FOR TODAY, February 26th, 2013...
Outside My Window...
It's dark, quiet and cold. Typical early February morning. Roll on Spring!
I am thinking...
If we bestow a gift or favor and expect a return for it, it is not a gift but a trade.
~author unknown
As I lay in bed last night waiting to go to sleep I was thinking about my ex boss and how she once looked me straight in the eye and said, "Anyone who knows me should know I never give anything to anyone without expecting something in return." I don't know why I was thinking about that, but I was. I have been reading "To The Rescue," an autobiography of Thomas S Monson. He is our Prophet and his whole life has been centered around what he could do for others, and what a fascinating and wonderful life he has lived. Two completely diametrically opposites . . . one whose life is about service to others and one whose life is about being served BY others. I know who I would rather be like.
I am thankful for...
From the kitchen...
There is just a scrap left of the Coffee Crunch Cake. Time to bake another cake methinks! I wonder what it will be this time . . . or maybe cookies. I don't know!
I am wearing...
My long sleeved pink M and S nightie, robe and slippers. Nothing changes does it? Different colour, same garb, every morning. ☺
I am creating...
Unbelievably there is nothing new on my art table at the moment. Yesterday I worked on a poster for a RS over in America for their anniversary celebrations in March. A gift from me to them. Now that is finished, I am going to go back to my own work.
I found these small stones which had been painted like Strawberries a couple of days ago. I so want to do this! I am on the hunt for small stones. I think they're just brilliant and can imagine them as a pretty summertime table centre piece gathered in a pretty bowl.
Loving these little crochet butterflies. They remind me of the pink crepe paper butterflies which held our bedroom curtains back when I was a girl.
These felt envelopes would be a great gift for the grands. I can just imagine them playing post office with them! I had such fun watching them with their kitchen goodies at Christmas on the i-pad. My oldest son's boys have their own play kitchen. I bet they would like a play Post Office too . . . hmmm . . .
Love these quilted tea cups and saucers. I bet a quilted tea set would be really lovely and something a pretty little granddaughter would love to play with and it wouldn't break. I still treasure the doll blanket my own grandmother made for me when I was only small.
Have you ever seen such a cute doorstop in your life??? JUST ADORABLE!
I am going...
We are meeting friends at a pub for lunch tomorrow and I am looking forward to that. Lunch always tastes better when someone else cooks it. The missionaries are bringing someone over tonight to teach in our home. He has been before, so that will be nice. Other than that we have a pretty free schedule this week. I do have to get in my last bits of Visit Teaching however . . .
In The Company of Angels, by David Farland. I am totally in love with this book.
This is a novel based on the true life story of the Willie Handcart expedition of 1856. This was a group of Mormon Pioneers, having gone to American from the British Isles and a few other European Countries, who then make their way across America pulling handcarts to Zion in Utah. They encountered many obstacles along the way and all suffered, and many of them perished. It is a moving story, told through the eyes of three historical characters: James Willie, the handcart company’s captain, Eliza Gadd, the agnostic wife of a faithful British convert and a mother with several children, and Baline Mortensen, a Danish child, sent ahead to America by parents who feared persecutors in Denmark might target her. I am reading it on my Kindle and Todd is reading a copy he got from our library. We are BOTH enjoying it very much. He's a brilliant writer!
Lucky Man, by Michael J Fox
A funny, highly personal, gorgeously written account of what it's like to be a 30-year-old man who is told he has an 80-year-old's disease.
"Life is great. Sometimes, though, you just have to put up with a little more crap." --Michael J. Fox
In September 1998, Michael J. Fox stunned the world by announcing he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease -- a degenerative neurological condition. In fact, he had been secretly fighting it for seven years. The worldwide response was staggering. Fortunately, he had accepted the diagnosis and by the time the public started grieving for him, he had stopped grieving for himself. Now, with the same passion, humor, and energy that Fox has invested in his dozens of performances over the last 18 years, he tells the story of his life, his career, and his campaign to find a cure for Parkinson's.
