The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, March 9th, 2010...

Outside My Window...
The sun is up as are all the birds. The days are really beginning to draw out now. I noticed it did not get dark until gone 6 o'clock last night. Once the clocks go ahead an hour we will really notice the difference!

I am thinking...
About the week we just spent in Chester. It was so good to see many of our old friends again and we were so very blessed to have found a decent house to rent. Thank goodness!! It is a cute little 3 bedroom terraced house, on a quiet street, with a large back garden for Jess and a really nice front garden with a space in it to park our car. We won't have to be parking it on the roadway thankfully. It is also alarmed and has new doors, double glazed windows, loads of insulation in the walls and the loft (cheaper on the heating costs) and a decent sized kitchen. Very clean, and carpeted throughout. God is good. It's not overly expensive either. We were quite worried about that as private rentals over here can be very expensive, and the landlord has assured us that the rent will not go up for the whole time we decide to live in it, which is another blessing!

I am thankful for...
I am so thankful for the many blessings my Heavenly Father has given us. Yes, one might say it is pretty horrible to lose your job and home at the same time . . . but He has blessed us with a new home in the right place for us. We will still be surrounded by friends and as we know the area well we will not feel too much like fish out of water. In the almost 7 years I have lived where I live now, I have never met one person from the village. That is due in part to the type of job I have been doing. There has not been a lot of time to socialize with anyone so one can hardly blame the villagers, but then again, having said that, Todd has only gotten to know the butcher and the post mistress . . . not a friendly lot, these villagers here.

From the kitchen...
There's not a heck of a lot really! I plan to change that today!

I am wearing...
I am wearing black and white pajamas. Comfy and warm. The morning is a bit chilly. Warm is good. ☺

I am creating...

I hope to finish off those dolls that have been sitting here waiting for my fingers to get cracking! I can't wait to show them to you. One is spoken for as it is my Blossomtimes Giveaway doll, but there will be three other's up for grabs. For the first while, until we can find a job in Chester, we will be relying on whatever I can make financially from my creativity. I an trusting in the Lord that this will be enough!


I am going...
The next couple of weeks will be very busy, what with sorting everything out and getting it all packed and ready for the big move. That is always the worst part of moving don't you think??? I wish I could just blink and have it over with . . .


I am reading...




Joy School, by Elizabeth Berg

A luminous tale of love and loss In this exquisite new novel by bestselling writer Elizabeth Berg, a young girl falls in love - and learns how sorrow can lead to an understanding of joy. Katie has moved to Missouri with her distant, occasionally abusive father. She feels very alone: her much-loved mother is dead; she finds it difficult to settle in, in her new school and her only friends fall far short of being ideal companions. When she falls through the ice while skating, she meets Jimmy. He is handsome, older than her, and married, but she is entranced. As their relationship unfolds, so too does Katie's awareness of the pain and intensity first love can bring. Beautifully written in Berg's irresistible voice, Joy School portrays the soaring happiness of real love, the deep despair felt when it goes unrequited, and the stubbornness of hope that will not let go. Joy School illuminates how the things that hurt the most can sometimes teach us the lessons that really matter.

I am hoping...

I am really hoping that we will be ok once we get settled at the other end and that I will be able to find employment that will cover all the things it needs to cover. I don't mind admitting that I am a little bit afraid. There were not a lot of jobs in the paper. This is really a move of faith on our parts. We have prayed about this, and have gotten that still small answer and sense of peace that tells us moving back to Chester is the right thing for us to do. I am trusting in the Lord to meet all of our needs. He has already met our need of a house, just right for us and I have no doubt that He will meet our other needs too. It's kind of exciting really, a real adventure!!

I am hearing...
The clock is ticking, the keys are tapping, the birds are singing. I shall miss our little cottage, but I know will be ok where we are going. The birds that sing of a morning, shall still be singing, albeit in a different location, and my keys will still be tapping, along with the ticking clock. Life will be good . . . it will be a bit different, and I will have some time to get done all the things that I have been wanting to get done . . . like finish my second cookbook, without pictures this time so that more people can afford to buy it.

Around the house...
All is in order and waiting for me to mess it up!!!

One of my favorite things...
I really missed my daily morning time on here with all of you whilst I was away. It is such an integral part of my days and one of my favourite things. I'm so grateful for each and every one of you, my sweet invisible friends!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Well, I still have the rest of the week off from work, so I will be organizing things, getting them ready to pack and there is a Relief Society Birthday celebration to go to on Wednesday night. I haven't been able to go to many Relief Society activities down here due to the fact that I have always had to work on Wednesday evenings. It will be nice to be able to call more of my time my own in the future! There is Seminary on Thursday evening and we will also be driving down to pick up Jess this morning. Oh how I miss her when she is not around. The move will be very hard on her. She just hates being in the car and having to be in it for hours and hours is not going to sit well with her . . . but she will just have to do it.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



My baby boy, all graduated from his Boot Camp, along with my youngest daughter, Amanda. This is the first time I have ever seen her with glasses. She never had to wear them when she was growing up, but she is 30 now, so I guess her eyes are getting worse with age. Doesn't he look handsome?? I think so, but then again . . . I am the mom!! He is in Borden, Ontario now doing his trades training. He is going to be an Avionics Systems Technician. I am glad to see him settling into a profession although as with any mother of a soldier . . . I do worry that he will get sent to Afghanistan . . . hopefully that won't happen for a long time to come and maybe never. Hope does spring eternal!!

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!)

If you are thinking that this picture has a somewhat Halloweeney look to it, you would be right. This is a recipe that I am transferring from my Marie's Muses journal and the picture was taken at Halloween. I haven't had time to do a lot of cooking as I only got home late in the day yesterday. Not to fear, these tasty little cookies are delicious no matter when you bake and eat them!! I am sure you will forgive me!



*Peanut Butter Surprises*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe

Quick and easy to do, and so very impressive when you are finished!

1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar, packed
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBS milk
18 miniature snickers bars, cut in half
1 tub of chocolate buttercream frosting, or an equal amount of homemade chocolate buttercream

Preheat the oven to 19-*C/375*F.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. Cream together the butter, peanut butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing it in well.

Shape into 36 walnut sized balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter. Place each ball into the cups of un-greased mini muffin tins. (alternately you can place them into small foil petit four cases and set them on a baking tray.) Bake for 8 minutes. Immediately upon removal from the oven, press half a snickers bar into the top of each and then return them to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on wire racks before carefully removing them from the muffin tins.

Once they are completely cooled, plade the chocolate frosting into a piping bag and pipe a rosette on top of each. If you don't have a piping bag you can just swirl some on top of each with a spoon.



*Chocolate Buttercream Frosting*
Makes 2 cups
Printable Recipe

This is a creamy and delicious frosting that goes well on cakes and cookies. It makes enough to frost a whole double layer cake. If you are only wanting enough to frost some cookies, the recipe can very easily be cut in half. You decided just how chocolately you want it to be by the amount of cocoa you decide to use.

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 2/3 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup single cream or milk
1 tsp vanilla
Choose ONE of the following:
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (for light)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (for medium)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (for dark rich)

Place the butter into a large bowl and cream it until light and fluffy. Beat in the icing sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla, alternately with the milk or cream, only adding as much liquid as you need to get the consistency you desire. You may not need it all, and , in the case of the dark rich frosting, you may even need a bit more.



Over on The English Kitchen this morning, a delicious Cherry and Almond Traybake! (That's just a fancy way of saying a Cherry and Almond Snacking Cake!)