Saturday Randomness . . .

I decided to be really brave and step onto the scales yesterday.  I don't really do scales.  They never show me what I want to see.   They have mostly always been the bearers of bad tidings . . . one of the most hated necessary evils in the house.

To be avoided upon pain of death.  A mirror and testimony to all of my misdeeds and weaknesses . . .

Anyways, yesterday I was really brave and I dragged them out.  Down four pounds in a week.   Hmmm . . .  maybe my scales are wrong, but even if they are wrong, or if they were lying.  I am going to take the gift they brought and enjoy it because more often then not the gift is not one I really want to have!



I don't think there is a diet I haven't tried.  I've been dieting since the age of 34.   At 34 I had my tubes tied and quit smoking for good and the weight began to pile on after that.   I am really, really good at taking it off, but unfortunately . . .  I am even better at putting it back on and then some.  Generally speaking they end up being failures in the long term, and so a few years ago I decided I wasn't going to diet ever again, which my Psyche kind of saw as an excuse to eat whatever, whenever . . .  making up for years of deprivation I guess.

Bad move.  Coz here I am, and all of my chickens have come home to roost.  And with a vengeance.  I now have to go for two endoscopy's.  From the bottom and from the top.   Apparently my iron levels don't indicate anaemia, but rather that I am bleeding someplace inside my body, which could be nothing too untoward such as an ulcer or some such   . . . or it could signify bowel or stomach cancer.   Both of which I hope it isn't . . . but, I can't help being a tiny bit afraid.

I am not afraid to die.   Just afraid that I will never see my family again.  Well, at least not here on the earth.  I also don't like the idea of suffering overly much.  I have seen loved ones die of cancer and their lives are a misery.  By the time death finally comes it is a release and a relief.

But onto nicer and brighter things.   I am going to be thinking positively about all of this because I am lucky.  Lucky to live in a country where such tests are readily available and free to me.  And if it is something sinister, then maybe it was caught in time.   Always look on the bright side.   We must.




I did some experimenting yesterday with pumpkin muffins.  I chose a really healthy recipe which was very high in fibre and low in sugar/fat in comparison to other recipes.  I found it in an Anne Lindsay cookery book I have had for a very long time entitled, Smart Cooking.   I baked two batches.

In one batch I substituted the sugar completely with splenda and the vegetable oil with coconut oil.  The coconut oil ended up being a big problem because, although I had melted it to a liquid . . .  as soon as it hit the other ingredients, it solidified again and I ended up with lumps of coconut oil spread throughout the muffins.   They looked rather ugly and all bumpy lumpy when done and didn't rise a whole lot.

I did the other batch exactly as per recipe.  They turned out perfect to look at.




And so there you have it.  Perfect, oil and sugar on the left . . .  coconut oil and splenda on the right.

The proof of pudding is in the eating however and I had a small taste of each.   Although very ugly to look at . . .  the splenda/coconut oil muffin tasted far superior to the regular sugar/oil one.   Now all I have to do is figure out how to get the coconut oil into it and create a muffin that is nice looking as well as nice eating.

I am not a nutritionist or  a scientist.  What would you do?   It bears thinking about because it was really tasty.   There has to be a way to do it.  (Those are raisins in the lumps and bumps by the way.)   I'm not sure that artificial sweeteners are altogether that healthy for you either.  I do have some stevia, but am not sure how to use that yet.   Time will tell.




Last night I kept dreaming about orange/ginger cats.   I've never been able to keep one for overly long, although my mother has had two orange cats in a row.  Ginger lived to be quite old and Pumpkin is on her way to doing the same thing.   In my dream, I just couldn't seem to hang onto this kitten/cat.  My  youngest son was with me and he was supposed to be helping me, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it because in the end the cat slipped away anyways . . .  also for some reason I was still married to my ex (I hate it when that happens) and some con men had tried to get us to pay them a whole lot of money, which we didn't have, but we agreed to pay them using a very vintage looking cash register which we did have and my ex was going to go with them to get all of our money out of the bank, and so they disappeared leaving me with my young son and holding the cat.

Dreams are funny things aren't they.  Now, if I was a perso in the Bible or a prophet,  I could figure them out, but I am not and so I just scratch my head  . . .  and think to myself, no more cheese before bed!  (Just kidding, I didn't have any cheese before bed.)




What I did have before bed last night was an episode of the Big Bang Theory, one from season one.

You know why this hamburger surpasses the Big Boy? This is a single decker hamburger whereas the Big Boy is a double decker. This has a much more satisfying meat to bun to condiment ratio. ~Sheldon Cooper

He made a burger look really good.   And I am not overly fond of burgers.   He made it look so good that I suggested to Todd that we go into Chester today and have a cheeseburger at McD's for lunch.  Just a plain cheeseburger.  No fries etc.

