Friday chit chat . . . or quite a lot about nothing!

Rainbows seen through Summer showers,
Velvet faces of the flowers.
Frost crystals reflecting light
Snowflakes on a Winter's night.
Symmetry of honeycomb
Sunshine sparkling on seafoam.
Gossamer of silken threads
Form cartwheels of the spider webs.
Animals of every size
Insects, birds and butterflies.
This tapestry of art and skill
Is wrought by the Designer's will.
~Kathleen Gillum

How very much Todd and I are enjoying our garden this summer. I am already making plans for next year in my mind. I need to get them down onto paper and soon. We want to get a few more fruit trees, possibly apricot and a bramley apple, and then some raspberry and blackberry canes and more strawberries and some new rhubarb. We had the missionaries come over one day a little while back, and they helped Todd to dig the garden out a bit longer so that we have more space for a few different things, and Todd is going to move the rhubarb completely away from the vegetable garden, in hopes that it will do better next year. He's been working on a compost pile that he says he is going to stick it in. We can but try . . .

Not sure if any of our plans will work out, or even come to fruition, but then again . . . there's a lot of fun and promise in the planning, so even if it never comes to pass, we have enjoyed it nevertheless. It's like the buying of a lottery ticket isn't it? Even if you never win, you do enjoy dreaming about what you would do with it if you did.



We spend quite a lot of time sitting by the pond (when it isn't raining of course) and watching the fish and frogs. They are so fascinating to us and we are really enjoying them. The frogs feel like our babies as we have watched them grow from frog spawn to tadpoles to now frogs. They get a bit larger each week. It is so fun to see them sitting on the lily pads! I always thought that Todd's idea of putting in a pond was a bit daft, but I am enjoying it as much as he is. Who knew!!

I had a funny dream last night. I dreamt I had a pet owl. It was not large owl, only a small one and I was feeding it bits of raw hamburger. Dreams are funny things are they not? I don't know why I would dream about having an owl for a pet. I have never wanted an owl for a pet, although when I was a girl I did used to want a Parrot . . . and a monkey! They seemed to be a lot more interesting than a cat or a dog. An old Aunt of ours had a Parrot, and he could be quite vicious. I probably would have been afraid of it had we a parrot, but that didn't stop me from wanting one.



There was a lad in our town, when I was a girl, who had tamed two crows. My mother used to feed them, and they visited her regularly. I hated them. They used to chase me on my bicycle . . . swooping down on me just like something out of that film, "The Birds." I am sure they knew exactly what they were doing. I was terrified of them, and they knew it.

I find that as the years go by, I am remembering a lot more things about my childhood. I need to write them down. That's a part of the reason I want to start an Art Journal of my life so that I can stick these little memories into it while I still have a brain. I am getting very forgetful of other things, but these old memories are as clear as a bell! I don't know whether to be afraid of that or not! I often go to say something to Todd and I get out the halves of three sentences, but not the end of any of them. He stands there looking at me like I am a dolt and wondering what the heck it is I just said! It made perfect sense in my mind. Now all he has to do is to learn the art of reading my mind! Then he'll be ok . . . hmm . . . but would I like that very much???? A husband being able to read my mind . . . I think not! Some things I just prefer to keep to myself!



We've been watching our DVD's of Downton Abby, getting it all refreshed in our minds for when it starts up again in the autumn. We just loved that series and are really enjoying seeing it again. It's funny how much you miss when you watch something the first time around. It takes a second viewing to really make it stick. We also have all of the Harry Potter movies on DVD now. I have only ever seen the first one. I'm quite looking forward to seeing the other six and then the last one when it comes out on DVD. We hardly ever go out to the movies any more. We prefer to watch them at home. It is much cheaper these days to buy a DVD than it is for the both of us to go out for a film, and we can stop it when we want to go to the loo too, without missing anything!

