The Simple Woman's Day book

FOR TODAY, November 23rd, 2010...

Outside My Window...
It is dark and very, very cold. I noticed when I put Mitzie out for her morning abolutions that some more snow had fallen through the night. Not a lot, mind, but some.

I am thinking...
I am going to the Doctor this morning at 9. The pain in my right knee is becoming quite debilitating. Surely to goodness they can do something for it. It is crippling. Todd and I went in to town yesterday and the whole visit was coloured with the pain. I am literally hobbling. I can't walk very fast and by the time we had walked through town to Wilkensons it was all I could do to hobble back to where the bus station was. I could not face the pain of having to hobble anywhere else. It hurts to just lift my leg a few inches off the ground. It is excruciating if my leg gets jarred in the least. I lay in bed at night and I am in pain the whole time. My sleep is sporadic and interrupted because of the pain.

I am thankful for...
I am pretty thankful that it is not both knees!

From the kitchen...
There's some cake and nut brittle! Yummo!

I am wearing...
My pale blue nightie with the pink rosebuds pattern, very pretty and feminine. Also my blue robe and slippers. Comfy and warm!

I am creating...
I have all sorts on the drawing board at the moment. I'm working very hard on a big, but still very hush hush project. Only a few weeks to reveal time! I can't wait!

I am going...
We're invited out for dinner on Thursday evening and then on Friday evening we have our Ward Relief Society Christmas Dinner. Saturday morning is the Relief Society Breakfast and then a morning of crafts and devotionals. I am really looking forward to it all. For the past seven years I could only very rarely attend any of the Relief Society activities because I always seemed to be working when they were being held! It is such a blessing to be able to go to them now!

I am reading...



Spoken From The Heart by Laura Bush

In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of the world's most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story.

Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For the first time, in heart-wrenching detail, she writes about the devastating high school car accident that left her friend Mike Douglas dead and about her decades of unspoken grief. When she left West Texas in 1964,she never dreamed she would end up in the White House.

With deft humor and a sharp eye, Laura Bush lifts the curtain on what really happens inside the White House, from presidential finances to the 175-year-old tradition of separate bedrooms for presidents and their wives to the antics of some White House guests and even a few members of Congress. She writes with honesty and eloquence about her family, her public triumphs, and her personal tribulations. Laura Bush's compassion, her sense of humor, her grace, and her uncommon willingness to bare her heart make this story revelatory, beautifully rendered, and unlike any other first lady's memoir ever written. A very engaging read!


I am hoping...
That they can sort this knee out and that the hearts of my errant children soften . . . my heart is still breaking over recent events . . . to be told that the stepmother is more of a mother than you are is almost more than I can bear. What happened to all the years I spent raising them . . . counts for nothing now apparently.

I am hearing...
Early morning sounds . . . clocks ticking, early morning cars, the honk of a taxi picking up one of the neighbours, and Mitzie snozzling next to me. Oh how I love that sound. So sweet. I can also hear the floor upstairs creaking, which means Todd is getting up!

Around the house...
I still have a ton of ironing to do! It it like I have a magical ironing basket that, no sooner do I empty it, but it fills up again with more ironing!!! Now, if only I had a magical money basket that did the same thing!!

One of my favorite things...
is reading my Scriptures. I always learn something new and I find great comfort on it's pages.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
I am working hard to finish my secret project as the deadline for finishing it is looming in just a few weeks now, so I'll be spending most of my time on that, plus of course the Relief Society fun and the dinner on Thursday evening!


Here is picture thought I am sharing...



I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, aren't you? I just love this group of white on white Christmas decorations that I found. I can't think of any more magical combination for Christmas Decorating. There is a new White Company Store in Chester city now. Their Christmas window is utterly magical. Oh how I wish I had the money to go inside and splurge! (Don't we all!!) Nevermind . . . one can but dream! If you never have a dream . . . you can never have a dream come true!

And just as a closing thought for today . . .

Angels are visible to those who accept the light and break the pact made with darkness.
~Paulo Coelho, TheDevil and Miss Prim

A thought to inspire for today.

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 a recipe for a cake that we just love, Chocolate Chip Cake. I got the recipe many years ago from a good friend of mine, Leona. My goodness but she was a great cook. I learned a lot from her. I never make one of her shared recipes but what I don't think of the good times and happy moments we shared together. We used to be great Bingo Partners as well! We met at a Bingo Game for Service Wives the night before my middle son was born and he just turned 29, so we have known each other a long, long time! She is a golden friend.



*Chocolate Chip Cake*
Makes one 8 inch square cake
Printable Recipe

This is a tasty and moist white cake, stogged full of delicious chocolate chips. If you are feeling really indulgent you can replace the chocolate chips with the same amount of good quality milk chocolate cut into small bits. The icing calls for raw egg yolks, so if you are making this cake for the elderly or the very young, I would replace it with a plain vanilla butter cream icing.

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
3 egg whites beaten stiff with 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 ounces milk chocolate chips (or an equivalent amount of good quality milk chocolate, such as Green and Black’s, chopped into small bits)

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease an 8 inch square pan and then line it with parchment paper. Grease again. Set it aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add them to the creamed mixture, alternately with milk, beginning with dry and ending with wet. Carefully fold in egg whites. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and then bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the centre springs back when lightly touched, or a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake it.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

*Icing*
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup icing sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla

Cream the butter until light. Beat in the remaining ingredients, beating until light and fluffy. Spread on top of the cooled cake.



In The English Kitchen today, delicious Cashew Nut Brittle!