But we probably won't.




And after that I went to bed with Nigel Slater again  . . . it's a cracker.  Just out.   Nigel never disappoints. The third instalment of Nigel Slater’s classic Kitchen Diaries series, A Year of Good Eating explores the balance and pleasure in eating well throughout the year. The leisurely recipes and kitchen stories of the Diaries are ingeniously interspersed with seasonal sections of quick, weeknight suppers in the style of Nigel’s most recent bestseller Eat. A salmon pie with herb butter sauce or an asparagus and blue cheese tart for when you have time to cook; roasted summer vegetables with sausages or quick baked eggs and greens for when you need to get dinner on the table fast.   You can have all of my cookbooks (you might have to fight for them) but you could never have my Nigel Slater cookbooks.    You would really really have to fight for them!



Oh, and I had an e-mail this morning to tell me that this is on it's way.  I can't wait.  It seems like forever that I put up my money and went on the waiting list for it's publication.   I am pretty excited about it's impending arrival.   If it's anything like her last book, I am in for a real treat!

And with that I will leave you with a thought for today  . . .


 ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
"It was the boring things in life
I remembered most."
~Russell from Disney's "Up"
❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥




There's nothing really new in The English Kitchen today, but there's a pretty tasty repost of  a Plum and Hazlenut Crumble Slice.  This is not to bad healthwise.  It would make a great once in a blue moon treat.  Lots of fruit filled with fibre and although the crust bits are filled with butter, they are also filled with nuts for more fibre.  Lots of sugar though, so a definite diabetic no no.


Have a Super Saturday!  Don't forget . . .

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And I do too!


 

My Friday Finds . . .

 

A few of the wow moments and things that I find each week that tickle my fancy. They might even tickle yours.



These little ghost mini pumpkin cupcakes are so cute.  From Sweet and Savoury by Shinee.



My Felt Doll by Shelly Down.  I've been using Shelly's patterns for years. They are adorable.



Remember my Flora the Explorer?   This was one of Shelley's patterns.  You can buy her book on Amazon.



I have fallen in love with this wreath.  I really have.  I like the colours very much.  It looks very simple to make as well.  Found on Infarrently Created.



From One Creative Mommy, for the kids.  Easy Snowgies.



How to hide an ugly boxspring mattress with fabric.  From  The Creek Line House.



DIY Fridge Mats which make clean up a breeze.  I would never have thought of this myself.  From The Saavy Housewife.




Designer Switch Plates. Make your own found on A Piece of Rainbow.  Cute!



How to hide a protruding object in a decorative manne  Found on My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia. 

I'm going to have to leave it at that this morning girls.   The computer is giving me no end of trouble, and it is taking me twice as long as normal to do anything.   That's even after a  shutdown and a reboot.   Annoying as all get out!

 

In The English Kitchen today . . . Almond Crumbed Cod.   This was a delicious part of a healthy plate!  Best fish dish I have ever eaten!


Have a fab Friday! Hope it's a nice one for you. Don't forget!

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And I do too!

Five Things About Me . . .

I love Pie.  It doesn't really matter what kind of pie it is either.  Sweet or savoury.  Two crust, single crust.  Crumb crust, pastry crust.   I just love pie.   I have never met a pie I did not like . . .  but I can think of a couple that I wouldn't like.   Steak and kidney (coz it's kidney and just ugh..)  And . . .



Stargazy Pie.  I could not go there either.   Blecch!  I find even the idea of this pie revolting.  I don't like eating food that stares back.  But I do love pie.

And that is the first thing in another five things about me post!




I grew up wanting to be either Aunt Bea (from the Andy Griffith Show) or June Cleaver (from Leave it to Beaver) or a cross between the two.  Two ladies who were excellent homemakers, cooks, motherly types, warm and caring etc.  I know Aunt Bea was not a mother in the real sense of the word, but she certainly was a fabulous care giver to Opie and Andy, and a true Mother figure in their home.   You just wanted to be able to curl up on her lap and you know that you would feel safe and loved and wanted.  June was maybe not so curl up on the lap-ish, but her homemaking skills were to be applauded, and her fashion sense was just wow.  She never looked unkempt and always wore her pearls.  They were role models to me.

I wanted to be Sandra Dee and Annette Funicello too!  But for completely different reasons!