I'm off this morning to get my hair trimmed and then I may stop in and visit one of my sisters that I visit teach for a few minutes, to just see how she is. I heard yesterday that she was feeling a tad low. I've had such a busy week this week. I know that I have been very bad at visiting everyone's pages, but I've just not had a lot of computer time. I promise to do better next week. I won't have any time tomorrow either as we are having our extra meeting for Relief Society and I have to be at the church bright and early to set up for it, then there is a Baptism and I am giving a talk at that. Today I have to bake some cakes for tomorrow's activity and make a big bowl of coleslaw for it as well. They do say there is no rest for the wicked don't they? I must be really bad! In any case I will be back and reading on Monday and playing catch up with all I have missed this week, I promise! I am missing each of you!

Here's a tasty way of using up some of the glut of courgettes that is beginning to take over the garden. I love courgettes. They are delicious raw in salads and with dip and they are delicious cooked. They are one of those vegetables really that adapt well to most flavours!!





*Stuffed Courgette Boats*
Makes 4 servings
Printable Recipe

This is a tasty way to use up some of that glut that is now beginning in the garden!

2 large courgettes (each weighing about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1 small tomato, finely chopped
10 round buttery rackers, finely crushed
1 tsp. dried basil leaves (I like Bart)
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring litre of unsalted water to the boil in large saucepan. Add the courgettes and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain well.

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.

Cut the courgettes in half lengthwise. Scoop out centers onto a cutting board, leaving 1/4-inch-thick shells. Place the shells in 9-inch buttered square baking dish and set aside.

Chop up the courgette pulp and place it in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the cheese, the tomatoes, cracker crumbs and the basil. Season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste and mix lightly. Spoon this mixture evenly into the courgette shells. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until heated through, and the cheese has melted.



In The English Kitchen today, a delicious Carrot Salad.

Living in the present . . .

It's been almost a year now since we brought Mitzie home to live with us as an 8 week old puppy. I had no idea at the time how much I would learn from her over the coming months . . . I thought we were just bringing home something to love and to cuddle.



All the way home in the car she snuggled up to me as I held her close. I could feel her small little breaths against my chest, and with each one she began to twist me around her little heart, and wind her way about my own. During the days that followed, I came to understand her sheer, complete and connected presence. I had never observed anything before that was so thoroughly involved in the exercise of being in the moment as she was.



She was completely and innocently devoted to whatever lay before her . . . to whatever the experience was of her being at any given time. If she was playing with an empty milk bottle . . . then that empty milk bottle was her whole world. If she was rolling in the grass . . . her world was the grass. If she was bunching up her bed to go to sleep . . . her life was totally the need to lay down . . . sigh . . . and go to sleep . . . and sleep she did and does, with total freedom and abandon, and not a care in the world. Oh to be so free and completely one with your environment . . . I can only wish.



She knows her world primarily through touch and smell. She uses her nose like we use our fingers. She sticks her nose, without the hesitation that holds us humans back, into everything with abandon and this immediate knowledge and smelll of whatever it is brings her complete and utter joy. Todd is always saying she doesn't go for walks so much as she goes for sniffs. It drives him up the wall . . . but in a way I envy her that quality . . .



This wee creature, incapable of words . . . has taught me that there is an overwhelming feeling of endowment that comes from staying connected to our surroundings without deviation . . . a certain humility that comes from making a distinct connection with whatever we are experiencing. This brings her world to life, and can do the same for us . . . her awareness of the here and the now has been illuminating to me. She has shown me how very refreshing and invigorating living in the present can be, and I now dig my own heart into each day that I am gifted with . . . with total abandon . . . and joy for the here and now.



The way the sunlight falls upon the leaves of our roses . . . the moss that grows along a garden wall . . . the sight of wasps landing on the rocks of our pond and watching them sup from the water . . . our frogs as they sun themselves on the lily pads and wait for flies to alight . . . the way the sweetpeas climb and cling to everything around them, and shed their pink blossoms . . .

