Sauce. (Man food) On the side, a mixture of freshly prepared vegetables and some boulangere potatoes. (My man is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy.) and for afters . . . well, you'll just have to take a peek at The English Kitchen to find out! You WON'T be disappointed! (Or course you could just scroll down to the bottom of this page to see the photo. Duh!)

I am wearing...
Turquoise nightie, black and white jim jam bottoms, slippers and my robe. Layering for warmth.

I am creating...
Oh, I have been very busy! First there are the two samples I have done for the cookie decals.


She wanted something symbolic of Enid Blyton's The Faraway Magic Tree, and so I did Silky and then a lovely toadstool with a fairy slipper . . .


I have not heard back from the lady to show her though, so I don't know. In any case I had fun doing them.

Then yesterday I was so inspired by my Daughter In Law's comments that I did these . . .



Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.



Twinkle Twinkle Little Moon.

I'll be winging some copies over to my Grandsons, pronto! I hope that they like them. I think I will be putting them into my Etsy Shop as well, to be sold as a pair. What do you think?? I may do a set of girls' as well. We shall see.

I am going...
I have the daily reading lessons of course, and then Todd and I are going out to teach with the missionaries tomorrow afternoon. Thursday there is a pot luck luncheon at a friends and that is basically all the plans for this week thus far. Oh, I forgot. There is a Stake Relief Society Day on Saturday and also my RS Presidency Meetings tomorrow night. Whew! It's a good thing I remembered!

I am reading...



Say When, by Elizabeth Berg

'He felt his stomach tighten, his heart begin to race. The coffeemaker beeped, signalling its readiness, and Ellen got up and poured two mugs. She set one in front of Griffin, one in front of herself. Griffin watched the steam rise up and curl back on itself, then dissipate. He said quietly, "I'm not going anywhere." "Pardon?" "I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not moving." She nodded. "I see. Well, I can't. I have to be here to take care of Zoe." Griffin pictured his daughter, a redheaded beauty who would knock the stuffing out of any man who crossed her. "All right, you can stay, too," he told Ellen. "Griffin. One of us has to go."

In Say When, Elizabeth Berg negotiates perfectly the fine balance between humour and poignancy as she charts the days and nights of a family whose normal life has been shattered. Told from the point of view of a man who goes overnight from being a husband to becoming his wife's roommate, this is a gripping and heartfelt story. I have only just begun to read it over the past few nights and I am really enjoying it. But then . . . I love everything Elizabeth Berg writes! The language that the husband leaves a bit much to be desired at times . . . which is sort of disappointing, but then I guess she is writing it from a man's perspective and also a worldly one. Just coz I don't swear doesn't mean nobody else does! I just skip over those words.

I am hoping...
That Todd loves the card I made him for Valentines Day. I do love my sweetie pie.

I am hearing...
Nothing much. Mitzie is snoring away on the sofa. The keys are tapping. All is quiet outside . . . the birds are waking up so a bit of chirping and the odd car that drives by. A very normal, ordinary, everyday start to the day.

Around the house...

Source: lovely-little-things.blogspot.com via Marie on Pinterest

I just love this wall decal . . . and this bed. The bed is beautiful and I love the words on the decal . . . what woman did not dream of being a princess when she was a little girl. Really it is two single beds pushed together, which is how they do things on the continent, especially in Germany and Austria. I love that. You each get your own bed, but you are still close enough together to canoodle if you want. Nobody can steal your covers during the night, but you can just reach out and touch the other's arm if you wish. I don't know how Todd would like this idea though . . . I mean the princess words and the green beds . . . I did order some new pillow cases the other day . . .

Source: achica.com via Marie on Pinterest

Aren't they pretty!!! They have white organza ruffles on the edges and white daisy embroidery trim. I do so love pretty things . . .

If I could change one thing it would be...
That my ex husband's wife's heart would soften and I would be able to be with my daughter on the morning of her wedding in July. I would love to be able to help her put on her dress and share some tender thoughts with her. It is really breaking my heart that she has banned me from doing so . . . I don't understand it. Would she not want to be with her daughter in the same situation?? Her daughter got married several years ago and I am sure it was a very special time for them on the morning. I was not able to get home to my other daughter's wedding at all, and I really can't afford to be going this time, but after having missed our Amanda's wedding I decided that I could not afford to miss any more weddings . . . and so we are going no matter how much it costs . . . I just wish things were a bit different. I am looking foward to my baby girl finally being able to marry her one true love . . . but I am not looking forward to the rest of it and being made to feel like an interloper . . . that part I could very easily give up.

