FOR TODAY, March 5th, 2013...
Outside My Window...
It's already light out, proof positive the days are getting longer. Spring is just around the corner.
I am thinking...
"For I know the plans for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future."
~ Jeremiah 29: 11
It was three years ago this month that I lost my job down South and we were left without a home and no employment. It was also three years ago that we lost our Jess. What a difficult time that was, but this morning I am filled with gratitude for what we went through and the promises of the Lord which ring true to those who are faithful to their covenants and who are able to trust in Him for all things and in all ways. It was a very frightening and uncertain time for us and we only had our faith in Him and His promises to us to cling to. I can say today without a doubt that the Lord is NOT slack concerning His promises and there is always a plan, and light at the end of every tunnel. All you have to do is to put your hand in His and move forward in faith.
I am thankful for...
From the kitchen...
There is a bakewell tart sitting on the table that I baked for Todd yesterday. I do hope I am able to resist.
I am wearing...
Blue fleece nightie with white polka dots and my robe and slippers. Nothing changes does it?? I am grateful for the luxury of being able to do so!
I am creating...
Two weeks in a row with nothing to show you. Oh my! I am being slack. I really wanted to get into my craft room yesterday but the Toddster went into town and I don't like to leave the dog down here all alone when I am upstairs and so I baked instead. But I can show you this . . .
I won a Giveaway over on Gingermelon and this was the prize! It's a pin cushion. I have the pattern for it to make my own, but it was such a joy to win this one. I just love it. Shelly is such a talented seamstress.
The stitching on it is so tiny and so immaculate. I am in awe of her talents. I actually have a lot of her patterns from her Etsy Shop. I did make one of them a few weeks back. Do you remember . . .
This little dear??? This was one of Shelly's patterns.
I just think she is a very talented crafts-person. Do go and check out her page!
I just adore these little birdhouses. I think they are so sweet. They look like they would be very easy to make too.
I also just love these vintage looking bookmarks which you can make with bits of old jewelry and velvet ribbons and such. I have a little cloth bag just filled with little bits of jewelry like this that my ex sister in law gave me years and years ago. I've hung onto them waiting for a reason to use them. This just may be it!
Are these felt owls not just the cutest things???? I know!! I just have to make myself one of those!
I am going...
We are meeting friends for a late lunch/early supper this afternoon. I am really looking forward to it. We haven't seen them in a while. Then I have my Presidency meeting for RS tomorrow night, and we are planning a RS Breakfast for Saturday morning which should be fun. Other than that my days are empty. I do want to try to get to have my hair cut. I have filled out my loyalty card and this hair cut should be a free one. I haven't had it done since before Christmas! I really need it cut. I had hoped to be in Canada well before now and so didn't make my next appointment. As you can see I am still waiting. Mom should be going to Halifax today to see her surgeon, so keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and she is able to make it. It's the only way we will be able to move forward.
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.
Nothing has changed here!
I am hoping . . .
I am really hoping for a miracle as far as my mom is concerned, So are we all. I think it's pretty amazing that three months after diagnosis she still is not exhibiting any symptoms of Lung Cancer. It is a pretty long time to wait for treatment though . . . I am not really happy about that.
I am hearing...
Ordinary morning sounds. My play list, Mitzie snoring . . . the clock ticking. My fingers clicking on the keys. The odd car driving by. Nothing changes . . .
Around the house...
I have always dreamed of having a little cottage somewhere out in the countryside that I could fill with little treasures. When we lived down South we sort of had that dream, except that the cottage wasn't ours and most of what was in it wasn't ours either! We also only had partial use of it. Once again we live in a house that is not ours, but we try to make it a home . . . and these are my cottage dreams . . . maybe one day I can do these things . . .
I really love this idea of painting stair risers to look like books. I don't think I would do them in these colours, or choose these exact books, but I do love this idea. I think I would choose more of the romantic classics instead . . . and softer colours . . .
I have always wanted to have a mouse-hole in my house, sans the mouse of course! I think it would be so charming and lovely and whimsical. Of course my mouse-hole would be a bit more shabby chic!
I just love this little Garden Shed/Wendy House. It reminds me of the one we saw at Churchill's residence Chartwell when we visited it once upon a time. He had built it for his children I believe. If I had a Wendy house like this I would spend all of my time in it. I would have loved something like this to play in when I was a child and as an adult I still dream of it . . .
If I had my way my whole REAL house would be a Wendy House!
I love Barbie. It is a love affair which started when I was about five years old and it is a love affair that has never ended. I wish that I could afford to collect them, but alas . . . I cannot. But I do have a Barbie Board on Pinterest and I collect them there and look at them from time to time. Some people love Barbie so much that they go out of their way to try to look LIKE her. I am not that much of a fanatic . . . I do not need to look LIKE her . . . I just like to look AT her, and maybe play with her a bit. Yes, I know . . . I am 57 years old, but you will never be able to squelch the child in me! I hope I go into the ground with that part of me still intact!
Something new about me ...
I love old black and white films and sitcoms. The older the better. I could watch them for hours. I just love the simplicity of them and that there is not a whole lot of violence, swearing and sex in them. Even if it was implied . . . you didn't have to see it.
One of my guilty pleasures ...
I really love Cheetos . . . so much so that this Broccoli dish garnished with Cheetos actually looks rather tasty to me! We cannot get Cheetos over here in the UK . . . we can get Cheesies, which are not the same thing as Cheetos. Cheetos are more corny and a lot crisper and a lot cheesier. Yes, I know it is not real cheese . . . I just love them and I love licking my fingers after having eaten them too . . . getting all of the cheese tastiness out of them that I can! I know it is artificial cheese, but it is artificial cheese I like to eat. Bad me.
Pet Peeves...
People who think they know everything about you and yet who know absolutely nothing at all. They only think they know all about you. They make assumptions based on what they think they see. There is an old quote by Edgar Allen Poe which says, "You should believe only half of what you see and nothing of that hear." Don't judge me without walking a mile in my shoes.Here is picture thought I am sharing...
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
~Hebrews 12:1
Nobody said life would be easy. Life is hard, but it can be a lot easier when you walk through it with your hand in the Lord's hand. I know that it may sound like empty words, and you may say to me . . . that's easy for you to say, but trust me. It isn't easy for me to say. I can say it only because I know what it is like to try to walk this path without my hand in the Lord's hand . . . and I know the difference that you can feel in your life when you totally put your trust in Him. It is not a lie or a fairy tale. It is real and it is true. Life will never be easy. It is not meant to be . . . but there is one who would share your load and make it a lot easier to bear.
As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:
"When you judge someone, you don't define them, you define yourself."
~Dr Wayne Dyer
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!
Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . Lemon Stuffed Croissants! Oh my . . . oh my . . .
Have a simply wonderful Tuesday!
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