It all has even more meaning to me now . . . simple things and pleasures that bring me joy and sing the song of my heart . . . satisfying and free for the taking.


(Not so tiny anymore, but still our baby.)

It is a special treasure to be able to experience totally the now and to be fully present in and living my todays . . . and to think I learned it all from a dog!

Just my thoughts on this early Monday morning . . . the first day of August 2011 . . .



I've a very busy and full day ahead of me today. I have my reading lesson this morning and then this afternoon I am off to the Opticians to see if I can find out why my left eye won't stop twitching. It's becoming very worriesome to me now. You can't see it if you look at it, but it feels all droopy to me and I can feel it twitching constantly. It's just not normal. Wish me luck!

With these nice warmer days we are eating lighter and fresher. I don't like to heat up the kitchen and house by using the oven much, and in truth we (well, probably "I") have a longing and a taste for summer salads these days. (Todd just tolerates them.) This is a tasty one here today, very quick and easy to throw together. I like to do my own chicken for it. Just take a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts and place them into a non porous container, cover with Italian Salad Dressing and let them marinate in it for several hours or overnight if you wish. Then I just grill them and cut them into slices for use in salads (like this tasty one) or whatever.



*Chicken and Spinach Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Nothing coule be easier than this delicious salad. You can buy the chicken strips ready made, or you can make your own. I always make my own. It's very easy to do if you plan ahead!

1 bag (10 oz.) baby spinach
1 pkg. (6 oz.) fresh Italian Style Chicken Breast Strips
(Marinate some chicken breasts in Italian Dressing overnight,
and then grill. Cool, then cut into strips)
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup cherry tomato halves
1/2 cup Italian Salad Dressing

Toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Serve immediately.

Note - when I worked at the big house, I was made to pick off any stems from the spinach leaves. You can do the same if it bothers you to have them there. It doesn't bother me enough to make it worth wasting the time!



Over in The English Kitchen today, a deliciously light dessert called Blueberry Bliss!

Marie's Sunday Six

Can it be possible that this is the last Smile Makers post for July and indeed the last day of July! My goodness but the summer is just flashing by! It's hard to believe it is already half way over! I thought it would be fun to share six summer memories with you this morning . . . six summer memories from my childhood that make me smile!



We never had holidays as such when I was a child. We had days out, and precious few of them. Sometimes we went with my dad to various locales where he would be playing with the Armed Forces Station Band in parades and such. Who doesn 't love a parade??? We always did and I can remember always feeling very proud as we watched my father march past us! We lived near a beach though and so summer always meant a day or two out to the beach. The water was always cool and the sand always warm and there was a real holiday feeling in the air. If we were really lucky we got to go to Winnipeg Beach, which was somewhat of a seaside resort in a way. There were rides and rollerskating, candy apples and candy floss! Happy summer memory and smilemaker number one!



Being allowed to go barefoot and running through the grass. I loved the way it felt beneath my toes . . . all cold and refreshing. We were either barefooted or wearing flip flops the whole summer through! We hardly ever wore shoes, except to church or if we had to go in to town, which didn't happen very often. I was saying to Todd just the other day that when I was a child we never ate out in restaurants or anything like that. Today's children eat out a lot and I suppose it doesn't feel as much like a treat as it did to us way back then! I wonder do they still appreciate the feel of grass beneath their feet??
Smile maker number two.



Rainbow Ice Cream!!! Sometimes in the summertime my father would treat us to Rainbow Ice Cream Cones down by the warf in Gimli, Manitoba where we lived. I don't think anything ever tasted as good as those did! It was kind of minty and sweet and oh so cold! We never had anything like that at home, or only very rarely so a summer ice cream was a real treat! Our milk man used to carry popsicles in his milk truck and sometimes my mother would treat us to one. They broke into halves and we would each get a half. I don't think anything ever tasted as good as those popsicles did!
Smile maker number three



Running through the sprinkler. On really, hot, hot summer days my mother would let us put our swim suits on and run through the sprinkler. It was always so refreshing and so much fun! Oh how we loved it. We laughed and squealed with delight. The water always felt so cold and this was one of our absolute favourite things to do! Oh how I wish I could be a child again for a few minutes, so I could run through the sprinkler with abandon! Oh, I know I could do it today . . . but somehow it probably wouldn't have the same flavour and feeling as it did when I was a child!
Summer smile maker number four.