I am looking forward to ...
I see each day as a gift just waiting for me to unwrap it. I wonder what I will find beneath the wrappings today??? Something good for sure. There is good in every day if you have the eyes and heart to look for it.

One of my favourite things...
Is sharing my love of the Gospel with people who want to listen. I just love my Heavenly Father and my Saviour. I want to share that love with the world.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
A bit of work . . . a bit of play . . . and everything in between!! Not a heck of a lot really.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Source: tineye.com via Julie on Pinterest

I breathed a song iinto the air,
It fell to earth . . . I know not where,
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song . . .
The song from beginning to end,
I found again in . . . the heart of a friend.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We must treasure our friends. I like to think of them as family we get to pick for ourselves. I love this picture thought. That is a friend indeed. Real friends enjoy looking silly together.

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

"Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully."
~Rev. Phillip Brooks

I just love this . . . it is so true.

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!

Here's a little something you can make your sweetie pies for breakfast on this Valentines Day! I just know they will love them. Who wouldn't! You can use refrigerated crescent roll dough if you really want to be quick about it, but I have chosen to use homemade biscuit dough simply because homemade is always better in my books.



*Cheery Cherry Breakfast Buns*
Makes 12 rolls
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy and delicious. You can vary the flavour if you wish, using a different jam such as seedless raspberry or apricot, blueberry, strawberry, etc.

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened and cut into bits
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 free range egg yolk
1 recipe of biscuit dough
1/4 cup of cherry preserves
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Spray a regular sized muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place the granulated sugar and almonds into a food processer. Blitz for about 30 seconds, until the almonds are finely ground. Add the cream cheese, vanilla, almond and egg yolk. Process for several seconds until well blended.

On a lightly floured surface pat or roll the biscuit dough into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough evenly, then carefully roll into a log, beginning from the long side. Wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Take out from the refrigerator and cut with a sharp knife into 12 slices. Place each slice, cut side up into one of the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until light golden brown. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation into the centre of each. Fill with 1 tsp of cherry preserves. Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until golden brown. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin cup to loosen. Remove from the cups and place on a wire rack to cool somewhat.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and water together until smooth. Drizzle this over top of the warm buns. Serve warm or cool. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today some delicious Baby Berry Custard Cakes, just in time for Valentines Day!

Poetry Saturday . . . Out In The Fields With God

Source: moonlightrainbow.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday
Among the fields above the sea,
Among the winds at play;
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

Source: flickr.com via Marie on Pinterest

The foolish fears of what may happen
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass,
Among the new mown hay;
Among the husking of the corn
Where drowsy poppies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born,
Out in the fields with God.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Source: sundayinbed.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

I've often felt that one cannot get much closer in to the presence of our Heavenly Father than when we are communing with nature . . . such a talent that Elizabeth Barret Browning . . . I love all the old poets. Living over here in the UK now, I can actually picture the things they wrote about . . . and feel their emotions as I have seen many of the same things and felt the same feelings. It's amazing!

Todd is off to the hospital bright and early this morning to have a head scan. Not as scary as it sounds I think . . . the audiology department just want to make sure that there is nothing un-toward causing his hearing loss. We are not concerned in any way.



My newest creation. Absolutely Everything to Me. I don't do a lot of little boys, so this is a rarity. I don't do a lot of dogs either. Double rarity! They do say that little boys and puppies belong together and these two seem quite comfortable in each other's presence. I do believe they are the best of friends! I did this yesterday afternoon and was quite pleased with the results. As usual it is available as a print or as a card.

Must dash as Todd is stirring and it's time to get things organized to get going. I hope you all have a great Saturday! Remember . . . life is beautiful!

Here are just about my favourite version of biscuits, next to my mom's of course! You can freeze any that you don't eat on the day and then gently rewarm and they will taste fresh as new. They are not great keepers though so you will want to eat as many as you can on the day and then freeze the rest! Eating as many as you can??? NOT a problem!!


