The Simple Woman's Day Book

FOR TODAY, August 5th, 2014

Outside my window ...
You can tell the days are getting shorter. It is not as light out as it has been these past few weeks.   Will it rain today?   Will it be sunny?   That remains to be seen!

I am thinking ...
 ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻(¯`✻´¯) 
          ✻ღϠ`*.¸.*₡ღ¸.✻
Yesterday marked the 70th anniversary since Anne Frank and her family were arrested by the Germans.   She was sent to Auschwitz and would be dead six months later.  It also marked the centenary anniversary of the start of WW1.  Has mankind not learned anything?  Our world appears to be a much worse place than it has ever been.  Hatred and evil abound. The family is under attack.  People have more than they have ever had, and yet it is still not enough.  More people are lonely and alone.  Depression and mental illness abound.  And yet . . .  I know that, just as all of these bad things exist, there is good . . .  a lot of good.  I cling to that.

I am thankful ...
For waking up this morning.  

In the kitchen ...




In the kitchen today, I am sharing some of my Seasonal Favourites including this delicious Plum Clafoutis!

On my "To Cook" list ...

White Chocolate Brownies from  Midwest Living.   Seriously delicious looking.  Now that's a brownie Todd would sink his teeth into.

I am creating ...
I found a fabulous blog called a Fanciful Twist.   It is filled to overflowing with fabulous crafty things.  Everything I show you today is going to come from there just because it is so marvelous!



Sparkley Bottle Brush Trees.   She shows you how to bleach them and everything.  A complete tutorial.

A Princess Pin Cushion.   Again a complete tutorial.  It's so precious!




Sparkly Stars.  No instructions, but how hard can it be.  You cut out cardboard stars, spread them with glue and glitter and then hang them.  I am going to do these as a garland I think, to hang on the mantle!



Newspaper Roses!  Aren't they different!  Again, a complete tutorial!



 Sparkly Paper Snowflakes!  Seriously simple, and again, a complete tutorial!


I am going ...
I am cooking at the Youth Camp this week on Thursday and Friday.   Tomorrow I have to get my hair cut and tomorrow our Student also arrives to stay with us.

I am wondering ...  
I am seriously wondering how this is going to work out with this student.  I am hoping it all works out fine.  It will be a huge change for us to have someone else actually living with us.  It has been a good thing in many ways already, as it has helped us to pare down and organize and get rid of a lot of things.  Yesterday I defrosted our freezer.  Everything is ready for her arrival.  I am trying to think about all of the positives.  This could be a really fabulous experience for us.  She will be with us for ten months and is studying nursing.

I am reading ...



Tapestry of Fortunes, by Elizabeth Berg
In this book four very different women delve into their pasts in order to share their futures, fates and fortunes.

Cecilia Ross is a motivational speaker who encourages others to change their lives for the better. Why can’t she take her own advice? Still reeling from the death of her best friend, and freshly aware of the need to live more fully now, Cece realizes that she has to make a move—all the portentous signs seem to point in that direction. She downsizes her life, sells her suburban Minnesota home and lets go of many of her possessions. She moves into a beautiful old house in Saint Paul, complete with a garden, chef’s kitchen, and three housemates: Lise, the home’s owner and a divorced mother at odds with her twenty-year-old daughter; Joni, a top-notch sous chef at a first-rate restaurant with a grade A jerk of a boss; and Renie, the youngest and most mercurial of the group, who is trying to rectify a teenage mistake. These women embark on a journey together in an attempt to connect with parts of themselves long denied. For Cece, that means finding Dennis Halsinger. Despite being “the one who got away,” Dennis has never been far from Cece’s thoughts.

I have only just started it, but you all know how much I love the writing of Elizabeth Berg.

I am hoping ...
I see great improvement in my thumb after three weeks, although first thing in the morning it is still clicking.  I am thinking I may need to wear a splint at night?  I don't know.  I sure hope it doesn't get any worse, but continues to get better.

Makes me smile ...



Wanting a Daschund puppy.  I think Mitzie would not be as bored if we had another dog, someone to play with, but also afraid that her feelings would be hurt if we got another dog.  Perhaps if it was a baby she would be okay with it.  I don't know . . . this picture of this puppy makes me smile though.  Could it make her smile too?

I am learning ...
I am learning to be more forgiving of myself.  That sounds like a simple thing to do, but it is not.  It is sometimes the hardest thing to do.

Around the house ...



I just adore this patchwork blanket.  I like the pillows too!  We have those same night stands.  It comes from a really cute blog called Hopscotch Lane.



I love, love LOVE this idea of wall papered blinds!  How fabulously cute!  And you could adapt it to any room, any paper, any colour scheme, etc.   From Tinkered Treasures by Elyse Major.  Such a fabulous idea!



