The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, May 18th, 2010...

Outside My Window...
It's completely light out. It was completely light out when I woke up at 4:59. I lay in bed a few minutes before I got up though . . . I usually do. I often lay there for a few minutes thinking and letting the sleep escape from my eyes and clearing my mind . . . and then again, there are other days when I bound out of bed as soon as I wake up! Todd just lays there when he wakes up. He has it in his mind he is getting up at 8 and it doesn't matter if he wakes up at 6, he still lays there until 8. I just cannot do that. Once I am awake, I need to be up!

I am thinking...
Why don't people do what they say they are going to do?? On Friday morning when we were out, the post tried to deliver a packet. We got left a card saying that they couldn't leave it because it needed to be signed for and was too big for the letter box. So, I went online to book a redelivery. Monday was the earliest that we could book. So I stayed in all day yesterday waiting for it, and guess what. It did not arrive. So Todd called them at 6 pm to see if there was a problem and they told him that they didn't realize until 2 pm that they had forgotten to send out all the redeliveries. That's bad. That should not happen. So anyways, I have to sit in again today to wait for it.

I am thankful for...
I was just reading what I wrote last week and I see I said that I was thankful for my health. I am still thankful for my health. Life could always be worse couldn't it.

From the kitchen...
There's cookies, that I am going to try very hard not to eat. I seriously don't know why I bake this stuff. Todd is not supposed to eat it because of his high cholesterol, and I shouldn't eat it either, but I love to bake. Maybe I should start selling it. haha

I am wearing...
Black and white jammies. It's not too cold this morning, which makes a change. Maybe spring is actually going to reward us with some warmer temperatures now!

I am creating...
I may actually get to that painting this week. The sketch is calling my name!

I am going...
If it is sunny tomorrow we may take ourselves into Llangollen. I know I said that last week!! We just didn't get a day that was worthy of the journey!

I am reading...





Here on Earth, by Alice Hoffman

This is about the third time I have read this book. It is one of my favourites. It's about a woman who returns to the small town that she grew up in to attend the funeral of her dead father's housekeeper who was also like a surrogate mother to her. Her rebellious fifteen year old daughter goes with her. She encounters a past she has been avoiding and falls back in love with a man/boy she was hopelessly desperately in love with when she was a girl. A dark romantic tale, it begs the answer to the question . . . "Is it possible to survive a love that consumes you?" The answers are both heartbreaking and wise, complex and devastating. Love in our dreams is simple and glorious and wonderful . . . but here on earth? Tis something completely different at times. A great read.

I am hoping...
That I get an appointment soon for my bone scan. They haven't called me yet. I want to get it done asap and then start treatment. I hate waiting for things like this. I am very impatient when it comes to health matters. When my mother found out she had breast cancer, she was told on a Friday and had her mastectomy on Monday. She is still alive some 25 years later. That is the way things like that should go. If she had had to wait overly long for her treatment, she may not have survived. I hear all the time about people that wait weeks and weeks to begin treatments for cancer and that is just plain wrong. I know I don't have cancer, but I am just saying . . . nobody should have to wait overly long to begin treatment for any disease that they have. It must be horrible to know that you have something in you that is slowly killing you and yet . . . you have to wait to have anything done about it. Bad, bad, bad . . .

I am hearing...
A ticking clock, the tapping of my fingertips on the computer keys, birds singing in the garden . . . We live in a really quiet area, especially this time of the day. A little later in the day it gets a bit noisier, but for now it is quiet. I am very happy here. Although I was living in a very beautiful place down in Kent, I was not very happy at work. I loved aspects of my job, especially the cooking and entertaining, but in all honesty my ex boss was a bully, and there were days that I actually felt sick at the thought of going to work. I am so glad that is all over with now.

Around the house...
I have learned that there is always a pile of ironing to do! Clothes to wash. Rugs to hoover, surfaces to dust. I am quite enjoying being a housewife again and puttering through my daily chores!! I know that must sound a bit mad, but all I ever truly wanted to be, from the time I was a little girl, was a Domestic Diva. I am wallowing in it!

One of my favorite things...
Day Dreaming . . . and I have some doozies!! I never know where my mind is going to take me. I love it! Isn't the mind a fantastic thing?? It can take you places your body can never go . . . I suppose that is both good and bad . . . but at least if it takes you someplace bad, it can also rescue you right away too!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
I have a bit of work to do with Todd and some creating to do. Just a normal week really. Normal is good. Life is good.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



A picture I took yesterday in the back garden of Dandelions. I don't know why people don't like them. I have always liked them. I think they are pretty in all of their stages . . . the flowers are beautiful and complex, and then when they go to seed, that too has it's beauty. There are so many childhood memories for me in a dandelion. We used to make chains of them to hang about our necks . . . and what mother has not received a beautiful dandelion bouquet . . . and who has not made a wish over a dandelion gone to seed . . . and watched the seeds dance through the air after you have blown them away . . . to me, it is a beautiful, mystical plant. I love them.

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!)

We all need to be eating more Oily fish. I am not fond of Mackerel really, but I do like Salmon. I also like tuna. That is as oily as I get! This is a really delicious way of preparing it and very simple and easy to do! I like to serve it with my cheese and chive potato crush and some mixed vegetables, but it also goes very well simply with a salad if you are looking for a lighter meal. Just be careful not to over cook it. Salmon should be nicely moist and not dried out! Over cooked fish is nasty no matter what type it is.



*Garlic and Herb Topped Salmon*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

You can buy something very similar to this in the freezer section at the supermarket, but why bother when it's so very easy to make at home, and also much tastier!!

1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 TBS finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
3 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp dried thyme
the juice of half a lemon, divided
3 TBS butter, melted
salt and black pepper to taste
4 good sized boneless, skinless salmon filets (6 to 8 ounces each)

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Lightly grease a baking tray large enough to hold all the salmon in one layer without them touching. Set aside.

Mix the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, cheese and thyme together in a bowl. Juice your lemon and then divide in half. Mix half of it together with the melted butter in a bowl. Toss the bread crumb mixture in this.

Wipe your salmon filets and lightly dust them with salt and pepper. Place them in the prepared baking pan and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice. Top with the crumb mixture, dividing it equally amongst the pieces of fish, and patting it on with your fingers here and there if you need to in order to help it to adhere better.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until the crumbs are lightly browned and the salmon flakes easily when tested with the tines of a fork. Do not over bake.



And over on The English Kitchen this morning??? Some delicious White Chocolate and Date Biscuits (cookies) that are darned near impossible to resist!!