The Simple Woman's Day book

FOR TODAY, September 28th, 2010...

Outside My Window...
It is dark and cold . . . I am hoping it will be dry today, but over here in the UK, autumn usually means that it is a bit wetter. When we do have a dry sunny day though, there is no nicer place on the earth!!

I am thinking...

"It is possible to give without Loving, but it is impossible to Love without giving." ~ unknown

I've always been a giver. I just love giving people presents, and it doesn't have to be material things either. Often your time and a listening ear is all people want. I find that it brings me ever so much more joy though, if I give with a cheerful heart . . . Of course you can give without a cheerful heart, and your motivations can be more selfish than loving . . . but love just makes everything better, don't you think?

I am thankful for...
The Primary Presentation went well on Sunday. The older girls wouldn't give their talks, so their teachers did them for them, and the children didn't sing that loudly, but it was ok. I am glad that it is all over now for another year!

From the kitchen...
We had company for dinner last night and neither one of us felt like doing the dishes after they had gone, so there's a huge pile of dishes to be washed!! I don't mind really. I have always enjoyed washing the dishes. Besides this lot looks pretty tiny compared to all the dishes I used to have to wash after cooking and serving a dinner party at the manor when I worked there! If there was 25 people that meant 25 charger plates, dinner plates, bread and butter plates, dessert plates, and all the cutlery associated with each, plus 3 each water, white and red wine glasses, the coffee service and all the hors d'ouevres serving dishes and pre dinner drinks glasses . . . and lets not forget the cooking and serving dishes for the meal. It's no wonder we never got home until the wee hours of the morning! Whew! I got tired again just reading that!

I am wearing...
A pink nightie and a blue terry bathrobe. Keep me warm clothes. Comfy and homey.

I am creating...



I am still doing my cards and have a few new designs ready to put my paints to. I love the act of creation. It's very fulfilling. I was thinking the other day. I am 55 years now, so it is highly unlikely that at this age I will become successful, but if I at least have fun in the creating, then that is all that counts . . .

I am going...
There is the Relief Society General Broadcast in Rhyll this Thursday evening. Not sure if I am going or not. It's for sure that I can't drive there as I am not sure of the way, so I will probably just try to get it on the internet. General Conference this weekend as well, which we will watch online also. Petrol is so expensive that it just makes sense to watch them at home, as we would have to go to Rhyll or Wrexham to watch that also.

I am reading...



A Virtuous Woman, by Kaye Gibbons

When Blinking Jack Stokes met Ruby Pitt Woodrow, she was twenty and he was forty. She was the carefully raised daughter of Carolina gentry and he was a skinny tenant farmer who had never owned anything in his life. She was newly widowed after a disastrous marriage to a brutal drifter. He had never asked a woman to do more than help him hitch a mule. They didn't fall in love so much as they simply found each other and held on for dear life.

This is a book that I read a long time ago and that I am now re-reading. I have read a few of Kaye Gibbon's books, my absolute favourite one being Ellen Foster. This book, A Virtuous Woman is at once sad, and inspiring. I highly recommend.

I am hoping...
Tomorrow we will be able to begin taking Mitzie for walks. Finger's Crossed. She is doing a lot better at it in the garden, so we are hoping that once she realizes that walking means a whole new world is opening up to her, she will take to it and be even better still!!

I am hearing...
Clock ticking, keys tapping . . . Mitzie snuffling next to me here on the sofa. I've got the soundtrack to Little Women playing on the stereo. It's all very peaceful and serene.

Around the house...
Ironing, ironing, ironing! It's never-ending! But I don't mind. It is the kind of mindless chore that allows you to do a lot of thinking and daydreaming while you are doing it!

One of my favorite things...
is having people over for a meal and cooking for others. I think I must equate feeding people with loving them!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Not a lot really . . . tis a pretty quiet week! Sometimes that is a very good thing!


Here is picture thought I am sharing...



This is a picture that I took of Mitzie this past Saturday. She is growing like a weed and is looking more and more like a Cocker Spaniel. When I look at this picture of her, I fall in love with her all over again! That sweet cuddly face, that beautiful fur, that incongrously white tail that goes with nothing else, those two white freckles on her back paws, and that lovely little white kissing spot on the top of her head . . . she brings us so much joy and love. Can you tell I am totally smitten???

And just as a closing thought for today . . .

Laughter is the sun that drives the winter from the human face.
~Victor Hugo

There is so much warmth and love in a true smile. I have always thought that a smiling face is a face filled with love and is so very beautiful . . .

And there you have it . . . my day book for this week. 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 my version of that spicy chicken sandwich that you can find at a lot of the fast food places! Easy to do and so very tasty!



*Marie’s Spicy Chicken Filet*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

If you like a bit of spice, then this is for you! Tasty and very easy to make. You’ll never settle for the fast food version again. You can make this healthier by broiling the chicken filets if you wish, rather than frying.

1/3 cup of hot pepper sauce
2/3 cup water
1 cup plain flour
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne pepper (you can use more if you are so inclined!)
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast filets
4 burger buns, or 8 slices of nice bread (I used an oat and barley loaf here)
8 tsp of good quality mayonnaise
4 lettuce leaves
4 thick slices of tomato
Oil for cooking

Combine the pepper sauce and water in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine the flour, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, paprika and garlic powder in a shallow bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Put the chicken filets into a plastic baggie, one at a time, and give them a good bash, without tearing them, until they are about 3/8 of an inch thick.

Working with one piece of chicken at a time, coat them in the flour mixture, then dip them into the pepper sauce mixture and then again in the flour mixture again, making sure they are well coated. Set aside on a plate and repeat until you have all four pieces coated.

Heat about ¼ inch of cooking oil in a large skillet. Once it is hot fry the chicken fillets for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side over medium high heat until they are light brown and crispy. You may need to do this in batches, so keep the ones you have done warm in the oven while you do the rest.

Toast the faces of the hamburger buns under the grill or if you are using bread, in the toaster. Spread about 2 tsp of mayonnaise on one slice of each of the four buns/slices of bread. Place a tomato slice on the mayonnaise and then stack a lettuce leaf on top. Place the cooked, warm chicken filet on top and then place the top half of the bun/bread over top. Serve hot.



In The English Kitchen today, very naughty Malteaser Brownies.