The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, February 14th, 2012...

Outside My Window...
It is cool and the sky is just beginning to turn light. They say it will be clear, but cool today. Perfect for Valentines Day. I would not want it to be raining. All the world seems a better place when the sun shines don't you think?

I am thinking...
How did I get so lucky??? I have a lovely comfortable home. A husband who loves the socks off me. A beautiful pup who does likewise. The Gospel in my life. Enough to eat, warm clothes to wear and to keep me dry. More friends than I can shake a stick at. I want for nothing. I have my relative health. I have lovely children . . . beautiful grandchildren. What more could anybody want?? Not much , I dare say! Life is good and I am happy.

I am thankful for...
A Heavenly Father who KNOWS and who LOVES ME! As Angie would say . . . warts-n-arl.

From the kitchen...
All is in preparation for tonight's festive celebratory Valentines Dinner. An intimate Dinner a Deux. Thai Fish Cakes served on a bed of salad with a Thai Dressing to begin. (We love Thai Fish Cakes.) For the main, Seared Steaks with a Cognac and Pepper Sauce. (Man food) On the side, a mixture of freshly prepared vegetables and some boulangere potatoes. (My man is a meat and potatoes kind of a guy.) and for afters . . . well, you'll just have to take a peek at The English Kitchen to find out! You WON'T be disappointed! (Or course you could just scroll down to the bottom of this page to see the photo. Duh!)

I am wearing...
Turquoise nightie, black and white jim jam bottoms, slippers and my robe. Layering for warmth.

I am creating...
Oh, I have been very busy! First there are the two samples I have done for the cookie decals.


She wanted something symbolic of Enid Blyton's The Faraway Magic Tree, and so I did Silky and then a lovely toadstool with a fairy slipper . . .


I have not heard back from the lady to show her though, so I don't know. In any case I had fun doing them.

Then yesterday I was so inspired by my Daughter In Law's comments that I did these . . .



Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.



Twinkle Twinkle Little Moon.

I'll be winging some copies over to my Grandsons, pronto! I hope that they like them. I think I will be putting them into my Etsy Shop as well, to be sold as a pair. What do you think?? I may do a set of girls' as well. We shall see.

I am going...
I have the daily reading lessons of course, and then Todd and I are going out to teach with the missionaries tomorrow afternoon. Thursday there is a pot luck luncheon at a friends and that is basically all the plans for this week thus far. Oh, I forgot. There is a Stake Relief Society Day on Saturday and also my RS Presidency Meetings tomorrow night. Whew! It's a good thing I remembered!

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 Todd loves the card I made him for Valentines Day. I do love my sweetie pie.

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: lovely-little-things.blogspot.com via Marie on Pinterest

I just love this wall decal . . . and this bed. The bed is beautiful and I love the words on the decal . . . what woman did not dream of being a princess when she was a little girl. Really it is two single beds pushed together, which is how they do things on the continent, especially in Germany and Austria. I love that. You each get your own bed, but you are still close enough together to canoodle if you want. Nobody can steal your covers during the night, but you can just reach out and touch the other's arm if you wish. I don't know how Todd would like this idea though . . . I mean the princess words and the green beds . . . I did order some new pillow cases the other day . . .

Source: achica.com via Marie on Pinterest

Aren't they pretty!!! They have white organza ruffles on the edges and white daisy embroidery trim. I do so love pretty things . . .

If I could change one thing it would be...
That my ex husband's wife's heart would soften and I would be able to be with my daughter on the morning of her wedding in July. I would love to be able to help her put on her dress and share some tender thoughts with her. It is really breaking my heart that she has banned me from doing so . . . I don't understand it. Would she not want to be with her daughter in the same situation?? Her daughter got married several years ago and I am sure it was a very special time for them on the morning. I was not able to get home to my other daughter's wedding at all, and I really can't afford to be going this time, but after having missed our Amanda's wedding I decided that I could not afford to miss any more weddings . . . and so we are going no matter how much it costs . . . I just wish things were a bit different. I am looking foward to my baby girl finally being able to marry her one true love . . . but I am not looking forward to the rest of it and being made to feel like an interloper . . . that part I could very easily give up.