I am absolutely adoring this Dollar Store Vintage Linen Closet Makeover from A Sort of Fairytale.  Love all of the bright colours.  It's so cheerful looking.




Stenciled Windows!!  Love.  Love.  LOVE!  From Design Inspiration, Planet Stencil Library.



 I just adore this living room/lounge.  Love the flowered furniture, the carpet, the colour scheme.  Love it all.   I think I have a very feminine heart.  From Be Home Goods Happy.

 I am pondering ...
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine, almost always makes me high

I love these words from the John Denver song, Sunshine.    Sunshine on my shoulders does make me happy ...... does it make you happy?

A favourite quote for the day ...  


`*.¸.*✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..
(¯`v´¯)
 `*.¸.*´Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
  ¸.•´¸.•~♥♥♥~•.~      
"In every crisis there is a message.
Crises are nature's way of forcing change -
breaking down old structures,
shaking loose negative habits
so that something new and better can take their place."
~Susan Taylor
Being positive about things never hurts.

One of my favourite things ...  



I just adore this Newman's Own smokin Hot Dog Sauce.  It's so good.  And not just for hotdogs.  I love it so much I could eat it with a spoon, but I don't.  It's smoky and spicy and mustardy.  In short, perfect with hot dogs!

A peek into my day ...

My camera and I are inseparable.  I carry it with me everywhere.   I have too often wish that I had it with me and so now I just bring it along.  This enables me to capture beautiful things like this rose just opening up.   Sweet.

And that's my day book for this week!
  
⋱ ⋮ ⋰
   ⋯ ◯ ⋯ Take time to enjoy the small*´¯`.¸¸.☆
   ⋰ ⋮ ⋱ blessings in life.*´¯`.¸¸.☆
   ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿
   ╬♥═╬╬═♥=╬╬═♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥═╬
   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░  

Wherever you go and whatever you do I hope there's a wonderful day planned for you! 
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Small and Wonderful Things . . .

 

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard  

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life.   It's the small things in life which truly mean the most.  Simple abundance . . . it's the best.    





This is my youngest son Bruce with my youngest grandson Cameron.   Bruce doesn't have any children yet, he's not married.  He just has Baxter the puppy and his partner Sara, and a new house.   He is the best Uncle.  All of the grandchildren love him.  He's getting plenty of practice in before he has a family of his own I guess!  These two are like two peas in a pod.   Cameron has always looked a lot like his Uncle Bruce.  ☺



Last week was Vacation Bible School at the local Baptist church back home I guess and so Maryn (my only granddaughter) and Jon (my second oldest grandson) were both in the valley to attend.  I expect they were staying with their granddad.  They look like they are enjoying time with Uncle Bruce as well!

See, great husband and father material.   Sara wants to snap him up quickish like.  I know . . .  I am a bit biased.



While I am at it, here's the latest photo of Baxter!  Another cutie pie.   Grand-doggies are just as important and loved as grandchildren I think.   Well, this one is at any rate.  He is a major part of my son's beautiful life.  Good practice for what is to come.




We had a beautiful lesson in our Relief Society meeting yesterday based on the Patterns of Light talks by Elder David A Bednar.  (You can see all three videos here.   They're really good and are only a few minutes long each.  In fact I am listening to them all as I write this!)   They provoked lots of great discussion amongst the Sisters and I was deeply touched by all of them and impressed with things I had not thought about before.   That is a good lesson  . . .  one that leaves an impression and which touches your heart.

"Everything that invites and entices us to do good and to be good comes from God."

For years I have struggled with the way my children have been taught that I am just a nutter who joined a cult.   It hurts my feelings that for the most part they believe this to be true.   That I am on a fast track to hell.   No mother wants her children to think these things about her, especially when all through their formative years she was the one who taught them to pray and to love the Lord.  How then could they question her judgement or ability to discern truth from lie.  In any case, upon listening to the second video and watching it, this quote jumped out at me.  I wish I could make them watch these videos and to take this into their hearts.   Then they would know or could know I am not in a bad place, but a good place and my spirit is safe.  It cannot be a very nice feeling for them to think I am doomed to an eternity in hell either.




I love Tunnocks Tea Cakes.   Those lovely little crisp biscuits (cookies), topped with marshmallow, coated in chocolate and wrapped in foil.  They are a Scottish thing.   I can remember when I lived in Canada and working in a shop they used to get in a tray of them each month.   Bruce was only a baby then, so it was a very long time ago.   I used to get really annoyed because kids used to come in and poke holes down into the whole lot when nobody was looking.



That would ruin them all.   The marshmallow in them is not like ordinary marshmallow.   It's soft and gooey, like a fluffy seven minute icing almost.  They're so good.  There is something really special about the experience of eating a Tunnocks Tea Cake.  



