The Simple Woman's Day Book . . .

FOR TODAY, November 24, 2008 ...

Outside My Window...
All is quiet and calm and dark and cold . . . brrrr . . . winter seems to have come early this year. I have never known it to snow so early in the year here. Although it did not stay and was followed quite quickly by rain, for a few moments I got to feel the pure excitement of a child again, when the first snow flakes of the year begin to fall. Oh, how I used to long for the sight of those little white flakes. I knew it meant that Christmas could not be too awfully far behind and that Santa would have lots of snow for his sleigh. Mum always said too that a green Christmas meant a death in the family. An old wives tale . . . I know.


I am thinking...
I recently got back in touch with several old friends of mine from years back when my children were still young. It was so wonderful to hear from them and read what's been happening in their lives and sharing with them what has happened in mine. "Our lives can change in an instant", and the older I get the more the reality of that statement comes home to me. We never know really where we will be in our lives from one year to the next. It's a sobering thought and makes me ever more grateful for the blessings I so freely enjoy on this day, for I never know how long they will be mine to enjoy.

I am thankful for...
I am thankful that my Aunt Thelma is in pain no longer and whole again. I talked to my mum yesterday for a time, and she told me that my dear Aunt had asked last week for Heavenly Father to take her home. She didn't want to live any longer in the way she had had to live over these past weeks. In so much pain, and not able to see to read or do anything with her hands. Breathing had become such a struggle for her. Her heart was no longer strong enough to pump all the fluid from her lungs. I think that she was just tired of fighting. Heavenly Father answered her prayers. I expect she is up there sharing a cup of tea with Aunt Freda now and they are having a glorious reunion with each other, and with their mum and dad. I'm so thankful for the knowledge that families are forever.

From the kitchen...
Ohhh . . . I have my Tuesdays With Dorie pie cooling on the counter and some lovely bars that I am going to share with you in just a little bit. I have great plans for this week. It's Thanksgiving week in America as you know and we have been invited to share it with some American friends. I am really looking forward to that. I didn't get to celebrate my Canadian Thanksgiving due to work commitments and so am really looking forward to this one!!


I am wearing...
P-A-J-A-M-A-S!!! Lovely, comfy, warm jammies. I put them on right when we got home from church yesterday. (I know!!! What am I like???) It's my favourite way of relaxing. I figure if Sunday is the Lord's day and meant for rest, then the best way to do it, after church that is, is in my pajamas!

I am creating...
I sorted through all my art stuff at the weekend and got it all organized into the lovely file that Todd gave me for our anniversary. I am so happy now that I have a safe place to store my originals that will help to prevent them from becoming damaged in any way. I have a lot of sketches that I am wanting to get at. I also have some little Christmas bits in the way of crafts that I really need to get busy with. I have about 5 stocking fronts that I have had pieced together for a number of years now and every year I plan on finishing them and getting them quilted for my Grandsons. Soon there will be a third one to make one for. It's all very exciting. In the years before I had to go to work, I used to do a lot of crafts . . . now I have very little free time and so I have to really pick and choose what I am going to do in it. I guess I need to have a better plan so that I can get it all in!

I am going...
I'm really excited at the prospect of going to friend's to celebrate Thanksgiving day. She is cooking the turkey and the cranberry and I am doing all the side dishes. Ohhh, there will be lots of goodies . . . candied yams, and mashed potatoes not to mention a few other surprises! The best part will be feeling like a part of a huge family again. Holidays are very quiet here with just Todd and I, and while I am very grateful that I have a wonderful husband to share them with, I do miss all the noise and commotion of having a passel of kids and their spouses and the wee ones around! There will be no wee ones there on Thursday, but there will be a whole passel of people and hopefully lots of lovely noise!