I am a great fan of autobiographies, which is why I am also reading this . . .
Source: deseretbook.com via Marie on Pinterest
To The Rescue, by Heidi S Swinton
The Autobiography of Thomas S. Monson. I have only just begun this book, but it is compelling reading. It's a slow slog for me though because this is not on my kindle and it's a really large book and I have a hard time holding it with my arthritic wrists. He is such a fascinating man, truly. He is the Prophet and President of our church. Called as a Bishop at the age of 22 and as an Apostle at age 36, this is a man who has spent his entire life serving and leading others, sometimes flying halfway around the world just to give a blessing to one individual. I think all of the Presidents of our church have been fascinating men. I love reading about their lives.
I am hoping . . .
I am hoping that the weather holds out so that my mother can go to her appointment with her Thoracic Surgeon on Friday. I cannot believe it is taking so long for someone with lung cancer to get treatment. I am greatly disturbed by this.
I am hearing...
Ordinary morning sounds. My play list, Mitzie snoring . . . the clock ticking. My fingers clicking on the keys. Nothing changes . . .
Around the house...
I really love the rustic look of this dining set. We have a very old Oak table, which I love and our chairs are Oak as well, all of them and the table having been found in second hand shops. We found the table first and then a few years later we found the chairs. The table and chairs we had before them were ones that we had rescued from someone who was dumping them at the tip, so we have come up in the world!
I love the old fashioned look of this room. It reminds me of the bedroom I had when I first left home to go to work when I was 18. I boarded with an old woman who rented rooms in a big old Victorian House at the top of a hill in Kentville, Nove Scotia. It was a lovely home and she was a lovely woman. I was a shy little bird and spent a lot of time in that room when I wasn't at work.
Isn't this a totally unique idea??? An old dresser, painted and then used as a really interesting planter! I suppose you could pair it with this . . .
I've always kind of fancied a "flower bed!"
Kittens, especially orange kittens. When I first moved over here Todd had two cats. One of them got hit by a car one day and so we had only one, but they weren't really my cats, and had no allegiance whatsoever for me. Then we got a little orange kitten. We called him "Dandy" which was short for Dent-de-lion, or dandelion, coz he was a little dandy lion. I loved him so much, but we ended up having to give both of our cats away as our elderly neighbor complained that they were always getting into her garden to the council. I have always had a certain fondness for orange cats, but for some reason I have never been able to keep one for very long.
Something new about me ...
I have bunions. (I know such a fascinating fact!) I have had them since I was a girl. I was given spacers to put in between my toes when I was 11 but I hated wearing them. What 11 year old wants to wear toe spacers! When I was in my early twenties I was told I would need them operated on, but I was pregnant for my youngest daughter at the time and so it just never got done.
One of my guilty pleasures ...
I really love Jo Malone perfumes. I fell in love with it when I worked down South and was given a bottle one year for Christmas. I have about 4 different bottles of it now that I alternate, my favourites being the Blue Agava and the Pomegranate Noir ones. I just noticed this morning there is a new scent . . . Ginger Biscuit Tea . . . and I am keen to smell it. I love gingerbread anything . . .
Pet Peeves...
Japanese Lanterns. They are dangerous and harmful to the environment. What goes up always comes down and more often than not they fall to the earth in a blazing mass and have been known to set trees, grass and barns alight. Animals have died after having ingested the wire remains. I think they should be banned.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
“Words are nothing but words; power lies in deeds. Be a person of action."
~Mali Oriot Mamadu Konyate
I have always believed that you don't truly begin to live your life until you learn to give it away. We must be the Saviour's hands here on earth . . . doing whatever we can, whenever we can and wherever we can to make a difference.
As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:
"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams if you don't follow through."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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 . . . Kitchen Sink Pasta! A little bit of this and a little bit of that! Delicious!
Hope you have a fabulous Tuesday!
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