Everyone has their own way of savouring the experience . . .  much like eating an Oreo cookie.   You can smash and eat the three layers at once . . .  crispy biscuit, soft mallow, milky chocolate, the three melding themselves into a delicious mouthful.  Or you can take a small bite and then hollow out all of the mallow with your tongue, saving the biscuit and remaining chocolate for last.  Or you can just have two and eat the first one as a smash and the second one as a hollow out.   It doesn't really matter how you do it, only that you enjoy it.

Yes, I save the foil.   Don't ask me why . . .  I don't know why.  I only know I do it.   Maybe I am hoping one day to try making my own from scratch.  Watch this space!



The sunflowers that are now blooming in the garden.  We planted large ones and mini ones.  The mini ones are blooming now and they are such gorgeous colours.  I love them!

 

 My new Susan Branch Calendars for 2015.   I was so disappointed that she didn't have a blotter calendar for 2014, so was thrilled that she has one for next year.  Of course I just had to treat myself.  I love Susan's work.  I have been a huge fan since the 1980's when she used to do an illustrated recipe in the Country Living magazine every month.   If you have never visited her blog, you are missing out on something really special.   She's a great gal!  And so talented, plus she lives on Martha's Vineyard.   A dream of mine!


And that's my small and wonderful things for this week!  I hope your week was filled with some small and wonderful things too!

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .

 ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻ (¯`✻´¯)
                   `*.¸.*✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..
So much has been given to me, 
I have no time to ponder over that which 
has been denied. 
~ Helen Keller ✫¸¸.·´¯`✫ ✫¸¸.·´¯`✫     




Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Crunchy Tuna Melts.  Soooooo Good!

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Have a fabulous Monday.  I hope it is filled to overflowing with small and wonderful things!

Sunday musings . . .

The sun did not shine,
it was tipping it down . . .
raindrops were falling all over the town.



Mitzie lay on the sofa, a huffin and puffin . . .
what a waste of a day
for to do there is nuffin . . .



There are no cats to chase . . .
no sweet butterflies.
I've nothing to do but inundate them with sighs . . .



These people I own . . .  bore me right to distraction . . .
They read and they cook, but
there's next to no action . . .



He sits on his chair, like a bump on a log
there's nothing, no NOTHING . . .
I'm a hard done by dog . . .



I'll admit that might be a slight exaggeration . . .
my brain's in a muddle,
There's the occasional tickle,
a hug and a cuddle.




A few tasty goodies . . .
sometimes even pies
they cannot resist
when I give them those eyes . . .



Could you?

It rained quite heavily all day yesterday.   Off and on there were little breaks in the clouds and the sun shone through brilliantly during those times, but when it rained, it really rained.   The garden really needed though so I won't complain and today feels a lot fresher, so that's good. Mitzie hates it when it rains because we block her off from the grassed area of the garden.  It just gets too squelchy and muddy.

We found out yesterday that our student is coming a week earlier than we thought so we were at panic stations, getting all of the finishing touches done to her room.  I had bought a towel rack to put on the back of the bedroom door, with two rails.  Todd managed to get it put up . . .  with one side about 6 inches higher than the other, and the whole thing upside down.  He is definitely not builder material.  I can't for the life of me figure out why he didn't see it without me pointing it out??



I don't really like pointing these things out . . .  but I couldn't let this one pass.  It was too glaringly noticeable.    The whole day was like a comedy of errors though.   You get days like that once in a while.

Todd did the vacuuming, all the while thinking to himself, something smells really bad in here and wondering what it was, only to discover that he had stepped in some dog mess and tracked it all through the house, and I mean literally all through the house, grinding it in with the vacuum cleaner as he went along.  It was even on the wall to go up the stairs, and all over his trouser legs, and in the coils of the vacuum cleaner hose.  What a mess! 

While he was vacuuming, I was cleaning the refrigerator.  I do it about every couple of weeks anyways, but yesterday I decided to take all the shelves out and the bottom drawer . . .  only to discover . . .  once I got all of the shelves emptied, etc. . . .  that where the fridge is situated, it is impossible to open the door wide enough to get any of the shelves or bottom drawer out!  Literally IMPOSSIBLE!   I tried every angle I could.   Nada.  So I  just did the best I could do without taking them out.   I hate it when my efforts are frustrated like that though.  I really do.

So Mitzie wasn't the only one who was a huffin and a puffin!

This made it all better though . . .



A Strawberry Devonshire Tart.  Today.   In The English Kitchen.

And the sun is shining . . . .



Have a great Sunday!  I know I will.

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It's hard not to smile when the sun shines so brilliantly. 

 

Saturday thoughts on . . . August!

