The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, SEPTEMBER 29th, 2008 . . .

Outside My Window . . .
The sky is still dark. I imagine the dew is falling softly upon the grass. We have had a lovely few days this past weekend . . . the loveliest all summer, and it is autumn . . . they say tomorrow that will change and the rain will move back in. I am grateful for the sunny days we have had. They have done my heart good. Funny how when the sun shines, your mood is automatically lifted by a few degrees without anything else even happening. The glass automatically looks fuller!

I am thinking . . .
About my friend Erin and what she is going through right now and I am praying that the problem soon resolves itself. She is such a good woman and has given much to her family, her friends, the world . . . more than anyone I know right now, she deserves to be happy. I know Heavenly Father knows this, just as He knows the righteous desires of her heart. I am trusting in His goodness . . . please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I am thankful for . . .
Having been born in, and living in a country that allows me the freedoms that I enjoy. The freedom to worship God in any way I desire. The freedom to come and go as I please. The freedom to be me. The freedom to speak and think and act as I please, within the laws that guide us as a nation. Freedom that has been bought with a price and I am ever grateful for those that paid the price so that I can be free and for those that continue to fight and give their lives for this cause in the world today, wherever they may be.

From the kitchen . . .
I have some apple pie left on the counter that beckons to me and I am trying hard to resist. Later this morning I shall be making some custards that I shall turn into Creme Brulee later on. Although the price of food has risen dramatically in these past months, we have been very lucky in that we can still afford to eat reasonably, although I am using more of my food store now than I ever have. I have been trying hard to keep our food costs down as much as possible and so I now think twice before indulging us and every scrap gets eaten, either by us or by the dog. Nothing is wasted. That's as it should always be and I am ashamed that it hasn't always been so . . .

I am wearing . . . get ready for it . . .
Pajamas! Of course! Bright pink bottoms covered in little white hearts and a cream top with three quarter sleeve, trim to match the bottoms around the neck and soft gathers down the middle of the front. Comfy . . . YES!

I am creating . . .
Today I am finishing off some sketches for a friend's book. Okay, it's for the Land of the Flowered Bed and we've been working on it for some time now. It's exciting to see it come closer to being finished. I can't wait to see it all come to life. It will be great!

Yesterday late in the afternoon, I was putting the finishing touches on my cookbook. Each chapter now has a piece of my artwork on the introduction page and there are lovely little special thoughts scattered throughout. I just have to do my dedication page now and the index and then of course I have to upload it onto LuLu.com so that I can have it put together for sale. It's quite exciting to think that I am this close now to having it finished!

I am going . . .
Back to work tomorrow. The hardest part of any holiday is having to go back to work. Oh, that every day could be a holiday, but then . . . we wouldn't really appreciate being on holiday would we? So I guess work is a necessity, if only to help me appreciate the days I don't have to work more! I really do love my job most of the time. Not many people can say that, so I am blessed, and in these uncertain times, when a lot of people are losing their employment, I would have to say I am blessed twice over!

I am reading . . .
The latest Ensign. It is a magazine our church puts out every month. It is filled to the brim with wonderful stories written by ordinary people and special articles written by our church leaders. It is always inspiring and interesting. I could devour it as soon as it comes through our letter box. We always save them as you never know when you may need one to help you write a talk for church, or even when you will need some of the advice within it's pages to help you through a particular problem in life or to help a friend. I wish everyone would read it, and everyone can. You don't have to be a member of the church to do so. Anyone can subscribe to it. All you have to do is call the church magazine subscription department and order a subscription. I'd be happy to share the number with anyone who asks.

I'm also almost finished The Shack, and I have to say I am feeling a lot differently about it this week than I did last week. It's a wonderful book and there are a lot of truths in it and I am finding it quite inspiring.


I am hoping . . .
That the kids I am teaching in Seminary are enjoying the lessons and getting as much out of them as I am. Seminary is a church based course of study offered to all young people in our church between the ages of 14 and 18. It is invaluable to both the student and to the teacher. This year we are learning from the New Testament. There is nothing finer or more rewarding than being able to draw closer to the Saviour by studying his doctrines. Just a few weeks ago I was thinking about how much I would have liked to have been able to be brought up in the church so that I could go to Seminary and Institute and guess what . . . Heavenly Father must have been listening, because now I get to go to Seminary! It's wonderful!

I am hearing . . .
The clock ticking on the wall here in the kitchen. It's a teapot with a little tea cup pendulum that moves back and forth. I love it. The ticking of a clock is a very comforting sound to me, very soothing. I wonder why that is? I would love to get a clock that has Westminster chimes. We have a cuckoo clock upstairs, but it is silent right now. We need to get some new batteries for it. I wish that we had bought one that works on gears instead of batteries. It has a cuckoo that comes out of course and cuckoos, but it also has little dancers that come out and dance around on the hour, to a different tune every hour. I just adore it. We also have a little Germanic clock that looks like a chalet and had a girl dressed in German dress sitting on a swing beneath it for a pendulum. She swings back and forth as she ticks away. I love her too. I guess I just love clocks!

