The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, August 3rd, 2009 ...

Outside My Window...
It looks to be a fine day today. I believe the sun may shine. It hasn't been the greatest of summers here weather wise. The weather has been very unsettled, but then again . . . that is England. At least the weather always gives us something to talk about!


I am thinking...
Yesterday was our Fast and Testimony meeting at church. That is always one of my favourite church services of the month. I love listening to the testimonies of others, and bearing my own from time to time. It's always really uplifting and inspiring. There is a young lad that has been coming out for several months now. I believe he is a bit simple, but what a wonderful heart and testimony he has. He would like to be Baptised, but his parents won't let him. I don't understand that line of thinking, myself. I lived with a man who denied me my right to worship God in my own way for years. That's just plain wrong. Nobody should be able to tell anyone else what to believe when it comes to a person's faith. That is something that intrinsically personal. That is between God and the person involved.

I am thankful for...
I am very thankful for my own testimony which brings me peace and joy. It is my truth and has carried me through some very rough times. It is my strength and my anchor.

From the kitchen...
Oh, I made a delicious curry the other night that I can't wait to share with you and I have big plans for the week. The Elders are coming tommorrow night and one is a vegetarian. I love cooking Vegetarian food and am thinking perhaps a Vegetarian Lasagna with blue cheese and pine nuts that I saw in a cooking magazine recently. It sounds and looks delicious, and perhaps a plum cake for dessert.

I am wearing...
Pink pajamas and my sandles. Comfy, warm and very homey. I love my jammies.

I am creating...
I have several sketches done for cards that people specifically asked for and hope to get them painted this week, plus several commissions I am working on. I need to order more markers, as some of the ones I use more frequently are running out.

I am going...
We don't really have any plans to go anywhere much this week. It is going to be a fairly quiet week, I guess!! We may be having our Scripture Study group on Saturday, but that is a few days off yet.

I am reading...



The Wednesday Letters, by Jason F Wright. This is a book about miracles. Not magical miracles, but the every day kind of miracles that surround us if we only have the eyes and hearts to seek them out.

This is a book about forgiveness, growing up, dreams, expectations, family, love, and making relationships work. I highly recommend!

I am hoping...
That the rest of the summer doesn't pass by as quickly as the first of the summer did!! I think that hope is in vain though as already the days are getting shorter, the nights are drawing in, and I can see the tell tale signs of some leaves changing . . . sigh . . . I do love the autumn though. It's one of my favourite seasons!

I am hearing...
It's very quiet in here this morning. Jess is snoring, the fridge is humming, the computer keys are tapping. Outside I hear a little bit of bird song, but they are not as vocal at this time of year as they are in the spring time. It's still pretty though . . .

Around the house...
There's not a lot going on around the house either! It's pretty boring. Some weeks are like that, I guess, very un-exciting. I guess we need those un-exciting weeks though, for without them, we wouldn't really appreciate exciting weeks! (and some weeks are just TOO exciting!)

One of my favorite things...
Is watching quality television all curled up on the sofa next to my Todd. We both like old shows and films. We have the whole series of the Waltons on dvd, as well as Little House on the Prairie and a few other shows. Quite often there is nothing worth watching on the telly and so we'll pop one of those into the DVD player. They always make me feel all warm inside and happy, probably because they are about families, and the love within a family.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
We have the missionaries tomorrow night and then on Thursday I am having the Young Women over for a Barbeque. I've been promising them all year to do so and they asked me yesterday when was I going to have them over. I thought, well, there's no time like the present! Nothing fancy, just burgers and hot dogs, etc. and then I thought we would watch the Emma Smith movie together afterwards. There is the scripture study on Saturday night and then I want to fit in a visit to Terri somewhere during the week!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

It's a picture of four of my children and my oldest grandson taken at their dad's last Christmas. From left to right, they are: Bruce (my baby, age 20) holding little Gabriel, Anthony, (my oldest son, age 34), Eileen (my Olympic Gold Medalist, age 32) and Amanda, (my youngest daughter, age 30). Missing is my Doug, who is 28. It's really hard to get them all together now, they live in various places and far away from each other. Bruce is going back into the Military soon, Anthony is a Computer technician, Eileen is an athlete and works at Tim Horton's back home as well as the local village chemists, Amanda is a paediatric nurse at a children's hospital back home, in the Oncology ward, and is taking her Master's part time. My Doug works for a Credit Card company. I am very proud of my children and love each one of them dearly.


And that's my day book for today! Why not hop on over to Grandmother Wren's to see some of the other daybooks that have been posted. I am sure there will be some really good ones to read and some new friends to make!

This is one of our favourite snacks around here. I think I will make it again for the Young Women on Thursday. If you use low fat cream cheese, it can be quite healthy . . . err . . . well, except for the sugar that is!




*Caramel Apple Dip*
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
Printable Recipe

One might think that this would be too sweet, but it is lovely and mellow and beautifully caramel like. The texture and flavour goes very well with tart and crisp eating apples. It's a bit like having a candy apple without any of the fuss! Actually I think I may even like this alot more than candy apples!

1 - 250g package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 to 6 eating apples, washed, cored, then sliced into wedges
I used a mixture of Granny Smiths and Pink Ladies)

Note* - Don't prepare the apples until just before you wish to serve this. If you need to prepare them ahead of time, put them into a baggie with some lemon juice and shake to distribute the lemon juice. This helps to keep them from turning brown.

Place the cream cheese in a bowl. Add both sugars and the vanilla, stirring to mix together well and dissolve the sugars. Cover and place in the fridge for several hours to allow the flavours to meld. Serve in a pretty bowl, surrounded by the apples for dipping. Sliced pears also go very well with this dip.

For a simple, tasty and impressive main course, check out The English Kitchen for today's delicious offering!