The Simple Woman's Daybook . . .

FOR TODAY, May 5, 2015

Outside my window ...
Yesterday was gorgeous and sunny.  You could not have asked for a better May Bank Holiday.  Today we are back to gloom and rain.  Must be thankful for the rain however as it is the rain that makes for all of that lush beauty we enjoy here in the UK on the sunny days!

I am thinking  ...

 ✻ღϠ₡ღ✻(¯`✻´¯) 
            ✻ღϠ`*.¸.*₡ღ¸.✻
 
 Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates.
At the first gate ask yourself, "Is it true?"  At the second ask, "Is it necessary?"
At the third gate ask, "Is it kind?"
~Sufi saying

What a different world we would live in if everyone subscribed to this edict!

I am thankful for ...
 The company of good friends on a sunny day.

In the kitchen ...


Apricot Almond Chicken.   So simple and so good.   A new mid week favourite!

On my "To Cook" list ...


This Black Forest Dream Dessert from Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen looks incredibly tasty.  I just have to figure out how to make it with the types of ingredients we have available to us over here in the UK.  I love cherry anything.

I am Creating ...


This is my sister's very first "finished" Paper Mache Creation Sculpture, and I hope she doesn't mind me showing it to you.   I am just so proud of her.    Meet Eleanore Elephant.  I can't wait for her to put her in her shop.  I know how many hours of work went into Eleanore.  I hope she is able to get a good price for her.



With the impending advent of warmer weather, sunshine and picnicsm these homemade bowl covers would come in very handy.   From The Farm Chicks.



I love, LOVE these Tied Cushion Covers.  It's available as a downloadable PDF pattern from Lily Blossom on Etsy.



Loving the Crochet Slippers.  From Craftsy. 



Fab idea for a party.   Wrap balloons in tulle and add some flowers.   From Trusper.

I am reading ...




The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain

In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she's in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now? As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family. Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery. I am really enjoying it thus far! I love Diane's books. She's a great writer.

I am hoping ...
My mother continues to respond to anti-biotics and improve.   They are slowly weaning her off the oxygen.  It is our hope that she will soon be able to come home.  Many thanks for your continued prayers on her behalf.  They are being answered!

Makes me smile ...



The cover of this old book makes me smile.  I had this book when I was a girl and I wore it out.  I loved it.   It was filled with stories about the people who lived on "What a Jolly Street."  There was an old lady who lived at the end of the street who used to tell the children stories.   I wanted to live on that street.

I am learning ...
I am learning to wait on the Lord's timing.  It's hard.  We tend to want things to happen "now!"  Waiting is the hard part.

Around the house ...
In my dream house I would have



A large, open, airy and organized kitchen  . . .



A little bedroom tucked under the eaves  . . .



A comfy chair just for me to curl up in with a warm blanket and a book . . .



An old wheelbarrow in the garden filled with wild flowers . . .

I am pondering ...



A brother and sister cling to each other in Nepal.   What more can I do to help  . . .

A favourite Quote for the day ...

`*.¸.*✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ.. (¯`v´¯)
 `*.¸.*´Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
  ¸.•´¸.•~♥♥♥~•.~       ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ.
(¸.❀⁀⋱‿✿“

Every time you are tempted
to react in the same old way  . . . 
Ask yourself if you want to be
a prisoner of the past
or a pioneer of the future.
~Deepak Chopra

One of my favourite things ...


Listening to Piano Music.  I especially love Paul Cardall . . .

A peek into my day  ...


I cook every day.   Sometimes I cook a lot.  Sometimes I cook a little.  But  . . .  I always cook.


 And that's my daybook 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!
Don't forget . . .
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And I do too!

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 a picture of mom on her 82nd birthday last year, with the icecream cake that my father got for her.   She is wearing the necklace I sent to her.  (I just noticed that!)  She is responding well to the antiobiotics now and improving, although she did have some heart problems last night.  I am sure she is just stressed out at being in the hospital and not having control over things.   Please continue to keep her in your prayers.  Many, many thanks for those that have been offered thus far!   They are bearing fruits. 



Just because my mom wasn't at home that didn't mean I didn't make my weekly phone call yesterday afternoon.  I called and talked to my dad for an hour instead.  I usually talk to him every week, but only for a few minutes.  Men aren't people that really like to talk on the telephone I don't think.   IN any case I did talk to him for an hour and I am sure he found most of the time excruciating, lol  I did most of the talking.  I am most grateful to have both of my parents still with us.




I cannot imagine a life without this little lady in it.  Her boundless energy and limitless affection bring me so much joy.  She is a happy little girl and it is a happiness that seeps out to everyone around her.  We have been so blessed to have her in our lives.