 Things always seem to slow down a bit when August hits . . . perhaps it is because this is the month when the heat of the summer seems to be in it's zenith . . .  people walk without hurry, pasturing cows seek the shade of the trees which border their pastures, sleepily chewing their cud . . . the birds quiet down and the air seems to hum with the buzz of cicadas, something which we do not have here in the UK, but a noise which embroidered all of  the HOT summer days of my childhood.

The courgettes in the garden go wild . . . and corn silk begins to darken in the corn patches signalling it's about ready for picking.   All of the busy-ness of spring planting is over . . .  and the busy-ness of the harvest has not yet begun.  We are on a bit of a hiatus . . . it would seem . . .



The garden begins to droop and sag somewhat . . . the heat of August even seemingly gets to the flora and fauna in our beds and pots . . .

But the tomatoes . . . . ohhhh . . . the tomatoes . . . rosy ripening sweet orbs of gold and crimson . . . the vegetable garden is where the blessings of these hot still days are manifold . . .  with ripening sweet golden ears of corn, gleaming emerald peppers, royal purple of the aubergine . . . .  rows of hanging beans and pod of pea . . .  the colour and richness and texture in a vegetable garden in August are a recurrent miracle of sorts . . .

"I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and 
wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have here, a hive for the
honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade."
~William Butler Yeats, Lake Isle of Innisfree  

August is the month of the Full Sturgeon Moon.  The Algonquin knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this full Moon. They also called this the Full Green Corn Moon.  I read yesterday that they are expecting August here in the UK to break records temperature wise, beginning about the middle of the month.  We may actually experience the "dog days" of August this year.

I am not sure how to feel about that.



I am not a person who likes to sleep on top of the covers . . .

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

(¯`✻´¯)
  `*.¸.*✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..
Happiness is not a matter of events, 
it depends upon the tides of the mind. 
~Alice Meynell  ⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰✿⊰  


 

Something else I love about August . . .  Blueberries!  Baking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  a delicious Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake!

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Have a wonderful Saturday from beginning to end!

Friday Finds . . .

 


 A few of the wow moments, or things I discover each week that tickle my fancy.  I hope that they may inspire or tickle yours too!   

 












  








I just love these do it yourself Tote Bags.   They would come in so handy for all sorts, and I am thinking they would be fab to cart all of my stuff back and forth to church!  There is a complete Tutorial on SweetTmakes Three.  

I just adore this wall arrangement.  I found it on BHG.  You just got to love BHG!  1-Hour Projects.   There's a few different things that only take an hour or so to do.  This is my favourite one though.  

Style File.  There are a whole load of different projects for the garden, but this is by far my favorite, probably because it looks very easy to do.  What a fab way to cool off on a hot day!    

 Our garden is filled with Hydrangea.   We have never known quite what to do with them.  So far they have thrived on neglect.   We wait until the blooms are dried and then Todd cuts them all off.  How to prune and when, on Eclectically Vintage.   I felt her pain, even though I am sure her husband meant well.  lol  Don't they always?

Now this is a really nifty idea. High Heeled Cupcakes.  Wouldn't they be utterly charming at a shower or for a birthday?   I think they are adorable.  From Living Locurto.  (Monique, they have YOU written all over them!)

 There are ten fabulous back to school ideas for the kiddos on The 36th Avenue.  Everything from a desk organizer to a portable first aid kit, and everything in between!   Superdy duperdy!!

 Free Digital Papers from The Coffee Shop Blog!  Downloadable and so cute.   They're cherries!  I love anything with cherries on it!  She has a lot of other printable freebies as well.

 Well, I would think the number one reason I look fat in photographs is because I AM fat, duh . . .  but if I can pick up some tips on how to minimize that, I'm all for it!  Found on The Haute Girl.  I will have to remember this the next time someone wants to take my picture!

 A DIY Tiered Herb Garden.  It's a bit late for this year, but maybe next year I can get this done!  I just love it.  Found on Decor and the Dog.   The hardest part will be finding someone who can do it for me.   Todd is not a carpenter.

 Birthday Party Hat Cakes from BHG.   Yes, I do have a love for BHG.   These are so cute and they look really easy to do.   I think they would be a really big hit at any birthday celebration!  Bright and colorful!

And that's it for this week!  I hope you found something you like!

I was just saying to Todd yesterday how much better my thumb was.  Pretty much back to normal, and then this morning I wake up and it's clicking again and sore.   I don't know what I did to it during the night, but I did something.   I am a but upset with my self.  *grumble.*  

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever:
its loveliness increases;
it will never pass into nothingness.
~John Keats  

~✿░H░A░P░P░Y░✿░A░U░G░U░S░T░✿~




Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  a delicious Toasted Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad!  This is so good.  I made it for our dinner yesterday and we both loved it!

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Have a wonderful Friday!  I can't believe it is the first of August already!  This year is disappearing rather quickly!  We have the missionary lads coming for tea today!