I am reading...
I am still working on "The Almost Moon", by Alice Sebold. It's a very good read and not at all morbid. I know . . . it does take me a long time to get through a book! We had a literature appreciation night at Young Women's last week where we had invited the young women to bring in several of their favourite books and to be prepared to share why they were their favourites etc. We did have a fun evening and it was so interesting to see each of the girls' personalities coming out in the books that they choose to read!

I am hoping...
I still have not heard from that card company so am thinking that perhaps my work was not quite right for their requirements. I shall not give up though and keep trying. On the bright side all of the wonderful people who have purchased my cards have been so kind as to let me know that they were very happy with them. That makes me feel good. I am always a bit nervous when I send some of my work off to a new home. I would never want anyone to be disappointed in what I send them, and so I am on tenterhooks until it arrives and I know that they are satisfied.

I am hearing...
I have some quite music playing this morning. I love music, especially quiet music. I find it so calming. It's magic. Music is magic. I reckon I got my great love of music from my dad. He loves music too. I am able to appreciate all kinds of music, and I am so thankful for that blessing and the joy that it brings me in my life. Ohhh, the other day on my way up the lane to work I paused to listen to lovely sounds coming from the hedgerows . . . it was a bird that was singing it's pretty little heart out. I watched it fly from the hedgerow to a nearby tree where it continued it's song and my goodness but it made my heart sing. It was a little robin. They have a beautiful voice and then nearby I noticed a little Jenny Wren. I watched for several moments before having to break myself away and continue on up to work. I love these special little moments that God gifts me with each day. I am so thankful that I have a heart that is open to their magic and wonder.


Around the house...
Things are neat and tidy and I am working hard at keeping them that way. I am such a clutter bug, and I know it drives Todd up the wall! The side of my bed is still a mess though, with piles of books and magazines (neatly mind) stacked next to my side of the bed. I have a routine each night before I go to sleep. A few minutes with the Ensign and then a few minutes in a cookbook or cooking magazine and then a few minutes with whichever novel I am reading at the time. I have been reading the Ensign with the latest conference talks in them and really enjoying it. The cookbook I have been enjoying these last few nights is the "Cherry Cake and Ginger Beer" one and I am loving remembering all those lovely books I read as a child and the wonderful foods that I used to drool over in them and wish I could try!

One of my favorite things...
Is sitting down here each morning and penning my thoughts to you. It's like having a beautiful conversation with a close friend and I am grateful for that. Many thanks to you all for giving me that opportunity to share with you each day. I am so blessed . . .

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
I have lots to do for the Thanksgiving dinner, and then I have my December newsletter for the ladies at church to get out. I didn't get one done last month with all of the hassle going on here in the kitchen. I really missed doing it and I hope that they missed receiving it. I will make up for it this month. It's the Christmas one and my very favourite one to do of the year! I just love planning it and putting it together. Then on Saturday we are going to Heathfield to have lunch with some friends and Todd is going to show them how to use the new Family History program on the computer and get it all set up for them. It should be a good day! A day spent with friends is always a blessing and a heart warmer!

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



Not a great picture of me and I really don't ever like pictures of me, but I love this one. It was taken a couple of years ago when Todd and I were visiting my mom two summers ago. That's my oldest grandson and we were having some fun down on the carpet. Oh, how I enjoyed that time together. I love my family so much. It makes me sad sometimes that they are so far away, but then I stop and think that they are never far away in my heart and I know that I am never far away in theirs. It makes the moments we DO get to spend together all the more special and precious. I shall never take them for granted.

Make sure you check out some of the other Day Book entries on The Simple Woman . I reckon it's a good way to bless your day and touch your heart in a very good way.

I thought I'd share the Make Me Bake Challenge with you this morning. I have been so slack with that lately, what with the kitchen re-fit and then our computer going down last week. I promise to be better at it from now on. MY goodness, but you guys chose a real winner with this last one! And judging from the way Todd has been enjoying them, he thinks so too! This is one for that Christmas baking tray of goodies for sure!



