The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, August 24th, 2009 ...

Outside My Window...
All is calm and quiet. The sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon. There is a little tinge of red on the horizon. I have always been told, "Red sky at night, sailor's delight; Red sky at morning, sailors take warming." So we shall see. The weather station did say thunder storms and heavy rain last night. We have an electronic weather station that sits on the kitchen window sill. It's usually fairly accurate in it's predictions!


I am thinking...
About Hurricane Bill which is heading towards my mom and all my children back in Canada, and may even be there by now. I haven't checked yet this morning. We often get the tail ends of hurricanes in Nova Scotia, and this look looks like a doozy. I hope they will be ok. I spoke with my mom yesterday afternoon and she said the air was very still and it was very hot and humid, but she had everything battened down and ready for the onslought, just in case . . . my mom is a "Be Prepared" kind of a gal.

I am thankful for...
I am thankful for the opportunity I will have to speak in church next Sunday. It's been more than a few months. Because we are a small Ward with not a lot of members we get to speak more often than most. In our church, because we have no paid clergy, the members do all of the work, which includes "sermons." Each week some 3 or 4 people will have been given an assignment to talk anywheres from 5 to 20 minutes on a variety of topics. We don't have a lot of people in our ward, and not a lot of people that are capable or willing to give talks and so those of us who can give talks fairly frequently. I know that in America where the Wards are a lot larger, it is sometimes a few years before some one will have to give a talk. I don't mind talks really. I quite enjoy writing them and giving them. There will be 4 of us speaking next Sunday and our topics have been our favourite hymns and why. The congregation will sing the hymn we have each chosen one at a time, and then the person who has chosen that particular hymn will have 10 minutes to speak about it immediately afterwards. I would never have been able to do that before I joined the church. I just did not have enough confidence in myself or my abilities, but I sure do now and I quite enjoy it!

From the kitchen...
Ohh, there are lots of goodies sitting about . . . one which I will be revealing tomorrow, and a few other odds and sodds. I just love getting in the kitchen and doing what I love most . . . cooking!

I am wearing...
A white cotton nightie. It was so warm in bed last night and very hard to sleep. I love my white cotton nightie in the summer time. It makes sleeping a lot more comfortable than my usual pajamas!

I am creating...
I have one commission finished and one that I am working on to be finished shortly. Todd and I went for a long walk yesterday afternoon and I said to him, I wonder what it is that I am doing wrong that the Lord keeps teasing me with big promises and then they don't materialize. First there was the distributor in Utah that told me they were working on developing a line of cards featuring my work . . . have not heard from them in a while and now rumour has it that the two people that were working on it have left the company, and then there was the rubber stamp deal. I did one design for them and mailed it off, but have not heard anything since. I know they are moving office, but I just wonder . . . Perhaps I am needing to work more on my patience.

I am going...
Well, I don't have a lot planned for this week either! It's a pretty quiet week on the activity front. I do have several people invited for dinner on Thursday evening and am looking forward to that. It's one of their birthdays on Friday so I am planning on making a surprise Birthday Cake for dessert!

I am reading...



I am still reading "The Last Queen," by CW Gortner. It's a historical novel about Juana, the sister of Catherine of Aragon. As we know Catherine was the first wife of Henry VIII, and the widow of his elder brother. It's a very good book and I am really enjoying it. I do love a historical novel. There is a bit of hanky panky in a few parts that has disappointed me. I don't really like that in a book anymore, although I did read historical romance when I was younger, but generally I find it quite annoying and not at all integral to most stories. I need to dig out "The Time Travelers' Wife" and read that again. I have heard the movie is quite good and I just can't wait for Julie and Julia to come here! That looks very good. I'm also reading that book at the moment, but in truth I find the author Julie, quite , quite annoying. She curses alot in it, something else I don't think is very necessary!

I am hoping...
That I can sort my hand out soon. My mom thinks it might be osteo arthritis. She has that. I hope not!

I am hearing...
It's all very quiet except for the humming of the fan down here in the kitchen. It was still quite warm in here when we went to bed last night and so we left it on for Jess. She really minds the heat. I haven't been able to listen to my playlist for several weeks now. It has a message on it about the tunes not being available for playback, due to liscensing restrictions in my country. I am kind of bummed about that. I loved the music on my playlist and I have really missed it. I did find another one that I worked on for a couple of hours the other day. It took me quite some time to get the songs on it that I love to listen to. Tell me, is it working alright for all of you?

Around the house...
I got my family wall finished upstairs, pretty much. I'll have to take a picture and show it to you. There is one more thing I want for it and that is a vinyl text wall decal. I am saving my pennies up for one. I want one that says something about family. I also want one for in my kitchen as well, but it will take me a bit of time to save up for them!

One of my favorite things...
I used to sew a lot of teddy bears and dolls and then I would sell them at craft fairs. One of my most popular items was a little teddy bear angel, made with fluffy felt that looked like fur. It was only about 6 inches tall and she had fluffy feather wings. She was quite sweet really. I also used to make another teddy bear that was the size of a small child. I used to buy clothes and shoes for it at charity shops, real children's clothing and shoes. It was really cute and you could post it. I sold a lot of them. I can't get the fur like felt over here though so I stopped making them.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Work, painting and cooking. Nothing unusual or new there!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Doesn't this look quaint and cosy? If I ever win the lottery I am having it. I have always dreamt of living in a thatched cottage out in the middle of nowhere, with a wild cottage garden, chock full of traditional flowers and plants . . . like a page out of Larkhill to Candleford . . . dreams are nice things to have. Of course I don't do the lottery so this one won't happen, and I am living in a country cottage with a nice garden, so I guess I kinda have my dream already. I just don't have the thatched roof!

And there you have it, my Simple Woman's Day Book for today. 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 am working on a new cookbook. I think I am going to try to have this one published by a real publisher though, so that it will be more affordable. I have some really great plans for it and I think if I present it correctly it will work out. This is one of the recipes that I have been working on for it and they are incredibly tasty. I've had this kicking around for a very long time and we always love them. If you want something just that little bit special to serve as a side dish the next time you have company, I think these would fit the bill perfectly!



*Glazed Carrots*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

The wonderful sweetness of the carrots is greatly enhanced by the delicate sweet lemony tang of the glaze. I like to add a bit of nutmeg as well. It always makes carrots taste even better in my opinion. Carrots prepared in this manner turn even the simplest meals into a celebration!

9 to 12 medium carrots, peeled and cut into finger sized lengths
4 TBS butter
1 to 2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS soft light brown sugar, packed
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
salt to taste



Place the carrots in a pot of water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender. Drain very well. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, nutmeg and salt. Cook and stir over medium high heat until the mixture thickens. Add the carrots and stir through until well glazed and heated through.



If you are looking for a tasty way to use up some of that tomato glut in your garden, look no further. Have I got the recipe for you! You'll find it at The English Kitchen.