The Simple Woman's Day book

FOR TODAY, August 24th, 2010...

Outside My Window...
It is light outside but still far too early to tell if we are going to have a sunny day today or not. We have had a lot of rain lately, too much but the hose pipe ban has been lifted so that's a good thing!!

I am thinking...
We had the most lovely evening yesterday. We have started a small Scripture Study/Family Home Evening group here in our Ward. It is basically just us and two other couples who are empty nesters and so each Monday we are getting together in the evening for a time of fellowship, refreshment and digging into the Word of God. Last night we were at Corine and Remy's place. They run a B&B here in Chester, which is just beautiful. You can have a look at their page HERE. They used to have a restaurant in Bordeaux, over in France, but moved here to the UK to be closer to their daughters. Corine is a fabulous cook and also a photographer extraodinaire! (Once Miztie gets a little older I want her to do a family portrait for us, of myself, Todd and little Mitzie! ) I do hope you will go look at their page and if you are ever in the Chester area give them a call for an excellent place to stay and eat!

I am thankful for...
Where do I begin??? I have so many blessings in my life. It is good to dwell on them instead of anything negative. We are still not completely through that dark tunnel, but we begin to see the light so that is good. I knew it was there all along . . . tis what has kept me going and putting one foot in front of the other.

From the kitchen...
There is lemon cake and some golden syrup biscuits. I discovered that Hotel Chocolate has a store in Chester city last week. That's a bad thing . . . a very bad thing . . . I picked up a small box of truffles when I was in the city one day last week. Oh my . . . scrummy yummy! There oughta be a law against it!

I am wearing...
A white cotton nightie and my bathrobe. It is still very chilly after last night! I just love white nighties. I feel like someone from a Jane Austin novel in them, very romantic I think! Forget pretty in pink!! I feel pretty in white!!

I am creating...
I did get one painting done last week and I so enjoyed it. It felt so good to put my brush to paper again. I need to get cracking on my art course! I also have a few dolls to make for several people. I have somewhat of a SALE going on right now in my Etsy shop. I have marked down all of my dolls and prints etc.

I am going...
There is a Relief Society Enrichment Evening tonight that I am going to. I am going to be demonstrating some dips etc. Tomorrow night I have a Primary Presidency meeting. I think our little friend Pauline is coming to visit us for a few days later this week. I say little but she's not so little anymore. She's 16 now. She started coming to ours when she was 9! She has grown up a lot since then. She's not a little girl anymore! I have her room all ready for her. It will be good to see and spend time with her.

I am reading...


Women, Food and God, by Geneen Roth

As you all probably know I have a weight problem that I have been trying to deal with for about 22 years now, ever since I quit smoking and had my tubes tied. I say that, but , in truth it's probably been my whole life really, even though the weight didn't start to really pile on until then. I had hypnotherapy a year and a half ago and that really helped a lot. I lost 3 stone. I think I have put at least a stone back on since all of the upheaval in our lives in these recent months. I need to get a handle on it again. I saw this book on the Oprah show when I was at my mom's in July. In this book, Ms. Roth offers up her own unique version of mindfulness training as a way to not only help her readers regain control over their disordered eating patterns, but also by understanding why they eat the way they do, regain control over the thoughts, feelings and preconceptions that led them to overeating in the first place. Every little helps!! So far so good!

I am hoping...
That I will soon see the scales going down again. I think about it every day, several times a day. I want to be where my weight issues don't control my life.

I am hearing...
Clock ticking, keys tapping . . . Mitzie snuffling next to me here on the sofa. Classical FM is on the telly, playing softly in the background. Life is good

Around the house...
Are you ready for the big reveal??? Here goes. Do you remember this???



This was the lounge in our house, specifically the fireplace area. Although it was somewhat pretty, I had always felt it to be too busy and bright. This is it now, after we did a bit of painting and redecorating:



I just love it myself! I love the green paint and the word decal I got for over the mantel and my little white cherubs. It is a much cleaner look and more elegant don't you think?? Be honest now!




One of my favorite things...
Is talking to you all each morning. It is such an important part of my day. I've been doing it for about 3 years now, here on Blogger and for another two years before that on AOL Journals. That's a long time to be blogging isn't it! I just love it and I just love all of you! Thanks so much for your love and and friendship. It means the world to me!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Not a lot really, other than the RS activity and my meeting. It is funny how it goes though. I hardly ever get everything done in a day that I am wanting to do . . . the days just somehow slip away! Is it like that for everyone???

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



Isn't this magic? Just look at all those wishes and all that promise!! Those little fairie dresses twirling about . . . when I was a little girl I imagined that each little seed pod was a fairie dress . . . and I loved to send them off on their magic journies. I still believe in fairies, don't you???

And just as a closing thought for today . . .

Never fear shadows . . . they simply mean that there's a light shining somewhere nearby.

And there you have it . . . my day book for the first week in June. 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!)




*Peach, Ham and Cheese Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Fruit and ham go so very well together. They are the perfect combination and when you combine that with some cheese and a honey mustard dressing, you've got something quite delicious indeed!

1 Cos lettuce, trimmed and roughly torn (Romaine)
1 carton of mustard cress, trimmed
2 ripe peaches, stoned and cut into thin wedges
4 ounces of Dutch Edam cheese, rind removed and cut into think sticks
4 ounces of thick sliced ham, cut into sticks

For the dressing:
3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 tsp runny honey

To serve:
Warm crusty bread (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the ingredients for the dressing, or place them into a small jar with a lid and give them a good shake. Divide the salad amongst 4 chilled salad plates and then drizzle with the dressing. Warm crusty bread goes very well with this!



There's a lovely dessert today on The English Kitchen, a delicious Apple Custard.