The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY, May 25th, 2010...

Outside My Window...
The sun is up. It gets light very early these days and is not getting dark at night now until we are going to bed. It doesn't seem that long ago that the days were very short and now they seem very long. It's all so amazing to me . . . this lengthening and shortening of days. I don't know how people cope that live way up North and end up with six months of darkness and six months of daylight. that would seem very strange to me! I don't think I'd ever sleep!


I am thinking...
About the way that things in life change from one moment to the next. Not always . . . you can go for a long time without any changes as all and then all of a sudden your life will be tipped upside down completely and the next thing you know . . . you're living a completely different life altogether! We are as flotsam rising on the ever changing tides of the sea, being taken here and being taken there . . . thank God for the gospel which gives me strength and purpose!

I am thankful for...
There is always much to be thankful for. I think as I sit here this morning I am thankful for the recent changes in my life, which, although very difficult at times, have also been blessings. I am so grateful that I don't need to get up and go to work for that woman anymore . . . I cannot begin to express how terrible it had gotten over these past few years . . . and while it was somewhat of a shock to lose my job and our home . . . and I would never have quit . . . I am very grateful that the choice to do so was taken out of my hands and here I am, free, free, free . . . at last! Heavenly Father knows what we need and does work in very mysterious ways.

From the kitchen...
There's a dearth of goodies really. Well, unless you count the rhubarb pie. I need to make something for tomorrow. Our friends Pat and Peter will be here for the day and I want something special . . . I have no idea of what it will be yet though!! Sometimes I even surprise myself!!

I am wearing...
A white cotton nightie, with an embroidered bodice. It is pretty and I do like pretty and feminine things. I never used to buy myself pretty things, because I always felt that you had to be pretty yourself in order to wear them . . . but now I just say what the heck and I wear them anyways!

I am creating...



I have a kind of a collage I am working on, but can't say too much about just yet. I did get a lot of things done last week, including a painting, a pillow and a cute little pincushion/needle case set.



I also got another mouse planned and cut out yesterday. She's going to be a pretty little thing. I may make her a male companion, but we'll see how it goes . . .



So far there hasn't been a lot of interest in any of these things, but that's ok. I can live with them myself. I did lower some of the prices of my dolls in my Etsy shop this past week. It's hard times now for many people. We have noticed a big difference around here. People just don't have money to spend for non-essentials anymore. I was thinking about Christmas this year myself, yesterday . . . I don't know what I am going to do. Of course anything could happen between now and then and I shall just have to have faith that we'll be ok!!

I am going...
We have our Home Teachers coming later today and then there is a Relief Society Activity tonight, an Al Fresco Supper, which sounds interesting. I don't know if I will know anyone there, but I shall be brave and go anyways. It's never easy fitting into a new place. Although this is a Ward that we belonged to before we moved down to Kent, it has changed a great deal over the years. We were looking at our Wedding pictures the other day and there was one taken of the Whole Ward that had attended. The whole front row in the picture is gone . . . most of them having passed away. It's amazing. With the old Ward having been split and amalgamated in with another Ward, we hardly know anyone in it anymore!

I am reading...





Never Change, by Elizabeth Berg

A self-anointed spinster at fifty-one, Myra Lipinski is reasonably content with her quiet life, her dog, Frank, and her career as a visiting nurse. But everything changes when Chip Reardon, the golden boy she adored in high school, is assigned as her new patient. Choosing to forgo treatment for an incurable illness, Chip has returned to his New England hometown to spend what time he has left. Now, Myra and Chip find themselves engaged in a poignant redefinition of roles, and a complicated dance of memory, ambivalence, and longing. I have only just started this book and have not gone very far into it, but knowing Elizabeth Berg as a writer I am sure it will be a cracking read!!

I am hoping...
That all this business of Volcanic Ash sorts it out soon and that it doesn't cause any problems when it comes to our trip to Canada in July. Thankfully we had already paid for the tickets when all this business of my job loss happened, or we probably wouldn't have been able to go at all. So the trip itself is not a concern . . . but this Volcanic Ash is. I don't want to lose our tickets and I want to see my family. I am praying extra hard that things go through as planned!

I am hearing...
A ticking clock, the tapping of my fingertips on the computer keys, birds singing in the garden . . . the fridge humming in the kitchen. Normal sounds. House sounds.

Around the house...
I must clean and tidy the house today. I didn't get anything done yesterday as I was helping Todd with his catalogues and of course I did nothing on Sunday. You would not think that two people could create much of a mess . . . but we do!

One of my favorite things...
Praying. I love communicating with my Heavenly Father and I am so grateful that I am a praying woman. I don't know how people can cope in life without the power and strength of prayer.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
We are spending the day with Pat and Peter tomorrow. We are going to show them all around Chester and then on Saturday we are planning on driving up to Blackpool to see the two Phils. Lots of excitment this week!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



I think Bleeding Hearts are one of the most beautiful and amazing flowers. So intricate and so very pretty . . . I think all of nature is beautiful and amazing. How can anyone look at all the beauty that surrounds us and not see God in all of it . . . and there is beauty everywhere, even in the most dismal of surroundings . . . you only have to look for it.

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!)

Here's a simple little breakfast which might seem to be a bit extravagant . . . but a little treat once in a while never hurts does it? I think sometimes that it is the simple things that are the best things of all . . .



*Little Berry Toasts with a Drizzle of Honey*
Serves 2

Crispy toast covered with mascarpone cheese, fresh berries and a drizzle of delicious honey. Quick to put together, simple and yet very impressive when done.

6 sliced of French Bread, cut 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese at room temperature
1 cup of fresh berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, whichever berries you happen to have!)
1/4 cup of fragrant honey, such as orange blossom or lavender

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Place the slices of bread onto a baking sheet and toast them in the heated oven for about 12 minutes or so, until they are toasted golden brown.

Place the toasted bread slices on each of two plates. Spread each with some of the mascarpone cheese. Arrange several berries on top of each and then drizzle each lightly with some of the honey. Serve immediately.



There's Fish Finger Enchiladas cooking today over on The English Kitchen. Unusual and very, very tasty!