The Simple Woman's Day book

FOR TODAY, March 15th, 2011...

Outside My Window...
It's clear and cold. The ground is covered with a light frost, but the birds are singing and it promises to be a dry day! Hooray for dry days! I am going to start trying to go for walks each day now. I am hoping I'll be able to with no problems.

I am thinking...
About the poor people of Japan and how awful things are for that country right now. The pictures on the television are so upsetting and devastating. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for them. A member of our church Ward is there right now. He had flown over to visit his sister who was very ill. Apparently he was due to be landing just as the earthquake hit. His family has only just heard from him after days of fretting and worrying. Apparently he spent two nights on the airplane. The mind boggles.

I am thankful for...
Living where I do right at the moment. The UK may have it's problems, but they are nothing compared to 99% of the world!

From the kitchen...
There is a custard Tart that I made for Todd and a chocolate cake, but other than that not a lot. That's probably a very good thing!!

I am wearing...
A blue nightie and my robe. Oh, any my slippers. Pink, with little hearts all over them.

I am creating...
Still working on new designs. I was so pleased to see the finished ones last week. (You can see the HERE.) They are available for purchase world wide as well, which is nice to know. They won't be on the shopping channel today though, I guess they will be on sometime in May and I was told yesterday that they are going to be highlighted in several craft magazines in the summer, which is great! I was told yesterday by the head of the company that everyone loves them. That they are quirky and different. That made me feel very good.

I am going...
We were supposed to go to the Temple today but have decided not to go because we are going to have to go again at the end of the month for a Primary Activity. When the temple is more than 2 hours away and petrol is costing 133.9 pence a litre and you are on a fixed income you need to think about things like this. Two temple trips in a month are more petrol than we can afford at the moment.

I am reading...




Toujours Provence, by Peter Mayle

A second enjoyable helping of rural life in France from the author of A Year In Provence. Skulking through customs with a suitcase full of truffles, toads singing the Marseillaise, taking pastis lessons and finding gold at the bottom of the garden . . . you might think there is little time left for pleasures of the table. Toujours Provence proves that while you might not be able to get away from it all, you can have fun trying. I am almost finished this book now. I have really enjoyed it so far and would probably say that it's the best book I have read so far this year! (I know! It's only March!)

I am hoping...
That the world steps up and gives Japan as much help as they can and that they are able to get things as close to back to normal as they can for the people of Japan as soon as possible.

I am hearing...
Early morning sounds . . . the house cracking and snapping as it comes alive. Clocks ticking. Walls creaking . . . cars passing by the front of the house . . . the honk of the taxi's horn. The world coming alive. Birds are singing. We were really pleased to see that Todd's four goldfish made it through the winter unscathed! We were thinking that they might have expired, it was so cold. We also have frog spawn in the pond, which means once they hatch we will be able to hear froggie noises! Sweet!

Around the house...
Not a lot to do really. Two people don't really create much of a mess, although there is a HUGE basket of ironing to do and a huge basket of washing to put in. Nobody has invented self washing, drying, ironing and putting away clothes yet! Pity that!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Not a lot really. I have a Sunday School lesson to prepare for Sunday as well as a Sharing Time. I am not too happy when I end up having to do two big things like that for a Sunday morning but I'll cope somehow! The only thing worse could be being called up on Saturday and asked to give a talk as well! Perish the thought!


Here is picture thought I am sharing...



Spring has spring, the grass has riz!!

"Come gentle Spring! Ethereal Mildness! Come!"~James Thomson


And just as a closing thought for today . . .

"Our strength will continue if we allow ourselves the courage to feel scared, weak and vulnerable."
~Melody Beattie

A prayer for the ages. We are all frail from time to time. We all make mistakes and fall prey to a thousand emotions and exaggerations. This does not mean we are weak, especially if we face our failings squarely in truth and use them to empower us and learn from them.

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!

I have not made this recipe shown here today, but it is on my list of "To Make Soon" recipes! I found it on Pillsbury.com and the picture is from Pillsbury as well. I am putting it here so that I don't lose it. When I do make it, I will use fresh strawberries and real whipped cream, not the frozen whipped topping. We can't get that over here anyways. I shall just substitute an equal amount of real whipped cream and fresh berries for the frozen ingredients shown.



*Strawberry Pretzel Pie*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

A sweet and salty combination that apparently won the most votes at the Tennessee State Fair in 2010. No wonder! It's like your favourite dessert . . . in a pie! Plan ahead as it needs to be made one day ahead of serving.

1 single crust 9 1/2 inch deep pie crust, unbaked
1 egg white
1 cup of crushed pretzels
1/4 cup sugar
6 TBS butter, melted
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
12 ounces of frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 bag of frozen unsweetened strawberries, partially thawed, sliced
1 cup boiling water
1 (8 serving size) box of stawberry flavoured gelaten

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*C/ gas mark 8. Prick the bottoms and sides of the pie crust with a fork. Place the pie tin on a baking sheet.

Combine the crushed pretzels, 1/4 cup of sugar and the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the pie crust. Bake in the heated overn for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Cool completely.

Stir together the cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups of sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread on the cooled crust, reserving 2 cups of filling to decorate the pie. (Cover and place this mixture in the fridge.) Place a flat layer of strawberry slices on top of the filling. Mix the boiling water and the gelatin. Stir to dissolve the gelatin. Add enough ice cubes to make about 1 2/3 cups of gelatin. Stir to dissolve the ice. Place in the fridge to thicken slightly and then pour this over top of the strawberries. Chill the pie for 8 hours, or overnight. Decorate the outside edge of the pie with the remaining 2 cups of the reserved cream cheese mixture. Serve, cut into wedges.



In The English Kitchen today, delicious Bacon Gruyere Bread! (This I did make and we had it last night for supper with some soup! It was soooo good!)