We mostly made our own fun in the summertime when I was growing up. All the children in the neighborhood of an age (not too young and not too old) would gather together most days or evenings and play games together, and there was no end to them either. We would play red rover, or red light green light . . . frozen tag, or monkey in the middle . . . we never got tired it seemed and we never got bored. We ran and played from sun up to sun down. We climbed trees, and went on hikes. We rode our bicycles en pack . . . we had picnics with peanut butter sandwiches to eat and flasks of coolaid to drink. We had fun full stop!
Summer Smilemaker number five.



For a few years when I was a child we were the proud owners of a tee pee! It didn't look quite like this one . . . ours was bright orange and had Indian symbols on it and a big black Red Indian painted on the side. It had a flap that opened and that you could tie shut and it smelled kind of wierd . . . a smell that's hard to describe . . . sort of like crayons, and petrol, but not quite. We'd sit in it for hours on hot summer days . . . I can still hear the hum of the insects in the air . . . and feel the grass under my legs . . . and that smell. This was our little kingdom and it was oh so precious to us. I don't think at my age now I would quite appreciate being able to sit in a smelly tee pee on the grass, but it sure felt special way back then!
Smile number six.

I could go on and on about these precious summertime memories I have . . . there are so many more than this . . . but alas I have to go and get ready for church now. I hope that perhaps these memories of mine may have triggered some happy summer memories of your own. I would dearly love to hear them if I may! Please feel free to share!! And have a wonderful Sunday!

Here's another precious summer memory, which is also a delicious one . . . Blueberry Cobbler!!



*Blueberry Cobbler*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

Sweet blueberries baked beneath a buttery biscuit topping. Delicious! You'll want to serve this with some vanilla ice cream for a real taste treat!

For the filling:
5 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

for the biscuit topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the topping:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready an 8 cup baking dish.

Mix the filling ingredients together in a bowl and then dump them into the baking dish.

Blend together the flour, sugar, baking powder and butter, using your fingertips, until the butter is like large flakes of oatmeal. Add the water and the vanilla, stirring just until it forms a dough. Drop 8 mounds of the dough on top of the blueberry mixture.

Stir together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over top.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is golden brown and cooked through, and the berries are bubbling below.



In The English Kitchen today, a day trip to Llangollen (Wales) and some good old fashioned Bread Pudding! (Including Video)

All about friends . . .

I love you
not only for what you are,
but for what I am
when I’m with you;
I love you not only for what you
have made of yourself
but what you are making of me;
You have done it without a touch,
without a word,
without a sigh;
You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
being a friend means
after all.
~unknown

I cannot remember my mother having very many friends when I was growing up. I expect that she was too busy taking care of the home, my father, and us children . . . until she went back to work again, and then it was her job that took up most of her time. She does have lots of friends now and they are good friends, people she can rely upon when she needs help. People who can laugh with her when the times are good and cry with her when they aren't so good. People that know when to listen and when to speak. Good friends . . . and I am so very grateful that she does, for everyone needs friends.



I have always surrounded myself with friends. I am a woman who enjoys the company and companionship of other women. I’ve had many good friends through the years . . . some younger . . . some older . . . all dearly beloved and cherished by myself. When I make a good friend, I make them for life, and I truly admire each one of them for what they are, and who they are. I like to think that friends are family you get to pick for yourself. As Todd is always saying, "You can't pick your family, but you can always pick your friends." (I'm sure he stole that saying from someone else, but I have no idea who!)