I am looking forward to ...
I see each day as a gift just waiting for me to unwrap it. I wonder what I will find beneath the wrappings today??? Something good for sure. There is good in every day if you have the eyes and heart to look for it.

One of my favourite things...
Is sharing my love of the Gospel with people who want to listen. I just love my Heavenly Father and my Saviour. I want to share that love with the world.

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: tineye.com via Julie on Pinterest

I breathed a song iinto the air,
It fell to earth . . . I know not where,
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song . . .
The song from beginning to end,
I found again in . . . the heart of a friend.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We must treasure our friends. I like to think of them as family we get to pick for ourselves. I love this picture thought. That is a friend indeed. Real friends enjoy looking silly together.

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

"Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully."
~Rev. Phillip Brooks

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!

Here's a little something you can make your sweetie pies for breakfast on this Valentines Day! I just know they will love them. Who wouldn't! You can use refrigerated crescent roll dough if you really want to be quick about it, but I have chosen to use homemade biscuit dough simply because homemade is always better in my books.



*Cheery Cherry Breakfast Buns*
Makes 12 rolls
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy and delicious. You can vary the flavour if you wish, using a different jam such as seedless raspberry or apricot, blueberry, strawberry, etc.

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened and cut into bits
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 free range egg yolk
1 recipe of biscuit dough
1/4 cup of cherry preserves
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Spray a regular sized muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.

Place the granulated sugar and almonds into a food processer. Blitz for about 30 seconds, until the almonds are finely ground. Add the cream cheese, vanilla, almond and egg yolk. Process for several seconds until well blended.

On a lightly floured surface pat or roll the biscuit dough into a 12 by 9 inch rectangle. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough evenly, then carefully roll into a log, beginning from the long side. Wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Take out from the refrigerator and cut with a sharp knife into 12 slices. Place each slice, cut side up into one of the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until light golden brown. Remove from the oven. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make an indentation into the centre of each. Fill with 1 tsp of cherry preserves. Return the pan to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until golden brown. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin cup to loosen. Remove from the cups and place on a wire rack to cool somewhat.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and water together until smooth. Drizzle this over top of the warm buns. Serve warm or cool. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today some delicious Baby Berry Custard Cakes, just in time for Valentines Day!

The love of reading . . .

Source: aquieterstorm.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

Oh how very much I love books! I would feel most deprived if I woke up one morning and all of my books had disappeared and I was left with nothing fresh to read . . . and I have the greatest sympathy for the man who I heard of whom was reduced to reading the cornflakes packet at the breakfast table. Further . . . I just cannot imagine what it must be like not to be able to read . . .

I think of all the things I was taught at school, how to read has been the most valuable and I have been a voracious reader since day one. My father is a reader . . . he was always reading me stories when I was a young child . . . my mother is not a reader. Oh, she will read the newspaper, do crossword puzzles, read short articles . . . but don't ask her to read a book. They just don't interest her. I get my love of reading from my father and it is not unusual for me to be reading two or even three books at once. (Not at exactly the same time mind you . . . but . . . individually!)

Books have long been seen as a form of instruction, recreation and relaxation. In one of his essays, Sir Francis Bacon wrote: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly and with diligence and attention."

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In "The Tatler", Sir Richard Steele wrote: "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Sure you can get along without it . . . but your mind will most likely end up flabby and quite out of shape!

I like most the witty words of Hilaire Belloc, who penned:
"When I am dead, I hope it may be said:
His sins were scarlet, but his books were read."

Raising a glass today to our favourite books . . . and all the pleasure that they give to us. Reading opens up new worlds, and takes us on adventures we could never hope to take without having first learned how to read. Taking the time today also to thank those early teachers of mine who worked hard to teach me now to read, and to my dad who set the example and instilled in me my love of reading!

Source: beachychic.blogspot.com via Marie on Pinterest

Todd's news from the hospital was good news. He has Blepharitis, which apparently can sometimes mock the symptoms of a detached retina. Many thanks for all the happy thoughts and prayers sent his way, they were very much appreciated! It was a great relief to find out it was nothing serious and an important lesson has been learnt . . . I must start driving again, no matter what!



I did another little picture yesterday afternoon. This is my second one of the year. I quite like how it turned out. As usual it is available as a print or a card.