*Double Cherry Streusel Bars*
Makes 48

These are so yummy and buttery good. I love the slight tang of the dried cherries and the buttery shortness of the crust and crumble, not to mention the sweet cherry preserves. These are so yummy. I cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us and trust me when I say I do not to eat that many of them. These are so good I could easily have eaten the whole tray! (I forgot the chocolate drizzles too!)

2 cups boiling water
1 cup dried tart cherries, or dried cranberries
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups packed soft light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter (8 ounces)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped slivered almonds (I used pecans)
1 12-ounce jars of cherry preserves
(I used morello cherry conserve)
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces
1 tsp vegetable shortening

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Put the dried fruit into a bowl and cover it with the boiling water. Set aside to stand for 10 minutes to soften and then drain well. Set aside.

Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, or the tips of your fingers, blend in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve one cup of the crumb mixture in a small bowl. Mix the chopped nuts into it, and set aside.

Take the remaining crumbs and press them into the bottom of a 15 X 10 X 1 inch baking pan that you have lined with lightly greased parchment paper. (or wax paper) Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile for the filling, stir together the plumped dried cherries, the cherry preserves and the lemon peel. Spread this evenly over the hot crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over top. Bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least two hours before proceeding.

In a small saucepan combine the chocolate bits and the shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted. Drizzle over top of the cooled mixture. Cut into bars. Store in a tightly covered container.

The Beyond . . .

It seemeth such a little way to me
Across to that strange country, The Beyond;
And yet, not strange, for it has grown to be
The home of these of whom I am so fond.

And so for me there is no Death;
It is but a crossing, with abated breath, a little strip of sea,
To find one's loved ones waiting on the shore
More beautiful, more precious than before.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

When I awoke this morning, I didn't know what I was going to write here on this page. I took my shower and still no words came to me. Then I sat down to read my e-mails and one immediately caught my eye . . . one from my brother . . . the title . . . Aunt Thelma Passed Away at 8:30 Tonight . . . my eyes immediately filled with tears, and my heart began to ache.



You've never heard me say much about my Aunt Thelma. That is not because I didn't think of her often or because she was not special to me. She was my praying Aunt, and not very exciting, but I loved her dearly. My mother's older sister, she had been given an awfully hard row to hoe in life. She was a woman of great faith. She should have died a hundred times, and didn't. We thought of her as being a little bit like the *Ever-ready Bunny*, she just kept going and going.

When she was but a young girl of thirteen years, she was raped in her own bed, in her own home, with her parents just in the bedroom next door, by some men who my grandmother had rented a room out to during the local summer exhibition. I often thought of that through the years. How very frightening an experience that must have been for this young girl. I never spoke of it to her . . . I can only think that it coloured her young life in a way we cannot imagine.

She was a school teacher in her late teens, and then she married my Uncle Frank. My Uncle Frank was a sick man. He suffered from Schizophrenia. Her life with him was not a very good one. He was a cruel man, because of his disease and he treated her and their children very badly. We went to visit them one time on Prince Edward Island when I was about 11 years old. They lived in a rambling old farm house and they were very poor. I can remember my father being very nervous about Uncle Frank. You never knew what he was going to do next . . . those years with him, must have been hell on earth. She suffered with ill health off and on, and from his cruel ways, and she lost several children, some in child birth, and one, a baby girl named Cathy, when Cathy was several months old. She, herself, was given the last rights more than several times throughout those years.



When I was about 14, my mother, Aunt Freda and Uncle Harold went over to the Island to rescue her from my Uncle Frank, and to bring her and her five surviving children over to the mainland . . . Nova Scotia . . . to live. She would eventually divorce him, and she would bring those children up all by herself, as she never remarried, nor did she ever have a relationship with any man in that way for the rest of her life. She was a good mother. She worked from sun up to sun down, to do her very best for her children, to give them a good home and to provide for them all the things that they needed. It was not easy for her. She worked days cleaning other people's houses for them, and then she would come home and do it all again. Her house was spotless. It was a very hard and toilsome life, but I cannot recollect ever hearing a word of complaint from her about the things she had to do. She did her very best with what little she had.