I have often heard it said that in order to have a friend, one must first be a friend, and that is so very true. There is nothing less satisfying than having a relationship with someone who only takes, without ever giving anything back. There is something very special about the easy camaraderie of two people, who know each other well, and can give and take with the ease of knowing the other’s faults and yet loving the other anyways, despite their shortcomings. I expect people to take me as I am, and so . . . I accept them for who they are in return.



I look upon other women as fellow sisters . . . and companions in this great adventure we call life. We are not in this to compete with each other, but instead to uphold, cherish and love each other. When we see one of us beginning to falter and fall back along the way, we have a duty as a beloved sister to grab hold and help the other to come forward and to support and uphold her in every way possible.

“We are all in this together. We need each other. Oh, how we need each other. Those of us who are old need you who are young. And, hopefully, you who are young need some of us who are old. It is a sociological fact that women need women. We need deep and satisfying and loyal friendships with each other. These friendships are a necessary source of sustenance.” ~Marjorie Pay Hinckley



It may sound silly, or even sad . . . but . . . a great deal of my friends are what I call my "Invisible Friends." When I was a small girl, I had invisible friends, but they weren't real. Now, I have invisible friends and though they may live thousands or hundreds of miles away, they are every bit as real to me as my "real life" friends, and every bit as precious . . . perhaps even more so. Oddly enough, it always seems a lot easier to share your heart with someone who lives further away, than it is to share it with someone you have to face in person. But then again . . . I have always been much better with the written word, rather than the spoken word. I am really a very shy person.

I have shared my heart with each of you on here each day and told you things that I perhaps would never have told a person in real life . . . and you have listened and never judged, and upheld and supported me in beautiful ways, and I am grateful for that. I consider you all to be my friends and much treasured by me. What a wonderful medium this must be for someone who is a shut in and can't get out. Somewhat of a double edged sword perhaps, because just as you must choose your friends in real life very carefully . . . so must you do so on here . . . perhaps I've just been very lucky. I know I've been very blessed.



My first friend, and the best friend that I have ever had . . . is my own sister. We share a history together, and a lifetime with each other. She has always been there for me, and I hope that I have always been there for her. I have tried to be. I love my brother too . . . but he is not a sister. A sister is a very special person . . . and mine surely is the most special of all!

At the end of the day, I could probably live without the companionship of a man, but . . . I would dreadfully miss the companionship, understanding and friendship of other women. We’re really are all in this together! We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give!

We're eating alot of potato salads this summer, probably because we planted a whole wack of potatoes! Probably much more than we two humans could possibly get through, but they serve a double purpose really as they put a lot of good into the soil they are grown in! I love creating different kinds of potato salads, using different ingredients and making them unique and quite tasty, or at least they are to me! They're never boring at any rate!



*Potato Salad with Runner Beans and Pesto*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

I love the flavours of summer . . . new potatoes, runner beans . . . always a delicious combination,especially when paired a lovely Pesto sauce.

2 pounds of yellow fleshed potatoes (Yukon gold or charlotte)
1 pound runner beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Pesto sauce (I like to make my own, but if you have to
buy it don’t use the jarred kind, try to buy the fresh one,
available in the refrigerator section of the store)
¼ cup finely chopped spring onions
4 TBS white balsamic vinegar
2 TBS toasted Pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the potatoes into a pot of lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes or so. Add the runner beans and cook for about 4 minutes longer. Drain well.

Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl, cutting the potatoes into smaller chunks if large, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Mix in the pesto and the spring onions, tossing to coat. Set aside to cool completely.

Just before serving, mix in the vinegar, pine nuts and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Note: I have a very good Pesto recipe here.



Baking in The English Kitchen today, Everything But the Kitchen Sink Cookies!

The Simple Woman's Day book . . .

FOR TODAY, July19th, 2011...

Outside My Window...
It is wet and overcast . . . although not raining at the moment. It's also quite cool. What happened to summer? I think we had it in April!! Here's hoping September is a good month and makes up for it. We will be in Cumbria and I am hoping it won't rain every day.