*Angel Buttermilk Biscuits*
Makes about 16
Printable Recipe

These lovely biscuits turn out perfectly every time. Light and fluffy they are a cross between a traditional baking powder biscuit and a yeast roll. They hold up well, but are incredibly tender and are really quite delicious. Why are they called angel biscuits? I suppose because they are as light as an angel's wings, but don't take my word for it, try them out yourself!

1 TBS yeast
¼ cup warm water
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 TBS sugar
½ cup vegetable shortening (Crisco, Trex, white flora etc.)
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (or regular milk soured with 1 TBS white vinegar)

Stir the yeast into the warm water and set aside for a few minutes.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into a large bowl, lifting the sifter up high to aerate the flour as much as possible. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blenderuntil it is quite crumbly and has the texture of small peas.

Give the yeast a stir to dissolve it and then stir it into the flour mixture along with the buttermilk. Mix it all in well.

Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and then leave it aside somewhere to rise for at least an hour, or up to two hours.

Butter a large baking tray and set it aside.

Scrape the dough out onto a well floured surface. The dough will be really sticky. Flip it over and knead it lightly four to six times. Pat out to ½ inch thick.

Cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter, re-patting the scraps, until it is all used up. (Remember cut with a straight down and a sharp tap, lifting the cutter straight up again. Try not to twist the cutter or you will have lop sided biscuits!) Place on the prepared pan, leaving a couple of inches in between each. Cover with the clean cloth again and let them rise slightly, from 10 to 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Once it is heated place the pan of biscuits into the oven and bake until lightly browned and well risen, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm.



Over in The English Kitchen today a very healthy Pumpkin Spice Cake!

“Since the beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things."And the greatest of all good things is God.”
― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Friday ponderings . . .

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
- Psalm 32:8

One doesn't have to go very far to be aware of how rampant evil is in the world today. Just turn on the television and watch the news . . . or read a newspaper. It can be somewhat discouraging at times, and more than a little frightening. One might wonder just how . . . in the midst of all the evil that exists in today's world . . . just . . . how it is possible to hear God's voice I can promise you that it is there. Our Heavenly Father looks for those who still have their heart's open to Him . . . and He gives them ears to hear His voice. It is a still small voice . . . and it is a gift that is given to all who love him and who live their lives in a way that is open to His teachings . . .

I am sure that there have been many times that you have heard His voice. It is iin the promptings to go and do something special for a friend, or to pick up the telephone and call someone you have not spoken to in a long while. It is that little niggling feeling that you get, imploring you to go someplace that you've never gone before . . . or to speak to that stranger at the bus stop. It is only in retrospect that you can see the hand of God. There might have been someone in that place or at that bus stop who just needed a word of encouragment . . . or that friend of yours might have had a day when they are particularly down and needed to hear a kind voice and have a sympathetic ear to speak to.




It might actually be quite surprising to you to realize how very often these types of things occur in your life . . . but it is no mystery, and it is not co-incidence. I believe in God-incidence. We have a Heavenly Father who loves to talk with His children. He puts His divine signature on things and incidents in our lives so that we will know He is there . . . and He speaks to us in that small still voice that we can hear anytime we are willing to listen . . . What a wonderful anchor and blessing this is in an ever increasingly maddening world!

I did another fashionista yesterday. I seem to be on a bit of a run with these . . . that's ok though. I do love painting them.



Having raised three sons, I can certainly identify with the sentiment on this one! Little boys are completely different than little girls, easier in some ways, harder in others . . . I do know that there was never a dull moment in my house, no matter what!

As usual this is available as a print or as a card and would make the perfect gift for that special lady in your life who is a mother to some special little (or big) boy! Just message me to find out how you can have one in either a comment or in an e-mail. Thanks for looking!

Oh, I do love chocolate. I am afraid it is my downfall. Not just any chocolate though . . . I have expensive chocolate taste. I used to like the cheap stuff . . . but I find that I'd rather have quality these days, if I am going to indulge . . . rather than quantity. I love Green and Black's chocolate the best of all. It has a high percentage of cocoa and truly tastes lovely. My favourite are the milk chocolate bars and I have stopped buying chocolate chips altogether now, instead choosing to use it's lovely milk chocolate chopped up for all my hedonistic chocolate chip creations. Chocolate chip muffins are on the menu today. Now who can resist one of those warm from the oven with oozing sweet bits of really good milk chocolate scattered throughout along with the odd toasted pecan meat . . .

I don't think you'll find a much better version than this one.