We were talking to a friend last evening who lost his job last year. He's been trying to get a photography business started and has gone to great expense to buy the proper equipment, take some courses, have a web page developed, etc. It is such a difficult time for anyone trying to get a new business off the ground. People just aren't spending and if they are it is with a lot more thought and on different types of things. For instance did you know that one company which enjoyed a great increase in business over the past year is a company who manufactures and sells false eyelashes??? Who could figure that one out! They are selling them around the world and apparently they can't make enough of them! John Lewis, a very expensive store over here, has also made record profits, which is really strange as well. This economy thing is a great mystery to me! Todd thinks I shouldn't be painting more paintings until I sell the ones I've already painted . . . but I explained to him it doesn't work that way. I don't paint because I want to sell . . . I paint because I can't not paint. It is something which brings me great joy and I just have these things inside my head that need to get out. I can't explain it really. It just fulfils a need in me that can't be fulfilled in any other way.

Well, I have prattled on long enough this morning. If you have made it this far, good on you! I'll leave you now with a recipe from my Marie Muse's Archives for a delicious Breakfast Cookie. Yes . . . cookies for breakfast are not a bad thing! What is a cereal bar after all . . . but a cookie in a different shape. These are stogged full of healthy goodies such as oats, nuts and raisins!



*Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies*
Makes 4 dozen
Printable Recipe

Moist and chewy and chock full of raisins and nuts these are just plain wonderful! The recipe makes a lot but they freeze really well and are just perfect for a breakfast on the go!

3/4 cup butter softened
1 cup soft light brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3 TBS molasses
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup bran
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cup quick cooking oats
1-2 cups raisins

1 cup chopped pecan nuts

Preheat oven to 180*C/375*F. Lightly grease several baking sheets and set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugar. Stir in the eggs, molasses and milk. Add the flour, bran, baking soda and salt and mix well. Blend in oats, nuts and raisins. Drop by large tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat as necessary until all the cookies have been baked. Remove to a wire rack to cool.




Over in The English Kitchen today a belly warming recipe for Ham and Split Pea Soup!


“You can't go through life on "Borrowed light.”
― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Marie's Sunday Six

Here we are on the last Sunday before Christmas! Next Sunday it will actually BE Christmas! However did that happen? It's crazy, this past year has just gone like lightening! The way time seems to be going faster and faster is amazing to me. Is it just me, or does everyone feel this way??? Anyways, it is good to slow down for a few minutes today and dwell on some of the special things from my week, and I thought it would be nice to dwell on some of the special things from this "Holy"day Season that really make me smile!

Source: adventuresofabettycrockerwannabe.blogspot.com via Karen on Pinterest

Celebrating the birth of the Saviour makes me smile. This most gracious and beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father is the centre of my life . . . not just at Christmas Time, but the whole year through. He truly IS the reason for the season, and I am so very grateful that I have had a seeking heart and a teachable heart. I celebrate Christmas all year long in my heart. It's about not the tree or the lights, or the food . . . or een the gifts. It's about the Saviour and a Heavenly Father who loved us enough to willingly send His only begotten son in the flesh to take upon Himself the sins of the world and give us the opportunity for eternal life, and to show us the way back to our Heavenly Home. How can this not bring a smile to anyone's face every day of your life. Jesus . . . the true reason for the season. This makes me smile.

Source: victoriantradingco.com via Terri on Pinterest

Singing all the Christmas Carols and listening to good Christmas Music on my ipod makes me smile. There is something so very special about the special hymns and songs that we listen to at Christmas that brings a warmth to my heart like nothing else. They are so very beautiful. From the first of December all the hymns in our Sacrament meeting at Church, with the exception of the Sacrament Hymn, are the carols that we all know and love . . . I adore singing them. I adore listening to them. I adore surrounding myself with their beauty and message. I also happen to love Michael Buble's newest Christmas album too, which also makes me smile.



Does that not make you smile too??? I can't wait to watch his Christmas Special on the telly tonight! Yes, I love Michael Buble and not just because he's Canadian either . . . although admittedly that is one of the reasons. I also happen to think he's a fab singer!