I am thinking...
About Lura and wondering how her operation went yesterday. She has been on my mind constantly and the longer it goes without hearing anything, the more worried I get. I am praying in double time here, and placing all of my trust in the Lord, which is as it should be.

I am thankful for...
I've been dealing with a legal issue over these past few months, which goes back to my previous marriage and the financial settlement which was arranged. We are finally beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I was quite stressed about it yesterday morning, and beginning to think I might be dead before it was resolved, but after a few e-mails and a telephone conversation, I am feeling a lot more optimistic about things.

From the kitchen...
Leftover muffins and fruit, lots of lovely, tasty fruit. I love summer!

I am wearing...
A turquoise nightie and my slippers. Comfy, comfy, comfy . . .

I am creating...



This is my newest piece that I was working on yesterday afternoon. As you can see friends were very much on my mind. I will be putting it out mainly as cards, but if anyone should want it as a print that is also very do-able! Slightly different colours and older looking girls for this one!

I am waiting on an order I placed with Moo cards for stickers to put on the back of my cards. I thought I had paid extra for them to be delivered by last Friday, but alas, I misunderstood and it was this Friday coming. I know . . . Wot am I like???

I am going...
Not a lot on really. Meetings tomorrow night and that's pretty much it. I have my one step program on Friday, which I have missed for two weeks running and can't miss this week, and my reading lessons that I am giving every day. Other than that my calendar is empty!

I am reading...



The White Queen, by Philippa Gregory

Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this fictionalized historical account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.

The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills. I am really enjoying this book thus far, but then Philippa Gregory is a favourite of mine. This is the first book in a series of three, so watch this space!

I am hoping...
That the news about Lura is good news. I am also hoping that I hear something soon. I am on pins and needles the longer it goes.

I am hearing...
Early morning sounds . . . the clock on the mantle humming as the wheels inside it turn. The odd car as it goes by. Mitzie snuffling here curled up behind me on the sofa. The tap tapping of the computer keys as I write. Birds singing in the garden. All is right with the world.

Around the house...
Not a lot to do but Ironing. We are really enjoying this diswasher . . . marveling at how clean it gets the dishes. I am especially loving the glass ware and cutlery! I love squeaky clean! Todd is loving it too, especially as his fingers have been blissfully dry since it's arrival!!

One of my favourite things...
At the moment is puttering in my organized craft room. It is so nice to know where everything is and to have room enough to putter! Next we will be tackling the sheds!! (A tall order and it calls for nice weather too!)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



The yellow rose bush out front is filled with blooms right now, as are all the rose bushes in the back. Our Hydrangea are also filled with lovely blooms . . . so, too, the lavender, sweet peas, petunias, geraniums, daisies, etc. Our garden is a riot of bloom and colour. I love it all so very much. The two pears on our little pear tree get bigger each day, and the apples on our apple tree as well, and they are getting rosier and rosier! I do love our garden . . . we are so very blessed. Mitzie has the run of it now and is really enjoying it as well. She likes to dig though and often gets her paws all muddy and is not too happy when I have to wash them before she comes in! I do so love summer, rainy or dry . . . and I see the sun peeking over the row of houses in front os now so a sunny day just might be in order! Here's hoping!

And just as a closing thought for today . . .

A magical perspective: If, in your mind, you can bring up the drawbridges on yesterday and tomorrow and restrict yourself to today . . . your cares will evaporate and your joys will skyrocket. ~anonymous

You cannot change the past. You cannot control the future. There's no point in worrying about either one. Just make your present the best that you can possibly manage and all will be right.

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!

I am being optomistic in posting this recipe here today. I am thinking of hot summer days and sunshine and the need for cooling desserts!!



*Almond Toffee Ice Cream Loaf*
Serves 8 to 10
Printable Recipe

A tasty way to beat the summer heat!