*Chocolate Chunk Muffins*Makes 12 medium size muffins.
Printable Recipe

These delicious muffins are moist and chock full of chocolate. You can use chocolate chips if you wish, but I prefer to use really good milk chocolate that I chop into small chunks. You can also add pecans or walnuts. I don’t always and you don’t really need to, but they are pretty good with them included. If I am adding nuts, I toast them first. (10 minutes in a medium-hot oven)

2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup packed soft light brown sugar
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped into bits
½ cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped




Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with paper cups. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients all at once, stirring just to combine. It's ok if the batter is lumpy, and in fact lumpy batter makes a better muffin and they rise much higher. Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts.

Spoon into the prepared pan, dividing the mixture equally amongst the cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are well risen and test done when a skewer inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These taste good warm or cold, and they freeze very well.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Chicken Katsu Curry!

Cultivating Harmony in the home . . .

As most of you know I am a Mormon, or Latter Day Saint as we prefer to be called! ( LDS for short!) As an LDS we not only have our local chapels, but we also have Temples. We’re really lucky here in England, for we have two of them, one up near Preston in the North West (Chorley) and the other one down near London in Crawley. Temples are very special to us. Not everyone can go into them . . . not even all Mormons. You have to have a special temple recommend in order to be able to enter one (after they have been dedicated to the Lord) and, in order to get one of those, you must live your life in a way that is considered to be worthy of being able to go into the Temple. You also must go through several interviews at both the local and area level. The Queen, herself, cannot go into one of our temples, which is why over here in the UK, we are not able to be married in our Temples, but must have a Civil Ceremony first. It is not legal to be married in the UK in any place other than a Public place, which anyone can enter . . . and so we get married legally in our chapels and then travel to our Temple where our marriage is blessed, and we are sealed together for time and all eternity. It's a very beautiful thing . . .



The temple is a lovely place where we can go and be free from a world full of chaos and disruption. In there, we find peace and tranquillity . . . a true haven from a hectic world. All of the rooms are beautifully appointed and elegant. Everyone dresses in white, a symbol of purity. With everyone being dressed the same, it is impossible to tell who is a banker from who is a cleaner. We are all equal in God's eyes and beloved as His children, which is as it should be. All is quiet and serene. One almost feels as if they are getting a little glimpse of heaven once they pass through the doors of the temple. It is a place I love to go.



Our homes can have that same feeling that we feel when we are in the Temple, the feeling of being a haven from a chaotic world, and unspotted . . . Our own little heaven here on earth. Home is where you hang your heart after all, should it not be a place of tranquillity as well, a place which you can truly call your safe harbour in any storm?



It has long been said that cleanliness is next to Godliness, and I think that first of all it is really important to keep your home clean and tidy. I know Todd will laugh when he reads this, because I have to be one of the untidiest creatures on the face of the planet. I am a creative person, and creative people just do not see things in the same way that others do. When he sees a pile of books on the table . . . he sees a mess that needs to be cleaned up, whereas I see . . . a work in progress . . . something which I may be working on but am not quite finished. I do have to be nagged to put them away, and I really do need to discipline myself more in this area because, even I have to agree, it does look better without them there. It only really takes a few minutes a day to tidy up and keep the house clean if you do it regularly. I know that when I am about to go away on holiday, I always like to give the house a thorough clean just before I leave, so that when I return I am returning to a clean home . . . a true haven. Having said that though, a house must always look like a home, and like people live there, not a show piece.



Making your home a temple is much more than creating a space of cleanliness and order though . . . it is creating a feeling of comfort, a feeling of safety . . . a feeling that this is the one place where you can be free from all the chaos out there in the world . . . and where the spirit of the Lord is comfortable residing. It’s not that hard to create a peaceful atmosphere in our homes, it merely involves making the right choices about what we allow to enter.



Todd and I made a choice quite some time ago that we would stay away from watching smut on our television, or on the computer . . . or even listening to it on the radio. We try only to watch and listen to things that are wholesome and uplifting. It is purely possible to do this. We have a whole series of DVD’s and videos that are what could be classified as family viewing. We try hard to eschew violence, bad language and gratuitous sex. Really, none of those things are necessary. You can be quite generously entertained in other ways. It’s amazing the difference it makes in your home when you choose not to watch or listen to things that are demeaning and nasty. A whole new atmosphere is created. We would not purposefully inject our bodies with poison, and we shouldn’t really inject our spirits with poison either. Things that are unwholesome and nasty are pure poison to our spirits, they truly are. They are soul destroying.