Sometimes at Easter or Christmas, she would send up to us beautiful baking, sweet breads all covered in white icing and stogged full of fruit and decorated with cherries. I always looked forward to seeing them come through the door. At the time, I didn't give much thought to what it must have taken her to bake them for us, but now, as an adult, I know and understand that it must have taken a huge chunk out of her sparse larder, and was probably a great sacrifice for her to do so, but do it she did . . . out of love.



My Aunt Thelma often suffered in life with aches and pains, and in her later years she had Chronic Lung Disease, and suffered from ulcers on her legs. She was on Oxygen all the time, and eventually had to be put in the hospital with a circulatory problem in her legs, which did become affected with some gangarene. She was in the hospital for months and months. Last time we were home, Todd and I went to visit her there. She was in so much pain, but was so very happy to see us. It hurt us to see her that way, in pain and broken. She looked so small and frail in her bed. After a number of months, they did have to remove her leg. She was eventually moved to a old people's home, as there was no way that she could have returned to her own home in a wheel chair. I expect that she was glad to see the end of being in the hospital, but the move did mean that she was now quite far down the valley, which made it difficult for people to visit her. She seemed happy there, but I expect she was a bit lonely and missing the activity of days gone by. She often helped them out in the kitchen peeling potatoes and such for the evening meal. She had gone quite blind in these recent months, only being able to discern the light from the darkness . . . and now she is gone back home, safe to her father's arms.



For her there is no more darkness, only light. No weeping, no wailing, no tears . . . no more aches and pains . . . her body whole. She was our faithful praying Aunt here in this mortal veil of tears, and I know she will always be our praying Aunt in the beyond. As I sit here this morning my heart aches for all the things she should have had and deserved to have, and never did . . . it aches because I never had the chance to say goodbye and tell her that I loved her . . . it aches for my mother who is now the last surviving sister and daughter in that family . . . it aches for my cousins who are now mourning the loss of their beloved mother . . . it aches because she died alone . . .

I know that when she got to the other side, the Lord surely said to her . . . Welcome home my faithful servant . . . welcome home . . .

Always a stickler for cleanliness and order, she is probably putting things to right this morning, and getting rid of any cobwebs and dust that may be about, and doing it on two healthy legs, with two healthy lungs and a determined glint in her eye, and when she pauses for a moment or two, she thinks of us and says a little prayer . . .



We had a pretty quiet evening here last night. It's gotten very cold. Cold temperatures call for hearty comfort food. The kind of food that sticks to your innards and warms you up. I'm still getting used to my new camera, so my pictures are not the best, but let me assure you . . . this was delicious.



*Herbed Sausages with Polenta and Onion Gravy*
Serves 4

This is somewhat of an Italian take on that good old British dish, Sausage and Mash with Onion Gravy. If you've tried polenta before and were somewhat disappointed, try it again . . . the secret, as with most tasty things in life, is to use lots of butter and cheese, and to season it well.

12 good quality herby sausages

For the gravy:
2 TBS olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 fresh springs of rosemary, broken into bits
2 tsp flour
2 TBS red currant or cranberry jelly
300ml red wine
300ml beef stock
(If you don't use alcohol in cooking, just use all stock)
25g butter

For the Polenta:
150g powdered polenta
50g butter
75g freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Put 750ml of water in a medium saucepan. Place over high heat, cover and bring to a simmer. Pour the polenta into the pan of simmering water slowly, whisking constantly to prevent any lumps from forming. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, or according to the package instructions, giving it a stir periodically.

Meanwhile make the gravy. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and then add the onions and rosemary. Cook, stirring, until the onions begin to soften. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook slowly in their own juices for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Stir in the flour and continue to cook for a few minutes longer, until the flour is no longer pale in colour. Add the jelly, wine and stock. Bring to the boil, then simmer away gently for 15 minutes while you grill the sausages.