It's May Bank Holiday Monday and the sun is shining.  I should spend the day finishing off my portfolio, but we are going out to spend the day with our friends Audrey and Peter.    We have known them for a long time.  Peter was Todd's best man when we got married and I have worked with Audrey in church callings and we once went to France with them on holiday for two weeks.  They are good friends.   Time spent with good friends is never wasted and I am sure we will enjoy the day.



Getting to chat with my oldest daughter on the ipad last night for a while.   This is Eileen and Tim at a barbeque that was held at her in-laws the night before her wedding.  She and Tim are saving up to come over here next year and so we spent a lot of time talking about their trip.   I think she is a pretty amazing and determined woman.   Out of all my children she is the only one who has ever expressed the desire to come over here and spend some time with us.    They live on a very limited income, Eileen and Tim  . . .  but they are saving their money up and they will make it I am sure.   I look forward to the day!



It's hard to believe that this was almost three years ago now!



Being the first Sunday of the month yesterday our Sacrament Meeting at church was given over to the bearing of personal testimonies after the passing of the sacrament.  There was an American couple there that  had come over to Wales to do some Family History research and they each bore their testimonies about their gratitude for their ancestors and the strength that they had had in leaving everything that was familiar to them to go over to American and then endure throughall of the trials that these early Saints experienced before, during and after their journey to the great Salt Lake Valley in Utah.  Most of the history that we know of the beginnings of our church comes from journals that these early Saints diligently kept about their experiences and the testimonies that were shared on these journal pages.    Their example inspires me even now, some almost 200 years later, and helps to strengthen my own testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of my Heavenly Father's love for me.  I do not just merely believe in the truth of these things  . . . but I know of the truth of these things . . .  right to the very core of my being.  And . . .  I am grateful for that.  This knowledge brings me great peace and comfort for my journey, just it brought peace and comfort to the journies and lives of the early Saints despite great hardship.   The journey through this life is a hard one.   The Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest tools we can use to help to carry us through it and back home into our Heavenly Father's presence.

And that is my small and wonderful's for today.

A thought to carry with you through the remainder of today . . .  


 ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
I will go forward.
I will smile at the rage of the tempest,
and ride fearlessly aand triumphantly
across the boisterous ocean of circumstance.
And the "Testimony of Jesus" will
light up a lamp that will guide 
my vision through the portals of immortality,
and communicate to my understanding
the glories of the Celestial Kingdom.
~Eliza R Snow
❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥

  

Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  a simple, yet delicious side dish.  Sauteed Yellow Turnips.  (Swede or Rutabaga as it is also known)


I wish for you a wonderful week ahead.  May it be filled to overflowing with small and wonderful things.   Don't forget . . .

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And I do too!

Sunday Morning This and That . . .

Have you heard of this film?   It's a popular documentary that was made about Mormons (the nickname used for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, because we read and study the Book of Mormon in addition to the Bible.) It came out in America last year and went around some theatres there.   These types of films never make it to theatres over here in the UK though, but Todd and I really wanted to see it.  It finally came out on DVD and we were able to purchase it this past week at the LDS Bookshop here in the UK and we watched it last night.

It was pretty amazing, and I am not just saying that because I am a Mormon.   It is a documentary type of film which examines the lives of six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, coming from diverse cultures and locations around the world.   We both really enjoyed it.




You can watch the trailer here.   It was funny.  It was entertaining.  It was informative.  It was touching.  It was real.   If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend.



I had a message from my sister last night that she had been able to spend a couple of hours with my mom in the hospital and that mom is feeling a lot better and is beginning to maintain her oxygen levels and was eating well.    Apparently yesterday when my sister arrived she was doing the Lexicon puzzle from the newspaper and she is in a room with some other people now so she had somebody to talk to.  We are all so very grateful for your continued prayers.   It was this time of year two years ago that all her health problems started with her cancer operation, heart attack, embolism, etc.  I am so grateful for the miracles in her life which continue to allow her to be with us.



I am continuing to work on my portfolio.  I have only a few more days to do so.



There's little cakes  . . .



And teacup cakes . . .



Tarts . . .



Big Cakes . . .



And a kitchen to put them all in . . .
Plus more  . . . it's fun.  It helps to keep my brain occupied and my hands busy.  I am beginning to have a bit more confidence in my talent and my work. Earlier this week I was contacted by a well known card company.  I passed them on to my Licenser.  It is their job to work out any deals for me etc. so we shall see what happens.  I am beginning to feel like I may actually get somewhere with this yet.  Time will tell, but it is a good sign when card companies begin to contact you rather than it being the other way around.  My fingers and toes are crossed.



Of course the BIG news yesterday was the arrival of this little Princess.   She is just beautiful and Kate looks so well after having only given birth a few hours before.   I just love this little family.  O course there is no name yet, but I am thinking that Elizabeth Diana sounds like a perfectly pretty name, but there is much speculation with the odds on favourite being Charlotte.  Alice is also being bandied about.   What do you think her name should be?

