Marie's Sunday Six

Welcome to my Sunday Six Smilemakers Post for today, the 19th of September, 2010. Where has the summer gone? Looking at that date we are almost through September, and it will soon be October! Is it just me or does time seem to be speeding up??????

I thought I would share six special thoughts with you this morning. Six inspirational thoughts that may or may not make you smile. I only know for sure that they make me smile.



"In the long run, pessimists may be proven right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip."

Too true, with me the glass is always half full. If I was not a person that thought that way I may have given up a long time ago! Nobody's life is perfect. Bad things happen to good people all the time. The trick is to learn to enjoy the journey along the way . . . no matter what.



"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. It is very easy to over-estimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe others."

Be grateful for everything in your life. I think you will find that you are much richer than you thought you were!



"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." ~Winston Churchill

I love this quote. It's so true. We had some friends over last night for supper and afterwards we sat down to watch the film, "On The Lord's Errand." It is a film about the life of our present President of our church, Thomas S Monson. Here is a man who has had a very full and happy life and he's done it by serving others. We may be asked to do things in life that we are not always happy about, but if we will do them with a cheerful heart we may find that in the end we were more than blessed for doing so. A life of service is a life well spent and well lived.



"Only one who hopes has a future".

From Wikepedia: "Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life." If we had no hope . . . it would not be worth going on . . . Where would any of us be without hope? I hope many things. Hope is kind of like praying with faith. I pray with sincerity, and then I hope and trust that my prayers will be answered. They always are . . . maybe not as I had wished, but always answered . . .



"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." ~George Berhard Shaw

My most valuable lessons in life have all been learned through the process of making mistakes, and I have made some whoppers!! I will probably make a few more before I leave this earth as well. I would rather try and end up having made a mistake, than to not have tried at all.



When I have lost my temper
I have lost my reason too.
I'm never proud of anything
Which angrily I do.

When I have walked in anger
And my cheeks are flaming red
I have always uttered something
That I wish I hadn't said.

In anger I have never done
A kindly deed, or wise,
But many things for which I know
I should apologize.

In looking back across my life
And all I've lost or made,
I can't recall a single time
When fury ever paid.

I'm not sure who wrote this poem. I found it in a little book I have called Friendship, which was a gift from a friend a long time ago. I am not a person that angers easily. I am grateful for that.



I hope that you each have a wonderful and blessed Sunday, and don't forget to smile!

My sister has always been a greatly accomplished baker! She has always made beautiful cakes and pies and cookies. Where I was always really good at putting together the meat of the meal . . . she was always really good at putting together the dessert. So, between the two of us, we made two halves of a whole, and nobody went hungry!!




*Danish Apple Bars*
Makes 16
Printable Recipe

This is a recipe my sister shared with me many moons ago. It’s like Apple pie, only better and somewhat easier to manage, for some strange reason. This pastry is very forgiving. Your family and guests will thank you for these, over and over again…These are best served warm, with some cold vanilla ice cream melting on top!

PASTRY:
2 ½ cups plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable shortening (Such as Crisco or Trex or White flora)
1 egg, beaten, with enough milk added to make 2/3 cup in total
FILLING:
6 tart apples, peeled and sliced (I Like to use Granny Smith apples)
1 cup cornflakes, crushed with your hands (secret ingredient)
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1 cup caster sugar
1 TBS ground cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

1 beaten egg to glaze the pastry before baking

GLAZE:
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F. Make the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs. Beat the egg and milk together and stir in with a fork until well combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it all comes together and is smooth. Divide in half, wrap in cling film and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.

Peel and slice the apples. Mix the sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a bowl. If you like you can also add the finely grated zest of a lemon. Mix well.

Roll out half the pastry, on a floured board, in a rectangle shaped to fit into a 9 inch by 15 inch pan. Line the pan with this. Crush the cornflakes evenly over the bottom with your hands and then cover evenly with the sliced apple mixture, pouring any juices that have accumulated over top.

Roll out the other half of the pastry to fit on top and place over the top of the apples. Roll edges together and press shut. I like to crimp it attractively all around. Brush the top with an egg wash and bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour,or until nicely browned, the bottom is done and the apples are soft and cooked. Remove from the oven and let cook for about 10 minutes before glazing.

To make the glaze combine all the ingredients together, sifting the icing sugar to remove any lumps first. Drizzle over the top.

Serve warm in nice big squares with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy!



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Beef Stew With Herbed Dumplings!