Source: dooce.com via Reyes on Pinterest

They come in many shapes and sizes . . . from the incredible to the edible . . . the Christmas Tree makes me smile. I have always loved decorating my tree and I have always hated to take it down at the end of the holidays. I love to walk through the neighbourhood and see people's Christmas Tree's shining in their front windows. I love to walk through the city and see Christmas Tree's in the shop windows. I just love Christmas Trees! I much prefer a real one to an artificial one . . . that special smile of pine and fir takes me back in my mind to my childhood and the trees we had when I was growing up and all those wonderful feelings associated with the love of family and the holiday season. Who doesn't love that smell . . . it's awesome. Just awesome.

Source: gifts.personalcreations.com via Maggie on Pinterest

Christmas Stockings make me smile. We didn't have stockings when I was a child. Well, not in the real sense of having a stocking that you could hang up on Christmas Eve and find filled in the morning. Santa used to leave us a red net stocking under the tree and they were ok, but I always wanted a real stocking. My children all had stockings. Each one had been handmade and beaded and sequined by myself and each one was as individual and as different as was each child. I do hope that they still have them . . . I need to make some for my Grandchildren now. I say that to myself each year . . . and then each year passes without me doing it. I need to start in January I think! Perhaps that can be a New Years resolution for myself this year. Make the Grand's each a stocking. Sounds like a plan!

Source: emporio74.blogspot.com via Cathy on Pinterest

Christmas Baking makes me smile. Although I don't do as much of it these days as I used to when my children were growing up, I still do some and there is always a song in my heart as I go about it. Shortbreads, gingerbread men, sugar stars and trees and stockings . . . thumbprints and mince pies, fruit cakes and stollen . . . they are all wonderful and a special part of this special time of year. There is nothing more cheering than putting on an album of Christmas Music, donning an apron and breaking out the eggs and flour. Ahh . . . Christmas baking . . . it does a heart good.

Source: deckthehalls-christmas.blogspot.com via Marie on Pinterest

Wrapping up gifts for my loved ones both near and both far always puts a smile on my face at this special time of year as well. I just love being able to give something special to someone I care about and I put a lot of thought into the gifts I give. Christmas to me is not about getting, it's about giving and sharing love with those around you in a unique and special way. I want my gifts to be a gift for the eyes and for the soul and to be wrapped in all the love that I have for the person they are intended for. When I am wrapping each one I ponder the specialness and uniqueness of the person who's gift I am wrapping and all the love I have for them goes into it along with whatever the gift may happen to be. That makes me smile and hopefully it makes them smile too!!

I could go on and on about all the things at Christmas which make me smile and there are a bazillion of them. I guess what it all boils down to is love . . .

Source: flickr.com via Marie on Pinterest

Love for the Saviour and our Heavenly Father, love for family, love for friends, love for our fellow man. This is the message of Christmas.

All over the world at this season,
expectant hands reach to receive
Gifts that are lavishly fashioned . . .
the finest that man can conceive . . .
For purchased and given at Christmas
are luxuries we long to possess,
given as favors and tokens
to try in some way to express
That strange, undefinable feeling
which is part of this glad time of year
When streets are crowded with shoppers
and the air resounds with good cheer . . .
But back of each tinsel-tied package
exchanged at this gift-giving season,
unrecognized often by many,
lies a deeper more meaningful reason . . .
For, born in a manger at Christmas
as a gift from the Father above,
An Infant whose name was called Jesus
brought mankind the gift of God's love . . .
And the gifts that we give have no purpose
unless God is part of the giving
And unless we make Christmas a pattern
to be followed in every day living.
~Helen Steiner Rice

✿•*¨`*•.☆ O'Come ☆ O'Come ☆ Emmanuel ☆.•*¨`*•✿

Todd loves these. He thinks they taste like the bacon and egg pies of his youth. They are delicious for sure and very easy to whip up. They make a wonderful breakfast, not to mention a quick comforting supper on those nights when you have precious little time and want something on the table quickly.



*Ham and Egg Cups*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe

All your favourite things about breakfast in a muffin shape!!! Biscuit, ham and eggs! Delicious!