Time will tell!



It is overcast, wet, gloomy and raining today.  Good for the garden.   And that's all I have to share this morning except for this . . .

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


  ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
If I had a flower for
everytime I thought of you,
I could walk
in a garden forever.
~Alfred Lord Tennyson
 ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥

  

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Honey Glazed Baked Granola Doughnuts!


Have a great Sunday!  Don't forget . . .

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And I do too! 

It's May, It's May . . . the lusty month of May!

“Ah, in those earliest days of love how naturally the kisses spring into life! So closely, in their profusion, do they crowd together that lovers would find it as hard to count the kisses exchanged in an hour as to count the flowers in a meadow in May.” 
~Marcel Proust

Oh how very difficult it is not to be sentimental about the month of May . . . after a storm, it is an opalescent world  . . .  with lucent drops beading on the blooms of the lilac and falling off down onto the earth below, with pitter pats . . . .

The fresh young leaves on the roses look polished after the rain, and the wet grass smells sweet.  After a gallop down to the end of the garden and back, Mitzie returns . . .  paws wet and long black ears feathered with the pink-white petals from the apple and pear trees . . .




A regular rain in May is quite forgivable . . .  for you know that blossom and bloom ride in amongst it's waves . . . and fresh asparagus.

When the lilacs are in bloom and the apple tree blossoms, all the countryside is in rapture.  Lilacs are the faithful flower.   They grow around blackened old chimneys where houses once stood and mark the space of old abandoned gardens.   I love to cut them by the armful and bring them into the house, their fragrance as pure and sweet and tender as a young love . . .

My heart is filled with the song of Guenevere as she sings about the lusty month of May . . .  prancing amongst the drooping blooms, kicking up petal snow with her feet.

The texture of spring flowers is akin to old porcelain don't you think?


(source Outdoor Living, by Selina Lake)

I was so excited yesterday when I thought the ban on Visitors at the hospital had been lifted only to have my excitement dashed when I learnt that it had not.  Oh how long the hours must be for my mother . . .  at least they have moved her into a room with some other people now so she will have someone to talk to.   They have let my sister see her in small snippets, so that is good.    My mother is not improving as well as they would have liked.  She is still dependant upon the oxygen and very weak.   She is a very frail woman.  She weighs not much more than seventy pounds and so has nothing in reserve to fall back on.  The spot on her lung seems to be getting larger rather than smaller, so her Doctor was going to try to talk to a specialist in infectious diseases to see if they can't find a stronger anti-biotic to put her on.   Please to keep her in your prayers.   We are all most grateful for them.

I keep thinking about the last time I saw her which was when I left Nova Scotia to come back here after her lung cancer operation several years ago.   It was the hardest thing I ever had to do . . .  to leave her like that, and now I wish I had not  . . . I am most grateful for my sister being there for both my parents.   I wish that I could be too.  It is hard to be so far away.  I feel pretty useless.

But I can pray.

A thought to carry with you through today . . .


 ❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
"Success is the sum of small efforts 
repeated day in and day out."
~Robert Collier
❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥

 

Baking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Cranberry and Orange Marmalade Tea Cake. Delicious!

I hope your Saturday is a good one.   Don't forget . . .

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And I do to!

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!

 















 Now this is really useful.   Taking two flat sheets (in co-ordinating colours) and turn them into a Custom Duvet Cover.   From Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body.

  
Ten habits of people with organized houses.   Love, LOVE this!  from The Inspired Room.

The easiest way to make a Silhouette.  I've always wanted to do that.   From Rain on a Tin Roof.

10 Rule of thumb measurements for decorating your home.  This could come in very handy I think.   From Driven by Decor.

16 Awesome Kid Made Mother's Day Gifts.   Something fun to do with the grandkiddies?  Perhaps!  From From Play Dough to Plato.   Love the names people give their blogs!

I love, LOVE this beautiful lacy throw.  Perfect for just throwing over your legs on those cooler summer days.   From the people at BHG.

 Your guide to growing herbs.   Also from the people at BHG.

 11 Painting Activies for Preschoolers.  I am thinking that a few regular schoolers would enjoy these as well.  From The Artful Parent.

From Indulgy.   Free Printables.  You could use these for all sorts of things.

No instructions, quite simpmly some eye candy.   I love this.  It's so pretty.  The whole page is pretty.   From Elizabetta.  Some pages are just beautiful.

And that's it for this week.  I do hope that you were able to find something useful!

A thought to carry with you through the day . . .


❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
Love is something more stern
and splendid
than mere kindness.
~ C S Lewis
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In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Roasted Onions with a Parmesan Cream.

 

Plus something tasty to do with the leftovers.  Scrumptious!

Have a wonderful Friday.   Hasn't this week just flown by??  Happy May Day!!

Don't forget . . .
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And I do too!