1 cup of toasted slivered almonds, divided
2 cups of vanilla wafer crumbs (about 42 wafers)
3 TBS butter, melted
1 (14 ounce) tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 (1/4 ounce) English Toffee candy bars, crushed
2 cups of heavy cream, whipped

Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with aluminum foil, allowing the foil to extend above sides of pan. Finely chop 1/2 cup of the almonds and then combine them with the wafer crumbs in a medium bowl. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture and set aside. Combine the remainder with the melted butter, and press firmly into the bottom and halfway up sides of prepared loaf pan.

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and almond extracts in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the reserved crumb mixture, crushed candy bars and remaining 1/2 cup of chopped almonds. Fold in the whipped cream.

Pour this mixture into the prepared pan. Cover tightly and freeze for 6 hours or until firm. To serve, remove from pan. Invert onto a serving dish and peel off the foil. Garnish as desired. Slice to serve.

Note: To toast almonds, place almonds in dry nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan until the nuts are lightly browned.

Here in the UK where Vanilla Wafers are not available use rich tea biscuit cookies or even plain shortbread biscuits. You want a plain vanilla flavoured biscuit.



Baking in The English Kitchen today, some delicious Queen's Muffins, stogged fully of buttery goodness and tasty dried currants!

Only sort of . . .

Once a month, a special magazine drops through our letter box. It is called The Ensign. It is put out by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and we have always subscribed to it. It is filled with wonderfully uplifting articles, and loads of inspiration . . . messages from our church leaders, stories from individual members, etc. We love it and can't wait for it to arrive each month before we each devour it in turn.

It's not only relevant to church members though. I like to think that there are stories and articles in it that most people would find interesting, uplifting and inspiring. Of course, you can read it all online, if you wanted to . . . but we like to have a hard copy in our hands, and often refer to it during the month. We save each one, and they have become invaluable in helping us to teach lessons, or prepare talks. We refer to them often.



Each issue begins with a special message from one of the members of our church Presidency. This month it was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, his message being entitled "Brother, I'm Committed." I love President Uchtdorf. I have always gotten a lot out of his messages, and this one was no different. I sat down to read it yesterday, as did Todd, and we both came away inspired.

He begins by relating a story of two brothers who want to jump into the waters of a beautiful lake from atop a cliff. As they stand there looking down, their courage begins to fade . . . and they begin to think that maybe next year would be a better time, until finally, one brother has enough momentum to actually jump. He yells "I'm Committed!", as he jumps and it is not long before the other brother follows suit. He then goes on to say that, committment is a little like diving into the water.

*Commitment is a little like diving into the water. Either you are committed or you are not. Either you are moving forward or you are standing still. There's no halfway. We all face moments of decision that change the rest of our lives. As members of the Church, we must ask ourselves, 'Will I dive in, or just stand at the edge? Will I step forward or merely test the temperature of the water with my toes?'"



This article, which you can read in full here, reached into both of our hearts yesterday and touched us both in the same way. We are Latter Day Saints, but . . . do we do all the things we should be doing with the comittment with which we should be doing them . . . after asking ourselves this question, and searching our hearts . . . we both realized that we could both be doing a LOT better.

Over this past year and some, we have really struggled with paying our tithing. Since losing my job last year, we have had to manage on a lot less money to live on, and costs keep going up and up. Some months, I admit that we have not paid it. We do catch up later when we can . . . but we need to just do it every month, no matter what. We can always find a few pounds to treat ourselves at McDonald's every now and then . . . so we should be able to committ ourselves to paying a full tithe on time, and not have to play catch up at the end of the year.



There are other areas we fall down on as well. We have become not so good at family prayer and scripture reading . . . we each do it on our own, but we rarely find the time to do it together. We need to make time. We make time to do other things that are not so important . . . we need to push ourselves to make time for these things that are much more important, not as individuals . . . but as a family. There is a tendancy to tell ourselves that, had we children, we would be more faithful in family prayer and scripture reading together, and I know that we would. Does the fact that we don't mean that we don't consider ourselves to be a family???? We are a family, even though there are only two of us . . . and we need to act like one.