Of all the seasons of the year, I think Autumn is my favourite one of all.  I love the smells and the colours.   The changing leaves.   The smell of woodsmoke in the air.  The changing light.  Thanksgiving!  Pumpkin PIE.  (There's the pie word again!)  Cool crisp mornings and cool, hunker-down nights, with some sunlight wedged in the middle of the two . . . the fading hydrangea in the garden.

The gathering in.



I believe in Angels and Angelic Encounters.   I don't know what they really look like, but I am pretty sure that most of them don't have wings, at least not wings you can see.   But it doesn't matter really.   Angels ofttimes come in the shape of a helping hand from a caring individual.  Sometimes we ourselves are angels.   I am not sure if I have ever had an "actual" Angelic encounter, but I like to think I have.  Perhaps may of us have had, without even knowing.    My oldest son remembers hearing someone talking in my oldest daughter's bedroom when she was a baby and going in to see who it was, and seeing an older woman, glowing looking down into my daughter's crib and her smiling at him.   He thought it was an angel.   I ofttimes was told when babies are sleeping and their lips move, they are talking to the angels.  Fact or fiction, flight or fancy . . .  I believe in Angels.



I have a thing for anything Victorian.   I love LOVE these old houses and it would be my dream to have one.   Maybe not so much now as when I was younger.   There were several in a town I lived in as a child and where my mother lives now.   I used to dream about having one of my own.   Beautiful, with all of the gingerbread trim and decorated verandas . . .  the round towers . . . the fretwork.   Just gorgeous.



The fashions . . . the customs  . . .  the rules.   I know that I have a romanticised the era in my mind, and that if you were not wealthy your life was not so good.  I strongly suspect had I been alive in that era, I would have been working for the wealthy instead of vice versa . . .  but I still love all things Victorian.



Even the art  . . .  especially the art!

And that is five things about me!  I hope you enjoyed them!

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


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To see a world in a grain of sand,
And Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.
~William Blake
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Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Zippy Red Slaw.   A healthy salad and part of a meal for health.

Have a wonderful Thursday!  God bless you all. Don't forget . . .

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And I do too!

Wednesday This and That . . .

Oh, I am so late this morning.    I was up really late last night and didn't get to bed until quite late and then it took me quite a while to wind down and then fall asleep, but I did eventually.  As a result though I am up a lot later this morning than I normally am.  And to top it off the internet isn't co-operating this morning so have had to reboot, etc.  No worries though . . .  things will get done, just a bit later than normal!



What a fun young couple this is!  This is April and Steven.  I met April quite a long time ago via my blog.  When I first met her, her husband was going to BYU and they were living in a poky little apartment in Provo.  Then he graduated and got a job in Colorado and they moved to CO, where they lived in another poky little apartment until they eventually found the home they live in now.  They are over here in the UK enjoying a honeymoon they never had 10 years ago when they got married, and they are just the loveliest people!  I was so happy to finally meet April in person and she is every bit as wonderful as I thought she would be.  I don't think we shut up the whole time we were together last night and Steven is just as charming.  They really are sweet.  Todd fell in love with them too!  The only bad part about their visit with is was that it was too short.  I would dearly have loved to show them some of the things there are to see in Chester.  As a geologist I am sure Steven would have loved the Roman Museum and a walk around the walls and of course the Ampitheatre, but they have an itinerary and today they are on their way up to the Yorkshire Dales.  I wish them safe journies along the way and that the rest of their holiday is as uneventful as the first few days have been!




This is a photograph of me taken three years ago when I won my award at the National Turkey Awards. It's hard to believe it's been three years since.   Tomorrow night the Awards for 2015 is being held down in London.   I have never entered since.  It was a pretty amazing experience the first time around, something which could never be topped in my mind.   Something which I will always cherish.   Really.  I was so amazed to have won!

 

Doesn't Todd look dapper in his suit?   It's a shame we never got anyone to take a photo of the two of us all dressed up together!  That was a fab weekend for sure.  



This was the recipe I won with.   Parmesan Crusted Turkey Steaks with a Tomato and Peppadew Relish.  Looking at it now, I am thinking it is right in line with how I should be eating these days, so I may have to revisit it and see what else I can do along those lines.



We took April and Steven out for supper last night.  It was getting pretty late by the time they arrived and my head has been all over the place this week.  I just thought it would be easier to eat out and then nobody would be stuck in the kitchen or doing dishes.   We went to a local pub which does fairly good meals for a reasonable price.    It was really hard to pick something from the menu that was something which I felt comfortable eating.  I finally settled on a Vegetarian Lasagne, with a side salad and dressing on the side.  It was actually quite good and I don't think that unhealthy of a choice.  We can do this!

In any case, we are having a quiet day today and I am going to be experimenting in the kitchen to see what I can come up with.

