The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, February 21st, 2012...

Outside My Window...
It is cool and the sky is just beginning to turn light. I'm not sure what the day will bring. It is still a surprise . . . just like a gift to be opened!

I am thinking...
These last few weeks have been a bit of a mess emotionally although I have kept it together fairly well. Hopefully I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now. There's always a light at the end of every tunnel. We just have to be patient.

I am thankful for...
Tunnels which teach me lessons and lights at the end of them.

From the kitchen...
Not a lot really, but I do have some bananas that I will need to use up pronto! I see a Banana Loaf of some sort in our future!

I am wearing...
Pink and grey jim jams and my robe and slippers.

I am creating...
I ran out of art paper and so I had to go buy some. Haven't had a chance to create anything since then. I did sell those cookie decals though, so that's good, and who knows . . . it may lead to other work in that direction.

I am going...
I have the daily reading lessons of course, and then Todd and I are going out to lunch with some friends tomorrow. Tomorrow night I have a meeting with my Additional Meeting committee. I have invited them over for a light supper and then the meeting. I still have to decide what I am going to cook. Something tasty for sure. Friday morning I have my hospital appointment. Nothing to worry about, just a check up after all that went on last autumn. I had the blood tests yesterday. You should see the nice BIG bruise she left on my arm. It's enormous and very nasty looking. I've never had that happen before. When I first got home it was like a lump, but it has now spread out.

I am reading...



Say When, by Elizabeth Berg

'He felt his stomach tighten, his heart begin to race. The coffeemaker beeped, signalling its readiness, and Ellen got up and poured two mugs. She set one in front of Griffin, one in front of herself. Griffin watched the steam rise up and curl back on itself, then dissipate. He said quietly, "I'm not going anywhere." "Pardon?" "I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not moving." She nodded. "I see. Well, I can't. I have to be here to take care of Zoe." Griffin pictured his daughter, a redheaded beauty who would knock the stuffing out of any man who crossed her. "All right, you can stay, too," he told Ellen. "Griffin. One of us has to go."

In Say When, Elizabeth Berg negotiates perfectly the fine balance between humour and poignancy as she charts the days and nights of a family whose normal life has been shattered. Told from the point of view of a man who goes overnight from being a husband to becoming his wife's roommate, this is a gripping and heartfelt story. I have only just begun to read it over the past few nights and I am really enjoying it. But then . . . I love everything Elizabeth Berg writes! The language that the husband leaves a bit much to be desired at times . . . which is sort of disappointing, but then I guess she is writing it from a man's perspective and also a worldly one. Just coz I don't swear doesn't mean nobody else does! I just skip over those words.

I am hoping...
That everything goes well on Friday.

I am hearing...
Nothing much. Mitzie is snoring away on the sofa. The keys are tapping. All is quiet outside . . . the birds are waking up so a bit of chirping and the odd car that drives by. A very normal, ordinary, everyday start to the day.

Around the house...

Source: greenwellies.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

I have a particular fondness for blue and white china . . . especially this pattern that I found on Berry Red. I have been able to collect a few bits and pieces. It's a part of the Green Gate Collection, Faye White. I just love it. I have two egg cups and spoons and a couple of the tea towels as well. I also have some of the red and white in the same collection, two big cups, which are just the perfect size for soup and Todd loves his hot chocolate in them.

I don't know why I love blue and white china so much . . . I just do. When I was married before I collected a whole service for 12 of the Blue Willow dishes. They were selling it at the grocery store back home, a different piece each week, at a discount if you spent over a certain amount on groceries. With such a large family, that was never a problem for me. I had 12 plates, 12 bowls, 12 sandwich plates and was beginning to work on the extra bits . . . then we split up . . . and the rest is history.

If I could change one thing it would be...
I really would have loved to have been able to have a family with Todd. Sometimes I sit at church and I see all the happy families and think that could have been mine if I had made better choices in my younger years. I didn't though, for whatever reasons and my life is what it is, and I am happy with it. It would have been nice to have a family together though . . . that is something we missed out on.

I am looking forward to ...
Spring, spring, spring!!! Who isn't??? Tis that time of year when we all get a bit weary of winter isn't it? We can't really complain though . . . winter hasn't been all that bad this year, at least not where I live at any rate!!

One of my favourite things...
Is writing this day book each week. I just adore doing it. It's so nice to focus my thoughts in this way. I wish I could do it every day, but then again . . . it probably wouldn't be as special then would it? Oh, another thing I love is Historical Dramas. Have any of you started watching the New Upstairs Downstairs, series 2? It started on Sunday evening on the BBC and it's a cracker!!

A few plans for the rest of the week...
A bit of work . . . a bit of play . . . and everything in between!! Not a heck of a lot really.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Source: greenlikebathwater.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attritube of the strong.
~Mahatma Gandhi

Sometimes it's really difficult to forgive people we think have done us wrong. The Saviour told us that we must forgive and not just forgive, but forgive 70 times 70, which means an awful lot! Not always easy to do, but we must . . . one thing that I have learned in my life is that holding onto ill feelings and bearing grudges does not hurt anyone but myself. It steals my own light . . . forgiveness helps us to more forward and brings the light back into our lives. It really is the bestest and strongest way to live.

As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:

"By your thoughts you are daily, even hourly, building your life; you are carving your destiny."
~Ruth Barrick Golden

I just love this . . . it is so true.

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!

One of the things I always loved ordering in a restaurant back home was the club sandwich. We used to go to a diner in Houlton, Maine called the Elm Tree Diner and they had fab food. I loved their club sandwiches and they always came with a lovely side order of delicious coleslaw. I don't think I could eat a whole club sandwich nowadays. It's funny how your appetite changes through the years. This delicious salad is a way of enjoying all the flavours of a club sandwich, except in smaller quantities! I love this.

*Turkey Club Salad*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

Your favourite sandwich flavours in a salad! Beautifully tasty!

For the Salad:
2 cups uncooked radiatore pasta
6 slices streaky bacon
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 1/2 cups of cubed turkey breast meat
1/2 cup of cubed Monterey Jack cheese
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

For the Dressing:
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 TBS milk
2 TBS white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a glass jar. Screw on the lid and give them a good old shake to combine. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you are making the salad.

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain. Rinse with cold water to cool, then drain again. While the pasta is cooking fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Crumble into bits.

Combine the cooked and drained pasta in a large bowl along with the bacon and all of the remaining salad ingredients. Just before serving, pour the dressing over top and gently toss to coat. Serve immediately.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today in honor of Pancake Day, some delicious Honey and Raspberry Pancakes!

PSSTT!! The Sun is up now and SHINING! Looks like a fine day!