1 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix (you can get this in the baking aisle of the grocery store)
¼ cup, plus 2 TBS of cold water
1 tsp instant minced onion
1 package thinly sliced fully cooked ham (about 2 ½ ouces)
6 eggs
Pepper
Chopped flat leaf parsley

Move oven rack to the lowest position in the oven. Pre-heat oven to 200*C/400*F. Grease six 6-ounce custard cups. Mix baking mix, water and onion until a soft dough forms. Divide between the custard cups and using damp fingers, press the dough in the bottom and up the sides of each cup.

Line each cup with 2 slices of ham. Break an egg carefully into the middle of each cup. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and the parsley flakes.

Bake, uncovered in the pre-heated oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven, cool five minutes, then loosen by running a knife around each and removing from cups to serve. You can also serve them in the cups, but I love to look at the golden brown outsides sitting on my plate. Enjoy!



Over in The English Kitchen today some delicious Rumpled Pizza Buns!

Poetry Saturday . . . Beautiful things

Source: sarahlovenphotography.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful faces are those that wear . . .
It matters little if dark or fair . . .
Whole-souled honesty printed there.

Source: Uploaded by user via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful eyes are those that show,
Like crystal panes where hearthfires glow,
Beautiful thoughts that burn below.

Source: everythingyoulovetohate.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful lips are those whose words
Leap from the heart like songs of birds,
Yet whose utterance prudence girds.

Source: flickr.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is honest and brave and true,
Moment by moment the long day through.

Source: Uploaded by user via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful feet are those that go
On kindly ministries to and fro,
Down lowliest ways, if God wills it so.

Source: redbubble.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful shoulders are these that bear
Ceaseless burdens of homely care
With patient grace and daily prayer.

Source: google.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful lives are those that bless
Silent rivers of happiness,
Whose hidden fountains but few may guess.

Source: Uploaded by user via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful twilight at set of sun,
Beautiful goal with race well won,
Beautiful rest with work well done.

Source: weheartit.com via Marie on Pinterest

Beautiful graves where grasses creep,
Where brown leaves fall, where drifts lie deep
Over worn-out hands . . . oh! Beautiful sleep!
~Ellen P Allerton

Source: antsintheafterbirth.tumblr.com via Marie on Pinterest

I just love this poem . . . it speaks to my heart of lives well spent and the simple joys that make it worth living . . . the things in life that truly matter most of all.

Once again I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support over these past few weeks. You surely carried me aloft on them and I was strengthened and touched by each and every one. I do believe that I have the best friends and family in the world. Y'all are the best.

We are going to go look for some rhubarb crowns to plant this morning. I'm not sure if we will find any . . . we've probably left it far too late in the season. I also saw a cat figurine of a ginger cat a few months back that I had wanted to get for my mother for Christmas, but then . . . I left it for another day, so I want to go back and get it so that I can get my boxes all packed and ready to go over to Canada. Only 38 days people! Christmas is fast approaching!

I'll leave you now with a tasty recipe from my Marie's Muses Archives. I didn't really cook yesterday . . . we had a meal out to celebrate. Nothing outrageously expensive, just the local carvery where you can get two meals for £7. Cheap and cheerful! I'm in wedding mode now and going to be trying to take off a few pounds before the summer. In the meantime, this is drool worthy, even if I can only look but not touch . . .



*Bacon, Egg and Cheese Toastie*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This is a wonderful way to have your breakfast, all stacked together in one delicious pile. Every forkful brings you a taste of bacon, egg, cheese and toast, all together in one luscious mouthful!

4 slices of thick country style white bread
12 slices of dry cure streaky bacon
8 ounces of medium cheddar cut into slices
1 TBS butter
4 large free range organic eggs

This is my secret way of cooking bacon so that there’s no grease on top of your stove and no messy pan to clean up afterwards. Pre-heat your oven to 220*C/425*F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil wrap. Lay the bacon slices out onto the baking sheet without overlapping. Pop the pan into the heated oven and bake for six minutes. Turn the pan around 180 degrees and bake for another four to seven minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. (For this recipe you only want it medium done and not too crispy as it will be going under the grill after) Remove the bacon to a plate, lined with paper kitchen towelling to drain. I, then, blot the top with more kitchen towelling. You can then just pitch the foil wrap into the bin and you have a clean oven tray to continue on with the rest of the recipe.