Then, too . . . there is Temple Attendance. We should be going more often. The Temple where we live now, is alot further away then it was when we lived down South. The cost of petrol has gone up so much, and our income has gone down a lot. We tell ourselves each month we will go, and then . . . we don't. We need to go. The Temple is where we need to be, and often. In the past year, Todd has gone once . . . and I have not gone at all. The last time I was at the Temple was in July of last year. I am ashamed of that fact . . . truly. I love going to the Temple, I really do. I need to go more often.

We each do our Home and Visit Teaching each month . . . but it's not done in the way that it should be done. Todd grumbles each time his partner drags him out . . . and I fit it in at the last minute each month . . . when we both should be making it a priority in our lives. We both love it when our Home and Visiting Teachers come . . . so we should be having a better attitude towards doing our own. I do love it when I finally go out . . . but I just don't make it the priority it should be in my month.



Lately we have been skipping our Sunday School Classes. We go out and sit in the car, and spend an hour with each other talking. To be honest, I was not in Sunday School until just recently, having been in Primary all of last year . . . and Todd was not comfortable going into Sunday School without me, or that's been his excuse really . . . and once I left Primary to serve in Relief Society I have been going along with Todd, and we've both not been going to Sunday School, telling ourselves we don't get anything out of it. The truth is . . . if we don't put something in to it, we'll never get anything out of it, and sitting in the car is not an option.

"Those who are only "sort of" committed may expect to only "sort of "receive the blessings of testimony, joy and peace. The windows of heaven might only be sort of open to them. . . . There is a difference between intention and action. Those who oly intende to commit may find excuses at every turn. Those who truly commit face their challenges squarely and say to themselves, 'Yes, that would be a very good reason to delay, but I made covenants and so I will do what I have committed to do."

President Uchtdorf . . . consider our arses well and truly kicked!

"Promises are like the full moon. If they are not kept at once, they dimish day by day."

We have both vowed to do better from today, and to scream from the rooftops, with our own examples and lives, that we ARE committed, not just tipping our toes into the water. If we are not committed . . . . then, we are not only letting those around us down, and our Heavenly Father down . . . but we are letting ourselves down most of all.



It is supposed to be a fine day today and so we are going to take ourselves off to the Seaside. We're going to bring an elderly friend of ours and my reading pupil with us, so there will be four of us. They don't often get to go anywhere, she because she relys on him as her care giver to take her places, and he, because he can't read the road signs . . . we thought it would be nice to bring them along with us today and I'm really looking foward to it! I'll try to remember to bring my camera!

Here's a delicious light lunch that is not that hard to throw together. I often cook extra bacon if I am cooking bacon for breakfast and then I freeze it, wrapped in cling film, so that I have it to hand when I need a bit. Mind you, it's not really a problem to cook it up fresh for something as tasty as this is either. You can up the flavours by adding some sliced turkey, ham and/or cheese to this as well. T'would become a Club wrap then, I believe!



*BLT Wraps*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy and delicious! They make a nice light lunch.

Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup of sour cream
2 tsp dry ranch salad dressing mix
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

To fill:
4 (8 inch) flour tortillas
2 cups of torn lettuce
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
4 slices of streaky bacon, cooked as you like it
(I like mine crisp, Todd likes his limp)

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Warm the tortillas according to the package directions. Lay each out and spread each one with 2 TBS of the dressing. Top each with 1/2 cup of lettuce, 1/4 cup of tomatoes and 1 slice of bacon. Fold over and secure closed with a toothpick. Serve.

Note: You can make this a club wrap by adding some sliced cooked turkey or ham, and some sliced cheddar cheese. (Cut each into match sticks.)



Cooking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Hodge Podge . . . a dinner of new vegetables.