Pre-heat the grill. Put the sausages onto a baking sheet lined with tinfoil. Grill for 15 minutes, turning them over half way through the time.

When all is ready, beat the butter and the Parmesan cheese into the polenta. Whisk the butter into the gravy and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Spoon the hot polenta into heated bowls and top with a grilled sausages and pour the hot gravy over all. Delicious!



PS -- IT'S SNOWING!!!!! I'm so excited!

A Stolen Kiss

A kiss, when all is said, what is it?
A rosy dot placed on the "i" in loving;
'Tis a secret told to the mouth instead of to the ear.
~Edmond Rostand




As you can tell my mind has been on Valentines this afternoon. Just a playful little picture. I love the little look of embarassment on the little boy's face, and the little girl looks so sure of herself. Contact me to see how you can get this print as a card for that special someone. (Obviously the watermark will not appear in the print!)

A Broken Beak

At the Winter Feeder

His feather flame doused dull
by ice and cold,
the cardinal hunched
into the rough, green feeder
but ate no seed.

Through binoculars I saw
festered and useless
his beak, broken
at the root.

Then two: one blazing, one gray,
rode the swirling weather
into my vision
and lighted by his side.

Unhurried, as if possessing
the patience of God,
they cracked sunflowers
and fed him
beak to wounded beak
choice meats.

Each morning and afternoon
the winter long,
that odd triumvirate,
that trinity of need,
returned and ate
their sacrament
of broken seed.
~John Leax

What a lovely poem. I expect it must have been written on the basis of something the author had actually seen. How wonderful nature can be in so very many ways. For a long time, we had a sparrow coming to our feeder that had a lame leg. It hung off his side like a useless piece of flesh, but still it came and fed each day, seemingly not bothered by it's obvious handicap. None of the other birds were aggressive with this poor bird or pushed it away . . . in fact, it seemed that they deferred to him in every way. Perhaps his lame leg was a mark of some courageous deed he had done in the past . . . and they all paid homage to him . . . I shall never know.



Do we take the time in our busy lives to take note of our brothers and sisters who may have broken beaks, or lame legs . . . to help feed them some of the goodness with which we are so richly blessed to have in our lives. Do we share freely of our many gifts with those less fortunate than ourselves? Do we stop to honor those who have given much . . . in the way that they deserve?

I try each day to do small kindness's to someone, to anyone. It may be as simple a gesture as holding a door open, or picking up something that's been dropped . . . or as grand a gesture as bringing a pot of soup and a spot of conversation to an elderly neighbour who rarely gets out, or even a much needed few hours of your time to help them do whatever is needed to be done.

There is a small man that stands outside our local grocery store each week selling the Big Issue. This means that he is homeless. I always give him something, ever mindful of the fact that . . . there, but for the Grace of God go I . . . I, too, could be homeless one day, and I hope that those better off than myself would reach out in love to me too. Right now it is only a pittance that I give really, in the scheme of things, but I expect it means the world to him . . .



Simple gestures, small deeds and kindnesses, little acts of love. They all add up, and, in truth, bless the giver far more than the recipient. I may not have much, but I am happy to say that, what I do have, I would gladly share with anyone in need. I expect that's what we're really here for . . .

It's not a great picture, but this is that Lamb Tagine that I had put into the slow cooker last Sunday that I forgot to turn on. My goodness but it was delicious. It smelt rather odd, but the flavour more than made up for it!



*Tagine of Lamb With Prunes*
Serves 4

A tagine is a glazed earthenware vessel with a conical lid that is traditionally used in Morocco to cook lovely stews, full of spicy flavours. You can buy Tagines in most cook shops, but I don't really have a stove that lends itself to cooking with a tagine. I use my slow cooker instead, and I expect it tastes just as good, if not better! Spooned over some steamed rice with hunks of crusty bread on the side, this was a delicious meal . . . just perfect for these cooler days we are having now.