Heat your grill while you make the toast. Toast the slices of bread until they are medium toasted, not really dark as they will then be going under the grill and you don’t want too crispy a slice. Once they are toasted lay each one out onto the baking sheet and cover them with the slices of cheese equally. Divide the bacon equally amongst the sandwiches and lay it on top of the cheese.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat and pop some butter into it. When the butter is foaming, crack in the four eggs. Turn the heat down to medium and cook them slowly for a few minutes until the whites are set and the yolks are as done as you like them. If you don’t want them sunny side up you can flip them over if you like. We like them sunny side up. When they are done to your taste, turn out the heat and remove the pan to the side while you grill the toastie.

Pop the tray with the bread, cheese and bacon on it under the grill and grill until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the bacon is as crisp as you want it. It should only take four or five minutes. Remove from the oven and place a fried egg neatly on top of each. Remove to heated plates. Sprinkle each with a little seasalt and cracked black pepper. Serve.




Over in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Lemon Cake Pie!

“You can't go through life on "Borrowed light.”
~Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Early to bed . . .

I've always been an early riser. There is something about the morning that calls to me and speaks to my heart that it is the best time of the day. It is when my mind is the sharpest and my thoughts the clearest.

My sister, brother and I were not allowed to lolly gag in bed when we were teens like most other kids. If my father was up . . . we all had to be up. Trust me when I say, we were not always happy with that . . .

I love the early mornings when the mist is still rising above the trees that I can see in the distance from our upstairs library window. It is a scene that changes dramatically with the seasons. In the winter it is dusted in winter colours of grey and white . . . monochromatic, but no less beautiful than the spring, with it's awakening greens and the sea behind the hedge which assaults us with the scents and colours of a cloud of spring blossom. Then too the summer with it's lush greens . . . but now with the cooler and shorter autumn days , ithas turned to rich hues of amber, reds and golds . . .



In the early morning I sit here quietly and listen to the birds awakening in the hedge that surrounds our back garden, their dawn chorus ringing in my ears and making my heart feel glad. It is a cheery sound. I can almost hear them calling from tree top to treetop, from bush to bush . . . good morning glad friends, the day awaits, let us get busy and about our tasks . . . after all it is the early bird that does get the worm.

I love these early moments here in our cosy little home, as I move about in the solitude with only the birds and Mitzie for company. The kettle begins it's song on the hearth as the clock ticks on the wall . . . . it's solitary tick-tock . . . tick-tock . . . a necessary reminder to get about my day, for time passes all too quickly, and seemingly quicker with each day that passes . . .



My cold appears to be getting somewhat better, although it still lingers. I can't rid myself of the cough and all my muscles are so sore from it all that each time I cough I find myself bracing myself for the worst! I did sleep much better last night though, so that is an improvement! Those prayers and happy thoughts are working! Thanks so much!

I think today I shall make some French Toast for our breakfast. I have an aching in my heart this morning for childhood days and the comfort that would bring. I think I'll stuff it though, with rich cream cheese and sweet wild blueberry preserves . . . a most delicious beginning to a most promising and dry day. (A day without rain in the autumn is a real bonus.)



*Stuffed French Toast*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A comforting legacy of a rich childhood. French Toast, a mother's treat and good use of what was always at hand, stale bread, eggs, butter . . . A grown up twist here, with rich and eggy brioche and a lucious stuffing of cream cheese and deliciously sweet wild blueberry preserves . . . a little taste of home.

3 large free range organic eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 1/2 inch thick slices Brioche bread
1/2 cup soft full fat cream cheese
4 tablespoons of wild blueberry preserves*
a knob of butter
powdered vanilla sugar to dust on before serving

Beat together the eggs, vanilla and milk. Put a skillet onto the stove to warm up over a medium heat.

Spread half of the slices thickly with the cream cheese. Spread the other half with the blueberry preserves. Put them together with the cream cheese and preserves facing, pressing gently to adhere together. Dip the resulting sandwiches into the egg mixture on both sides.

Melt a large knob of butter in the warm skillet. Once it is foaming add the eggy bread sandwiches, two at a time if the skillet it large enough, leaving some space in between them. Cook until nicely browned on the one side, then carefully flip over and brown the other side. Keep warm until you have browned all four on both sides.