And with that I will leave you with a thought to carry with you through today  . . .


 ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
The more difficulties one has to encounter,
within and without,
the more significant and the higher
in inspiration his life will be.
~Horace Bushnell
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No food in The English Kitchen today, just sharing what I have learned thus far in my journey with Diabetes.  Hopefully not boring, and hopefully helpful to someone!

Have a fab Wednesday wherever you are!  Don't forget!

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And I do too!

The Simple Woman's Daybook . . .

FOR TODAY, September 22, 2015

Outside my window ...
It's dark, very dark.  All is still and quiet.

I am thinking ...
Today's the day I get to meet April from Dimples and Delights!  She and her husband are over here visiting from America on their belated honeymoon!  I hope that I don't disappoint her!  I always worry about that when I am meeting someone for the first time.  What if I don't meet their expectations.   Silly me.

I am thankful for ...
The WWW.  I've gotten to meet so many amazing people and my world has really broadened because of it.   Including Todd!  I met him on the WWW.  ♥

 In the kitchen ...
Getting out one of the last of my pre-diabetic bakes.   I haven't taken a food photo since my diagnosis.  I am still trying to take it all in and sort it out in my brain.



Brioche Chinois, which translated means Chinese Brioche.  Why Chinese?  It's a mystery to me too!  Soft, squidgy and filled with creme patisserie and chocolate chips.

On my "To Cook" list ...



Creamy Autumn Grilled Chicken Salad with apples and pecans from  Heartbeet Kitchen.  It looks so good and like something I could eat.  Probably a bit too much protein and not very many carbs, so it would take some adjusting.  But it does look good.

I am creating ...



I love LOVE this pillow.  It's so pretty and combines two of my loves, embroidery and sewing.
From  Jenny of Elefantz.  I am also crazy about roses and gingham.



The Andy Button Scarf, from RP Designs.   Free tutorial and pattern.  I Love, LOVE it!



From Ravelry.  These Mary Janes are too cute!!!



No source, but I love this cherry rug mat.  Love the choice of fabrics and the applique.



I used to do a lot of counted cross stitch and samplers were my favourite thing to do.   I am awfully tempted by this.   Found on Canal Blog.

I am reading ...


My Sister's Secret, by Tracy Buchanan

This is the story of three sisters: Faith, Hope and Charity. They have a very close relationship and spend their days on the beach, dreaming about finding hidden submerged forests. It's also the story of Charity's daughter, Willow, who has inherited her mother's compulsion to dive and as a memorial to her parents sets out to visit the submerged forests on a map she finds in her Mum's belongings. The mysterious photographer, Niall Lane, seems to be visiting the same forests whilst exhibiting his Charity collection and it's only a matter of time before Willow bumps into him and uncovers some family secrets. I loved the gradual unfurling of the family secrets as Willow peels back layer after layer and uncovers secrets even her Aunt Hope knew nothing about. It's quite a sad story of childhood sweethearts who were really meant to be together but for unfortunate circumstances and underhand manipulation.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it won't be the last.

I am hoping ...
That I can get a good handle on this diabetes thing and be able to control it with diet and exercise.   Steep learning curve, but I know I can do it.  I just have to be strong. It could always be a lot worse.

Makes me smile ...



This photo has always made me smile.   It is so me.

I am learning ...
All about carbs and how they metabolise, etc.
Watch this space!!

Dreaming about  ...



Subway tiles back splashes.  (not to mention a room large enough to move around in)



A dedicated laundry room would not go amiss . . .



It is a tiny bit busy, but I love it!



With the exception of the leopard print foot stool thingies, I quite like this.  Love the colours.




This is a great idea.  Built in shelving around the door.   Fabulous!

A favourite quote for the day ...

 (¯`v´¯)
  `*.¸.*´Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ¸.•´¸.•~♥♥♥~•.~
   ღϠ₡ღ¸. ✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ.
      (¸.❀⁀⋱‿✿“`* .¸.*
  ✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..

There is no more lovely,
friendly and charming
relationship, communion 
or company, than a good
marriage.
~Martin Luther  

One of my favourite things ...



Little piggies . . .

A peek into my day ...



Belly snuffles . . .

And that's my daybook for this week.

  ⋱ ⋮ ⋰
⋯ ◯ ⋯ Take time to enjoy the small *´¯`.¸¸.☆
  ⋰ ⋮ ⋱ blessings in life.*´¯`.¸¸.☆

✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿
 ╬♥═╬╬═♥=╬╬═♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥═╬
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 Wherever you go and whatever you do, I hope there's a great day ahead of you! Don't forget!

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 And I do too!!