The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, March 22nd, 2010...

Outside My Window...
The birds are beginning their morning chorus. It is about a quarter to six in the morning. The days are getting longer now and warming up quite a bit. Spring has sprung. It is not just around the corner anymore. In the village the crocus are blooming and quite a few of our daffodils are blooming as well. Very pretty. I am glad that I was still here to see them.

I am thinking...
Life is a funny thing. You just never know what lies ahead from one month to the next. It can all change in a day, or an instant. I am grateful for all of my blessings. I am blessed abundantly with all the things in life that really matter . . . love, good health, family, the Gospel, friends . . . everything else is just the icing on the cake.

I am thankful for...
I am so thankful for a husband that knows how to bite his tongue. It is clear that we both have two different ideas about how to pack, and I am being a bit bossy about it as I want everything to end up in Chester in one piece. I know that he has wanted to crown me several times over the past few days, but he has used his patience and just bitten his tongue instead. I know I am being pedantic, and I am sorry for that, but I need to be coz . . . men . . . well . . . you know . . . I just don't want all our things to get broken. I have moved enough times in my lifetime to know just how much care needs to be taken over anything mechanical or fragile.

From the kitchen...
Having kept only two plates, two bowls, two of everything we need out of the packing boxes and very few cooking utensils, we are not doing a heck of a lot of cooking! It is going to be a challenge over the next week, creating enough to keep you all interested!

I am wearing...
Some old ping pajamas with sheep all over them. They are short sleeved so I am a bit cool this morning. I should have put on my robe when I got up, but alas, I didn't! (The boxes are blocking the radiators a bit, so it's warm on the back side of the boxes, but not so warm on the other side!)

I am creating...



I haven't done a lot of creating over the past week. I still have those dolls sitting here waiting to be sold. I haven't packed them away yet like I said I was going to, but I will today. I sure hope the sales of my stuff pick up once we have moved. I will be relying on them a bit to help to get us through the rough patch until I find a job.


I am going...
We will finish off as much of the rest of the packing that we can do this week, and then I will start trying to clean the rooms around the boxes as best as I can. We have our last Scripture Study on Saturday evening and on Sunday after church we are going to some friend's for dinner, which will be nice. It is so hard to believe that our days here at Oak Cottage are swiftly coming to an end. Someone asked me was I going to change the name of this blog. No. I am not. I have paid to register this domain and so I am going to keep it. Nobody would be able to find me if I changed it. It will be the same but I have adapted the header somewhat to reflect the change. That's if I can figure out how to get it up there to replace the old one!! (Any help doing so would be much appreciated!!)


I am reading...




The Pull of The Moon, by Elizabeth Berg

'Dear Martin,
I'm sorry the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know I was safe... I won't be back for a while. I'm on a trip. I needed all of a sudden to go, without saying where, because I don't know where. I know this is not like me. I know that,. But please believe me, I am safe and I am not crazy. I felt as though if I didn't do this I wouldn't be safe and I would be crazy... And can you believe this? I love you. Nan'

Sometimes you have to leave your life behind for a while to see it and really live it freshly again. In this luminous, exquisitely written novel, a woman follows the pull of the moon to find her way home. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest, The Pull of the Moon is a novel about the journey of one woman - and about the issues of the heart that transforms the lives of all women. Written in the form of letters to her husband and diary exerpts, I am really enjoying this book. I haven't read much further than last week. I've been falling into bed exhausted most nights and falling asleep pretty much right away.

I am hoping...
I am hoping that things will work out for us at the other end. It is exciting and yet at the same time it is a bit frightening. I am trying to look at it as a bit of an adventure. Having lived there before we moved down here, I am looking foward to living in Chester again. We are so very familiar with the place, and pretty much know it like the back of our hands. There have not been a lot of changes, thankfully. I will miss our dear friends from down here so very much though . . . it will be a great wrench to leave them behind.

I am hearing...
The kitchen is silent, except for the tapping of my computer keys. The ticking clock has been packed. I am surrounded by boxes and it is looking less and less like home with every day that passes. I suppose that is kind of a good thing. When we get to the other end, the new place will begin to look more like home with every day that passes. Isn't it wonderful how that goes!!!

Around the house...
Things are definitely looking decidedly different! There's no other word for it!

One of my favorite things...
is sharing my thoughts with you on here each morning. I don't know how I will bear it when I am off line for that week or so. It will be very hard! I will just have to keep a written journal like I do when I am on holidays. I know that I will be kept very busy with the unpacking and sorting of everything out. I will still miss you all immensely though! Isn't the internet wonderful in so many ways. Years and years ago, people had to rely on getting letters in the post to stay in touch with each other, but now . . . in an instant we are connected to each other. I can remember someone telling me about 15 years ago that one day everyone would have a computer in their homes and thinking to myself, I cannot imagine why anyone would ever want one. What possible use could it be. NOW . . . I cannot imagine anyone living without one!! Oh how funny life is.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Packing, Packing and more packing. There will be some bits of fun interspersed as well.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

~William Wordsworth, 1804, Daffodils

All the daffodils that line the pond in a nearby village to us. Aren't they beautiful. We will have to put lots of daffodil bulbs into our garden this autumn so that next spring we are greeted with their beauty and so that we don't miss this beautiful sight so keenly. In springtime all the road ways and by ways and traffic circles in this area are awash with those beautiful yellow blooms. They are so very pretty to see and bring a smile to my face and a song into my heart . . .


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!)

How, I have never been to the Olive Garden restaurant, but I have it on good authority that it is a really good place to eat. This is a copycat version of one of their most popular dishes that I found. Not having been there I cannot attest to it's authenticity to the original dish or not, but I can say with authority that this version is quite, quite delicious!



*Chicken Vino Bianco*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious chicken dish, with tender tasty pieces of chicken in a lucious garlicky, tomato and mushroom sauce. Fantastic!

2 TBS olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup peeled and finely chopped onion
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chopped tinned tomatoes
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 TBS chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, for garnish
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Cooked pasta of your choice to serve

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and heat it until it shimmers. Season the chicken strips and then add them to the hot oil. Cook them, stirring occasionally until they are well browned on all sides. Remove them to a plate.

Add the onions and the garlic. Cook, stirring until tender, without browning. Remove to a bowl. Add the mushrooms and cook them until they are golden brown. (Try not to stir them too much as stirring them brings out their juices too much.)

Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Stir in the tomatoes, along with the cooked onion and garlic, and bring once again to a simmer. Let cook and reduce for twn minutes, then return the chicken to the pan and heat through. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Stir in the cream and the parsley to finish. Serve warm, spooned over top of cooked pasta of your choise. Pass the Parmesan Cheese for dusting over top.



Yep, it's my annual Easter Chocolate Crispie Nests, over on The English Kitchen today.