2 TBS olive oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 3/4 pounds of lamb shoulder, or 3/4 pound of leg of lamb,
trimmed of fat and cut into 2 inch cubes
2 onions, 1 peeled and finely diced, 2 thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
8 threads of Spanish saffron, toasted and crushed
(this helps to bring out the spices' essential oils and flavour)
15 fresh coriander sprigs, chopped
1 cup pitted prunes
2 TBs honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Crusty bread to serve

Place all the ingredients into a slow cooker and give them a good stir. Cook on high for about an hour, then reduce the heat to medium or low and cook for a further 4 to5 hours, until the meat is very tender and you have a lovely fragrant and delicious sauce. Serve hot with chunks of crusty bread for dipping into the sauce.

*Note - if you don't have a slow cooker you can cook this by browning your meat in the olive oil along with the spices and then adding the remaining ingredients. Place the mixture into a casserole dish and then bake it in a slow oven (about 325*F) for several hours until tender and fragrantly delicious, making sure it does not cook dry and adding a bit more broth from time to time as needed.

Note to Marie : We got the new food processor at Curry's! It was a real bargain!

Some Weeks Are Just Like That!

"All negative thoughts I've
decided must go,
I'll try to say, "Yes" when I want to say, "No."
I won't say, "I can't," but, "I can only try."
And accept things that happen -- not keep
asking why.

I'll make time for hobbies and brighten my day,
And not let my problems affect what I say,
There are many folk homeless, sad, hungry,
in pain,
I am blessed with so much, I'll not grumble again.

Today will be good for I'm filled now with hope,
With God's love inside me, I know I can cope,
No moanings, or groanings, no sighing, no dread,
My positive thoughts are all there instead!"
~Chrissy Greenslade



What a week we have had at Oak Cottage!!! Late Tuesday afternoon our computer prompted us to do updates on our operating system, which is Windows Vista. I had just gotten my food processor out to do something, and found that it would not work, not at all. The knob to turn it on and off appeared to be broken. You know how that goes . . . quite often repairing something like that costs far more than it does to replace the whole machine. We'd had it for 8 years and so decided that it was time to get a new one. Just before we left to go look for one we started the updates on the computer. We thought it would be relatively painless, as we would be out anyways, and they would all be finished by the time we got back.

What's that they say???? You know, about the best laid plans of men and mice often going astray?



Well . . . here's where the fun begins. When we returned from the shops, the updates hadn't even started, and so we fiddled with it and they began. I started to play with my new toy. We had gotten a much better food processor than my old one, and for a really great price. We got a lovely Kenwood model that was regularly £99.99 (they always have to get those 99's in there, why not just say £100) for £49.99, half price virtually. It has twice the attachements, a much larger bowl and takes up half the space. Anyways, I was playing with it and making something, and then we realized that the computer seemed to be stuck on the 3rd upload pack at 46%. Hmmm . . . it had been several hours by then.

Todd thought it must have frozen and so decided to shut the computer down and re-boot it. When it came back up, guess what . . . the upload was still there, 3rd pack, 46%. Can you say grrrrr . . . ??? We tried this several more times, and got the same thing, again and again. Our computer would not let us go onto the desktop or anything. So we called the tecchie guys. They tried what they could over the phone, with no results . . . . can you say double grrrr . . . ??? We were finally told that we would have to take it to the shop at PC World the next day and they would retrieve and download any data that we had stored on the computer and put it onto a disc so that we wouldn't lose it, and then we would have to wipe the system and reset all the factory settings, which would mean that our computer would be just as it was when we first bought it home from the store last year . . . empty.



Sounds simple . . . as frustrating as it was, right? WRONG!

