The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, July 31st, 2012...

Outside My Window...
The sky is overcast and there is drizzle . . . one must always take the bad with the good. We have had a nice run of sun . . . so a bit of rain cannot be turned away. We would soon be complaining had we none!

I am thinking...
I think I could turn and live with animals.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition
Not one is dissatisfied.
~Walt Whitman

Whoever has watched a bird in the spring building a nest, twig by tiny twig must surely be humbled by the sight of their endeavors. They search through what they find, picking only the best for the nest, and discarding any they deem to be of no use, refusing to hang on to that which is too big, or too weak to be of good. How much more could we be like the birds. We need to let go of those things that are of no good to us . . . those things that are too big, or too weak to sustain us and help us to build our nests.


I am thankful for...
The tender mercies of the Lord. I struggle with a few things in life. None of us is perfect. I am ever grateful that when I stumble He is there to help pick me up again . . .

From the kitchen...
I have several nice bottles of freshly made Plum Chutney ripening. It is going to be so delicious when I crack it open in a few months time . . . when the autumn leaves are falling and summer is just the whisp of a memory . . .

I am wearing...
Light blue M&S cotton nightie, printed with small forget-me-not sprigs, and decorated with lace and light blue ribbon. Tis very pretty. I do so love pretty things . . .

I am creating...
I have a few irons in the fire.

Source: redheart.com via Marie on Pinterest

About half done. It's looking really nice. My friend from OZ, Suzan, has finished hers and it's just beautiful. My fingers are itching to get this one done now!

Source: asouthernfairytale.com via Jamielyn on Pinterest

I am also working very hard to get my stuff ready for our "Christmas In July" activity for RS this month, which is actually going to be a Christmas in August activity. We're having it this Thursday.

Source: thedecoratedcookieblog.com via Ashlee on Pinterest

My offering will be edible gifts you can make for your friends and family . . . like Gifts in a jar . . . Gifts in a Mug . . .

Source: fromchapelhilltochickenville.blogspot.com via Katy on Pinterest

I am also really liking these hot cocoa cones . . . and I am completely enraptured with . . .

Source: lisastorms.typepad.com via Debbie on Pinterest

These!!! Are they not the most adorable things you have ever seen???
It's going to be such a fun night. We have a whole lot of workshops set up . . . creative gift wrapping, crafts to make, etc. I hope that the sisters enjoy what we have to show them, and that we have a great turnout!

I am going...
I am not going much of anywhere this week. I have a lesson to prepare for our Relief Society meeting on Sunday morning. It is to be based on Chapter 10 of the RS Society book, Daughters in My Kingdom, and is called, "Live Up to Your Privilege." So far nothing is coming to me. I sure hope that something comes into my brain soon . . .

I am reading...

Source: google.co.uk via Marie on Pinterest

Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth
I really enjoyed the series by the BBC and thought I would like to read the book. Books are always a lot more detailed than films or television shows. I am really enjoying this book. It's fabulous and I am glad that I picked it up to read. It details the life of a young midwife in London's East End in the 1950's and is a real peek into the way of life which existed there during that time period . . . the hardship, the poverty, the sadness, the joy, etc. I highly recommend.

Still reading this.

Source: goodreads.com via Diane on Pinterest

Peony In Love, by Lisa See
I love Lisa See novels. I am very interested in Oriental culture.

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, these lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage. Though raised to be obedient, Peony has dreams of her own.

I'm also reading this:


The Pact by Jodi Picault
For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other. Parents and children alike are best friends - until Emily Gold is found dead with a bullet wound to the head, and police immediately suspect her boyfriend and life long best friend, Chris Harte, of murder. The police doubt Chris’s story of their suicide pact.

With this riveting psychological drama, Jodi Picoult explores the dynamics of intimate relationships under stress -- from the seemingly inexplicable mind of a teenager to the bonds of friendship and marriage. Her books are real page-turners, and she has a way of presenting all sides fairly which always gives food for thought and discussion.

All are on my Kindle. It's so much easier to manage in bed than a book, and a lot easier on my wrists.

I am hoping...
I am hoping that we have a really good turnout on Thursday evening. We put so much work into these activities and it's really nice when the sisters come out in support of all of our efforts!

I am hearing...
Nothing new really. The keys are tapping. The birds are singing. The odd car drives by. The clock is ticking. Mitzie and I just had a cuddle on the sofa. She likes her morning cuddle. I do too. No surprise there! There is the added sound of wet streets as cars pass over it . . . not a bad sound really, and the smell of wet pavement.

Around the house...

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Marie on Pinterest

I have fallen in love with this "Family Tree" I am racking my brain trying to think of ways it would work in my house. I have textured wallpaper in my lounge and I don't really want to replace it . . . I really dislike textured wall paper. I wonder if I could convince Todd to just remove one wall of it and put up some plain paper in it's place . . . then I could very easily paint a tree like this and hang our family pictures on it's branches. I'll test the waters . . . I'll let you know how I get on!

One of my favourite things . . .

Source: weheartit.com via Bonkers on Pinterest

I am totally bonkers about buttons!! I love them. I could sit and run my fingers through them for hours like a pirate runs his fingers through his chest of silver . . . to me they are like little tiny treasures . . . and I can never have enough of them. I hate sharing them too, which is very naughty of me. I keep them in a heart shaped box that I painted up years and years ago . . . and every one in a while, I have a play with them. I find it oddly comforting . . . It must be the child in me. When I was a girl I used to love to run my fingers through my mother's button tin and there were some inside that I truly coveted . . . another sin.

Something new about me ...
I am a very emotional person. I cry at sad movies . . . I cry at national observances and ceremonies . . . I cry with joy . . . and I cry when someone I love is hurt . . . emotion is always waiting to overcome me. I wouldn't have me any other way.

One of my guilty pleasures ...
Hotel Chocolate Truffles . . . thankfully I don't indulge myself very often, but when I do watch out! I almost can't stop myself!

Pet Peeves...
That little piece of sticky tape that they put at the end of a brand new roll of aluminium foil. You always ruin about an inch or sometimes more of the foil in the package trying to take it off . . . and then there is that strip that always gets cut out when you go to tear a piece off . . . it lies in the channel between the edge of the box and the cutting edge, only about half an inch in width but the whole length of the box. I wager that by the time you have finished the roll, at least 12 inches of it will have been discarded as useless . . .
It annoys me to no end.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Source: karolinesworld.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

Birds learn how to fly . . .
never knowing where flight will take them . . .
~Mark Nepo

Some of our greatest joys and pleasures in life and our successes only come about after we have taken the risk and put ourselves out there. Fear prevents us from "becoming" that which we could and should be.

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

“The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments.”
~President Dieter F Uchtdorf

Source: umla.tumblr.com via Ann on Pinterest

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!)



Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Nigel's Hot and Sweet Plum Chutney!

Happy Day all!!