We try to have a home that is filled with prayer. You do not have to be religious to have prayer in the home. Prayer is so much more than getting down on your knees and communing with the great creator. Prayer is a state of mind. It is a feeling of reverence and respect. It is knowing we are not alone, in any situation. It is feeling the presence of divinity continuously . . . and living a life that is conducive to feeling that presence. Prayer is peace. We pray together often as a family, and as individuals . . . and it truly does make a difference in our home. Speaking on a personal level, a day without prayer is a day with something very special missing. My days just don’t go right when I forget to invite the Lord into them.



I also love to read the scriptures. There is so much wisdom amongst the pages of my Bible, Book of Mormon and other spiritual works. I cannot begin to tell you how many times in life I have been faced with a problem, or a bad feeling . . . and I have turned to my scriptures and begun to thumb through their well worn pages. I never fail to find the one thing I need most to read and to hear. They always speak to me exactly where I am at, and in exactly the way I need them to. There is a power in these words from God that flows into your life and your home the minute you pick them up and begin to read. Power to resist temptation, power to avoid deception, power to make the right decisions . . . the scriptures are not called the “Bread of Life” for nothing. They truly can help to anchor us in a world full of storms and despair. Each and every time I read them, I come away with something beautiful, some new understanding, a new found treasure.



People love to come to my home, and I love to have them here. I believe a part of the reason they love it so, is because of the wonderful spirit they can feel as soon as they enter. It is the spirit of love . . . and of peace . . . and it begins in your heart. It begins by making a conscious decision to keep your home unspotted by the cares and woes of the world, and by making it a true haven, away from all the filth and degradation that exists out there. I know that no matter how far I may wander away from my door . . . or how much the lions outside it may roar . . . when I return to it I am safe. I can find peace and harmony within it’s four walls . . . peace and harmony that begins in my own heart, and in your heart. It‘s not that hard to cultivate it . . . if you try, and once established . . . it will grow.



Another thing that people can be pretty sure of when they come into my home . . . is that I will offer them something good to eat. It might be a piece of cake, or some biscuits . . . or maybe a muffin. A delicious muffin such as these here today. They are incredibly scrummy if I don't say so myself and would be most welcome I am sure!



*Pink Drizzle Plum Muffins*
Makes 12 medium sized muffins
Printable Recipe

Moist and studded with chunks of lovely plum and topped with the delicious crunch and a sweet drizzle of pink icing, These muffins are quite simply wonderful and so very easy to make and enjoy!

225g plain flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 tsp baking powder
75g caster sugar (a scant 1/2 cup)
½ tsp salt
1 large free range egg
200ml milk (about 3/4 cup)
30g butter, melted (a scant 3 TBS)
180g of red or purple plums, stoned and diced (approximately 4)
the finely grated zest of one lemon
75g of macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely (about 2/3 cup)
Pink Drizzle icing (whish together icing sugar, milk and red food colouring
to give you a drizzable pink tinted icing)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/35o* F/ gas mark 4. Generously butter a 12 cup medium muffin tray or place a paper muffin case in each cup. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, lemon zest and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk together the egg and milk in another bowl and then whisk in the melted butter. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture all at once and mix together mixing only until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Fold in the chopped plums.

Divide the mixture evenly amongst the prepared muffin cups. Scatter the chopped macadamia nuts over the top of each one. Bake in the heated oven for 17 to 20 minutes until well risen and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and transfer each muffin to a wire rack to cool slightly before eating. Drizzle the tops with pink icing before serving. (Not a necessity but lovely to behold and a nice sweet touch against the savoury nuts)



I'm talking about vegetarian Mushroom & Ale Pies over in The English Kitchen today.

From little seeds . . . miracles do flow

From the contents of this little packet shall I see . . . green shoots thrusting through the soil towards the sun. And then with a bit of warmth and tender care someday soon there will be . . .



Pansies, asters, scented stocks, marigolds, roses . . . all ablaze! Oh the fragrance and the glory of the summer days to come, all this we have to look forward to . . . that such beauty can come from something so tiny . . . so brown . . . so nondescript . . . and plain . . .