Place on a heated platter, dust with some powdered vanilla sugar and serve warm. Delicious!
Note* You can use any flavour of fruit preserves you like, perhaps ginger rhubarb jam or even a rich and tangy orange marmelade. For a real treat try some Lemon Curd. I just happen to love wild blueberry preserves the most of all!



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, some delicious Gingerbread Scones with a Lemon Glaze!

Friday ponderings . . .

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
- Psalm 32:8

One doesn't have to go very far to be aware of how rampant evil is in the world today. Just turn on the television and watch the news . . . or read a newspaper. It can be somewhat discouraging at times, and more than a little frightening. One might wonder just how . . . in the midst of all the evil that exists in today's world . . . just . . . how it is possible to hear God's voice I can promise you that it is there. Our Heavenly Father looks for those who still have their heart's open to Him . . . and He gives them ears to hear His voice. It is a still small voice . . . and it is a gift that is given to all who love him and who live their lives in a way that is open to His teachings . . .

I am sure that there have been many times that you have heard His voice. It is iin the promptings to go and do something special for a friend, or to pick up the telephone and call someone you have not spoken to in a long while. It is that little niggling feeling that you get, imploring you to go someplace that you've never gone before . . . or to speak to that stranger at the bus stop. It is only in retrospect that you can see the hand of God. There might have been someone in that place or at that bus stop who just needed a word of encouragment . . . or that friend of yours might have had a day when they are particularly down and needed to hear a kind voice and have a sympathetic ear to speak to.




It might actually be quite surprising to you to realize how very often these types of things occur in your life . . . but it is no mystery, and it is not co-incidence. I believe in God-incidence. We have a Heavenly Father who loves to talk with His children. He puts His divine signature on things and incidents in our lives so that we will know He is there . . . and He speaks to us in that small still voice that we can hear anytime we are willing to listen . . . What a wonderful anchor and blessing this is in an ever increasingly maddening world!

I did another fashionista yesterday. I seem to be on a bit of a run with these . . . that's ok though. I do love painting them.



Having raised three sons, I can certainly identify with the sentiment on this one! Little boys are completely different than little girls, easier in some ways, harder in others . . . I do know that there was never a dull moment in my house, no matter what!

As usual this is available as a print or as a card and would make the perfect gift for that special lady in your life who is a mother to some special little (or big) boy! Just message me to find out how you can have one in either a comment or in an e-mail. Thanks for looking!

Oh, I do love chocolate. I am afraid it is my downfall. Not just any chocolate though . . . I have expensive chocolate taste. I used to like the cheap stuff . . . but I find that I'd rather have quality these days, if I am going to indulge . . . rather than quantity. I love Green and Black's chocolate the best of all. It has a high percentage of cocoa and truly tastes lovely. My favourite are the milk chocolate bars and I have stopped buying chocolate chips altogether now, instead choosing to use it's lovely milk chocolate chopped up for all my hedonistic chocolate chip creations. Chocolate chip muffins are on the menu today. Now who can resist one of those warm from the oven with oozing sweet bits of really good milk chocolate scattered throughout along with the odd toasted pecan meat . . .

I don't think you'll find a much better version than this one.




*Chocolate Chunk Muffins*Makes 12 medium size muffins.
Printable Recipe

These delicious muffins are moist and chock full of chocolate. You can use chocolate chips if you wish, but I prefer to use really good milk chocolate that I chop into small chunks. You can also add pecans or walnuts. I don’t always and you don’t really need to, but they are pretty good with them included. If I am adding nuts, I toast them first. (10 minutes in a medium-hot oven)

2 cups plain flour
1/3 cup packed soft light brown sugar
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2/3 cup milk
½ cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped into bits
½ cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped




Pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Lightly grease a muffin pan or line with paper cups. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, sugars, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients all at once, stirring just to combine. It's ok if the batter is lumpy, and in fact lumpy batter makes a better muffin and they rise much higher. Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts.

Spoon into the prepared pan, dividing the mixture equally amongst the cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are well risen and test done when a skewer inserted in the centre of one comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.

These taste good warm or cold, and they freeze very well.



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Chicken Katsu Curry!