Around the house . . .
We have been doing an autumn clean up. Cob webs have been dusted away and beams polished and swept. It's nice to see everything looking neater and more pristine. I am a bit of a clutterbug I confess . . . I know it drives Todd mad as he is a person that has a place for everything and everything in it's place. I am a person that just loves having all my treasures laying about me. It is a real struggle for me at times to put things away. My brain just doesn't operate that way. Where he sees clutter, I don't . . . I just see life, an abundant and joy filled life . . .

One of my favorite things . . .
Is these few hours I spend on my own each morning, with only the clock ticking and Jess snoring by my side. It is my quiet time, my time to think and to ponder and to pray. I reckon everyone needs a quiet time each day, a time of reflection and renewal. It's not selfish, or self indulgent . . . it's necessary. (Or at least it is for me!)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week . . .
Well, back to work tomorrow and making up for the time I've had off, but I am not going to think about that today! On Thursday night I have my seminary lesson to teach and then immediately afterwards is our Mutual Activity for the teens. This week we are having a combined one with the Young Women and the Young Men. One of our boys will be leaving on his mission very soon and the kids wanted to have a bit of a celebratory party to show him how much they care about him, which is nice. He is a grand lad! I have cupcakes to make and popcorn balls. They really liked the ones I made for the Princess night! I have my press packs to finish up as well. I have really enjoyed putting them together, although it has been somewhat of a challenge to do a lot of different little things promoting my artwork. I have managed to make little gift tags, some bookmarks, some Christmas ornaments, large cards, tiny cards, some tiny envelopes that I am going to fill with confetti, luggage tags, and I have some tiny gift bags, just large enough to hold a small trinket or treat. I will put a packet of herbal tea in each one of those, and tie the tops shut with a bow. I also had business cards made, moo cards showcasing my artwork on one side and with all my details on the other. They're really cute!

Here is picture thought I am sharing . . .
I was crawling through the garden at the weekend, early one morning trying to capture the autumnal feel that is very prevalent in it now and some of the dew. I just love this one of a purple petunia . . . the dew is making such a pretty pattern all over it, it looks almost crystalline and jewel-like. . . I just love nature. It's a gift from God.



And that's my Simple Day Book for today. I just love doing this every Monday. It's a great way to stop and think about all the wonderful blessings in my life and the important things that one might well start to take for granted and shouldn't. If you would like to read some of the other day book entries for the day hop on over to The Simple Woman and have a gander at them. It's a great way to find some new blogs to read, and perhaps even make a few new friends!

I made these lovely twice baked potatoes last night for our supper. I had a bunch of things I needed to be using the last of and thought they’d all be very tasty stuffed into a jacket potato!



*Leek, Mustard and Parsley Filled Baked Potato*
Serves 4

These tasty potatoes have all the flavours of a potato and leek soup, except in the lovely crisp jacket of a baked potato! It’s like all your Christmases have come at once! They also freeze well. I just wrap them up individually in some cling film and then pop them all into a heavy zip lock baggie. Then I can just take one or two out as and when I need them.

4 large floury baking potatoes
3 TBS olive oil
1 large leek, finely chopped
2 TBS grainy mustard
4 ounces mature Cheddar Cheese, grated
4 TBS double cream
1 ounce butter
3 TBS chopped flat leaf parsley
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Scrub the potatoes and dry them very well. Prick a few times with the tines of a fork and place them into the pre-heated oven, directly on the oven rack. Bake until tender, about 1 ¼ hours or so. Remove from the oven and set aside until they have cooled down enough that you can handle them comfortably.

Carefully slice a lid from off the length of each one. Scoop out the inside flesh, leaving a thin shell. Try very hard not to tear the skin. Put the insides into a bowl, and keep warm.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the leek. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the cooked leek to the potato flesh along with the mustard, cheddar and cream. Mix in well. Finally mix in the parsley and the butter. Season to taste and then stuff the mixture back into the potato shells.

Rub the outside of the potato shells with butter if desired and place the stuffed shells into a baking dish. Place back into the heated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the filling is hot and bubbly, the cheese is well melted and they are beginning to get all crusty and brown on the top. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

WE have a winner of my Autumn Giveaway, as chosen by an online number generator:

I'm so sorry that you all can't win, but don't worry, knowing me, I'll be doing this again soon!

"Anonymous said...
hi marie..! Happy 300th blog..!
its alwayas been a pleasure reading your blog.
lots of love
fariah"

Congratulations Fariah!!! Please contact me with your personal details so that I can get these goodies out to you in the post as soon as possible!

I'm so sorry that you all can't win, but don't worry, knowing me, I'll be doing this again soon, so keep checking back, as you never know when it will be!