Isn't this a lesson we, ourselves, would do well to heed? This miracle that God brings forth . . . these wonders from a tiny speck of seed???



How small our seeds of faith may be within our darkest of hours . . . but then . . . the miracle as . . . He brings forth to us the sweetest of flowers!



Oh, can it really be so . . . only a few days now until the official days of Spring begin!!! Already the birds are singing sweeter and I know nesting has begun. Their voices are a cacophany of sound in the mornings now when I arise. It's so beautiful to hear. We have mostly sparrows here, with the odd black bird and I have even seen a robin once. I miss all the birds we used to have in our garden down south . . . but then this garden is at the edge of a city so I shouldn't expect the same thing. I am happy for the sparrows just the same . . . their gift of birdsong is just as sweet and just as welcome! The Camelia by the front door is overflowing with buds just waiting to burst out into blossom! I remember how very welcome they were last year when we arrived to move into this house. A pink cheery greeting amidst all our upset . . . they were like a little promise from God that all would be well, and it has been . . .

Now here’s a seriously good muffin. I often make these and nobody ever complains, in fact they are a popular request! Muffins are the ideal breakfast for anyone on the go, don't you think? You can hold them in your hand and they always go down a real treat!



*Chocolate Chip Muffins*
Makes 12 to 18
Printable Recipe

These delicious muffins are moist and chock full of chocolate chips. You can also add pecans or walnuts. I don’t always and you don’t really need to, but they are pretty good with them included. If I am adding them, I toast them first.

For the topping:
1/4 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup diced pecans
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons soft butter

For the muffins:
2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup packed soft light brown sugar
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
½ cup butter, melted
2 large free range eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
12 ounces milk chocolate chips
½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F/gaas mark 5. Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with paper cups.

Make the topping by rubbing all the ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients all at once, stirring just to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts.

Spoon into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over top of each muffin. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These taste good warm or cold, and they freeze very well.



There's a delicious Apple and Cheddar Cheese Cake over in The English Kitchen today!

Poetry Saturday, The Visitor . . .

God dwells here
Within this quiet room;
His touch is on my posies
Of violets and broom.



And as the evening sunshine
Sheds around it's golden store,
God lingers in the gentle beams
That slant across the floor.



I come here tired and weary,
When day is nearly done;
God comes here in the evening,
As I watch the dying sun.



He stays with me a little while
And soothes my troubled heart;
He smells my sprigs of jasmine,
Then silently departs.



And yet He always stays here,
Within my quiet room;
They told me so themselves, you see,
My violets and broom.
~Margaret Mills

Oh . . . I do love this poem. There is such a beautiful serene sense of peace that runs through it. It makes me think of the ponderance of prayer and how very special those quiet moments spent in communion with my Heavenly Father are.

I was looking through my chest of drawers yesterday and came across an old prayer journal of mine. As I read the words I had penned so any years ago, I thought about how the desires of my heart had changed through the years, and how much closer I was to my God now than I was then . . . it is a wonderful journey we take as we follow the road back to Him who created us. I am so very grateful for it . . . potholes and all!

Here's a really good recipe for some tasty biscuits to bake the next time you are looking for something to fill that bread basket of yours with! They are very easy to make and quick, and oh so delicious too!!!





*Quick Cheese Biscuits*
Makes one dozen
Printable Recipe

Not only are these delicious, quick and easy to make, but they are very pretty to look at. Perfect for Saint Patrick's Day as well!

2 1/4 cups of all purpose baking mix (such as Bisquick)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
2 TBS chopped fresh herbs (Such as thyme, chives, sage, etc.
use what you have on hand)
1/4 cup of sour cream
2 TBS Dijon mustard
1/3 cup of milk
1 medium free range egg, beaten
12 fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. You will need a baking sheet.

Whisk the baking mix, cheese and herbs together in a bowl. Mix the sour cream and mustard together in another bowl. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Stir together just until moistened.

Turn dough out onto a surface which has been lightly dusted with baking mix. Knead about 10 times and then pat into a circle which is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into rounds with a 2 inch round biscuit cutter, using a sharp tap on the cutter, straight up and down. (No twisting!) Place the rounds 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Brush the tops of each bisuit with some of the beaten egg. Top each with a flat leaf parsley leaf and then brush again with some egg.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until well risen and lightly golden brown. Serve warm.



Over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Peanut Butter Tray Bake.