The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY, May 3rd, 2010...

Outside My Window...
The sun is up and the birds are singing. I can't tell if it is going to be a fine day yet or not . . . the night was clear last night so it probably will. The weather people had predicted a widespread frost last night, but I don't think we got any here, thank goodness!!

I am thinking...
Our lesson in Relief Society this past Sunday was about Mending Marriages. It was a good lesson. The teacher gave out several real life scenarios of marital problems and we read them and then discussed them. The thought came to me that my children were hurt far more by the divorce of their father and myself, than they were of the problems that my ex husband and I had together. To this day I have one daughter who will not speak to me and a son that is rapidly pulling away. That could be his age, but then again, he is very close to the daughter that has nothing to do with me, so I suspect it is something more. Things could have been so different had we been able to share the Gospel with each other . . . alas, we did not. The lesson ended with this quote by our late church President, Gordon B Hinckley. There is a great deal of wisdom in his words.

"There may be now and then a legitimate cause for divorce. I am not one to say that it is never justified. But I say without hesitation that this plague among us, which seems to be growing everywhere, is not of God, but rather is the work of the adversary of righteousness and peace and truth."

I am thankful for...
My husband and all that we have together. There are many days when I wish that we could have met each other sooner and had a family together, but that was not to be for whatever reasons . . . I am thankful that we did find each other at all and for the blessings that we are in each other's lives. When I think of the people that I worked for down South, and all that they had in the way of money and belongings, I know that they did not even have a fraction of what Todd and I have together. Money cannot buy happiness, or love and mutual respect.

From the kitchen...
Not a lot really! A couple of muffins and several cupcakes. I may bake cookies today if I have the time. I have not baked cookies in a very long time! They have a habit of getting in my mouth and I'm not sure I want that to happen!! ☺

I am wearing...
My white flannel jim jams with the pink teddy bears all over them, and my robe. It was rather chilly last night and I don't think the boiler is working this morning. I couldn't get any hot water at any rate. As old as they are, these jammies are keeping me warm and comfy. You can't ask for more than that! (They are practically falling off me, so I think I am going to have to take them in. I don't want to lose them, they are one of my favourite pairs!)

I am creating...
I have a teddy bear sitting her in various stages of construction. She is going to be really cute and I have a few dolls traced out and waiting for me to start on them. I also was able to get a few sketches done at the weekend. I am at a crossroads with my artwork I think . . . I am feeling a little bit disheartened about it. I have always had such dreams for it, and I don't really paint because of what I think will happen with it, or where I think it will take me, but it does get me a bit down sometimes when I think that nobody likes it much. Do all artists feel this way from time to time??? I don't know . . .

I am going...
The spare bed arrived but we haven't put it together yet. I think Todd is wore out from all that other furniture we put together! I still wish we had been able to get bunkbeds, but this will have to do for now.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with the nurse, both to have some blood tests done and to have my blood pressure checked. I sure hope that it has gone down.

I am reading...





His Return, Prophecy, Destiny and Hope, by Richard N Skousen

I know this is a bit of a departure from my usual reading material. Todd borrowed this book from our friend June and I am getting stuck into it at as well. As the liquidity of some of the largest banks in the world has teetered on the edge of collapse, we may wonder what the future has in store for us. And as we see the daily erosion of Constitutional values and watch as the United States and Great Britain stand helpless and alone to face political turmoil and unrest in the world, we might wonder what has happened to our once great nations. Using the scriptures and the words from modern prophets, Brother Richard Skousen explains the sequence of events that will occur prior to the Savior's Second Coming. This book offers a wonderful message of hope for the righteous and answers many important questions about His Return. I am finding it quite fascinating and totally relevant to the signs that we are seeing around us daily. I highly recommend.

I am hoping...
That it warms up a bit today. It was bitterly cold yesterday. We were walking around the town and my hands were so cold. I should have worn my mittens! That's too cold for May! Nevermind . . . the sun was shining and so that was a blessing. It would have been so much worse had it been raining as well! One must always look on the bright side of things!

I am hearing...
A ticking clock, the tapping of my fingertips on the computer keys, birds singing in the garden . . . I do miss my early morning companion . . . I think of her often . . . our lovely Jess. We watched that film Marley and Me on Saturday evening. I had taped it off the telly. About halfway through it I thought to myself, watching this is a mistake, it's too soon. Nevertheless we carried on and watched it through to the end and I was a mess by the end of it. It was far too soon to be watching a film like this, as good as it was.

Around the house...
I had my craft room all sorted out and then Todd began organizing the spare bedroom. Needless to ssay the craft room has been unsorted! Hopefully one of these days we will have them both organized and sorted!

One of my favorite things...
is being able to create . . . I don't know how I would ever cope if I lost my creative mojo! It is such an inherant part of who I am. President Ushtdorf has told us

"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul."

I believe this to be true. It is where I find my deepest satisfaction and also great joy. It does not matter if I am creating a new doll or a painting, or weaving some magic with my words . . . baking a cake or cookies, or writing a letter. When I am using my hands and mind to do something, to make something . . . no matter what it is . . . I am at my happiest.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
I have a bit of work to do with Todd and of course the teddy bear to finish and some dolls to create. I do hope that I can get some painting done at some point! My fingers are itching to get my brushes out and begin again. I also need to get started back on my Art Course before it is too late!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



Every morning when I wake up and then look out my window at the day that stands before me, I marvel at it all. I do not know what the future holds for me. Nobody does, but I do know my Heavenly Father and I know that He has a plan for me, and indeed for everyone, and I trust in that. I know that He is in control and that He loves me and that He loves you. No matter how bad things may seem at any given time or where you are at this moment in your lives . . . no matter how unhappy, or how sad, or how lonely . . . or how hurt . . . there is always hope. Things do get better, hearts are mended, tears are replaced with smiles. We must learn to let go, and let God, and then trust in His promises. That is the magic of this moment . . . that is the promise of every today and every tomorrow. He cares.

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!)

I love savoury muffins. They are the ideal thing to serve with soups and stews, or even on their own, served up warm with some butter to spread on them. They go great in picnic hampers, either alone or split and filled with whatever filling you wish to fill them with. These lovely cheese ones I have here today are fantastic split and filled with ham and mustard, or chutney and cheese, or ham and chutney and cheese! We had them yesterday with hot bowls of soup and they were fabulous. Todd had two himself, and then I took some over to our friend!




*Cheesy Muffins*
Makes about 9
Printable Recipe

Deliciously moist muffins stogged full of cheddar cheese. You used to be able to get a similar muffin at Tim Horton's, but I haven't seen them in years now.

1 cup milk, room temperature
3 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, room temperature
healthy pinch of cayenne pepper
1 3/4 cups flour
1 TBS baking powder
1 TBS white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of grated strong white cheddar cheese, divided



Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/Gas mark 4. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper into a bowl. Whisk in the sugar. In a separate measure, beat together the milk, egg and melted butter. Stir this all at once into the dry ingredients, and mix in, mixing in only to moisten. The batter should be a bit lumpy. Fold in 3/4 of the cheese. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups, dividing the mixture equally amongst them and filling them about 2/3 full. Top with the remaining quarter cup of cheddar cheese, sprinkling it evenly over top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and golden brown. A toothpick inserted in the centre of one should come out clean.



There's a delicious Spicy Parsnip Soup to go along with those muffins showing today over on The English Kitchen.