When is anything like that going to be simple??? Todd got to PC world the next morning, and because they had just spent a month shut, they had a backlog of computer repairs to do, so we were told that it would be at least 28 days before they could get to our machine. There was no way we could wait that long. My computer is my main way of communicating with my family back in Canada, and a lot of our work is done on the computer. We ended up having to take it to a guy who does computer repairs, and what should have been free and covered under our insurance plan with PC world, ended up costing us a nice £60 . . . but at least we are now back up and running, and from what we can see have not lost too much of anything, except for all the dates on our calendar such as birthdays and such and of course, all of our bookmarks. (They needed a good cleaning out anyways, as they had gotten quite out of control! )



I'm really sorry if any of you worried this week about me not being here. I really missed my blogging each morning, but as a result, I got all my Christmas presents wrapped and some handwritten letters written to put into some of my family's Christmas Cards, and all isnow pretty much ready to go. I had been procrastinating getting that done, and I am relieved that it is now all finished. Now I just have to mail them!

I apologize if I have not been able to visit your pages this past week and comment, and I have to admit that it will be highly unlikely that I will be able to catch up with each of you now. Too many days have passed, and there are so many of you that I love to visit. I'll just have to start from scratch again. I have lost a lot of my bookmarks as well, so if I am a regular visitor to your page, and if I haven't caught up with you soon, then let me know, as it will probably be because I can't quite find you!!

I can remember about 20 years ago, someone told me that one day everyone would have a personal computer in their homes. I thought at the time, not likely . . . what would anyone want one of those for? What possible use could they be? I'll never have one of those, I just can't be bothered. I cannot now imagine my life without one. I surely missed our little Bessie this week and being able to check my e-mails and catch up on all of your doings, not to mention being able to catch you all up on mine. I am so grateful that we were able to get it all sorted, and that I am back here penning these words to you all this morning! Whew!! It's been a bit of a pain, but then again . . . some weeks are just like that!



I did manage to get the raspberry short breads from the Make Me Bake Challenge baked this week. That's what I was doing that afternoon when the food processor stopped working and the computer crashed. I suppose having them here to munch on after all that hassle made the waiting just a little bit sweeter. I know my Todd has really been enjoying them!



*Raspberry Shortbread*
Makes 12 to 16 wedges

Picture sweet buttery melt in your mouth crunch, stogged full of delicious raspberry preserves and you have these delightful shortbread biscuits. These are a real favourite around here.

1 pound butter, at room temperature
4 large egg yolks
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raspberry jam, at room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted

Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. You will need a 10 inch tart pan with a removable bottom or you can just use a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.



Cream the butter until soft and fluffy with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a food processor. Beat in the egg yolks. (alternately whiz them for a few seconds in the food processor until combined) Stir together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter/egg yolk mixture, mixing just until incorporated and the dough comes together. (Do the same in the food processor, blitzing it several times until a dough forms) Divide the dough in half.

Press one half of the dough evenly into the bottom of the tart tin, or the baking pan, pressing it down to compact it slightly.

With a spoon or spatula, spread the jam evenly over the surface to within 1/2 inch of the edge of the dough all the way around. Take the remaining half of the dough and crumble it evenly over top of the jam, covering it completely.

Bake in the heated oven until it is lightly golden brown. This should take between 30 and 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust with the icing sugar. Cool on a wire rack before removing the sides of the pan. Cut into wedges with a serrated knife to serve. (If you have used a baking pan, just cut into squares.) Store in a tightly covered container. This keeps very well.



PS - for those of you who asked, that is not my actual cottage in the header of this page. (I believe it is a peacock on the roof) I am not allowed to show you a picture of the actual cottage we live in, as my employer feels it would jeopardize their security, and I respect that. Let me just say though, that the cottage we live in is quite similar in a lot of ways, except it is totally detached and quite off the beaten path.

PPS - Several of you had handed me some awards just prior to this nasty mishap with the computer and I'm afraid I lost them all. If you could jog my memory I would really appreciate it! Thanks so much!