The Simple Woman's Daybook

 

FOR TODAY, July 3, 2018

Outside my window...

The sun is shining.  The birds are singing. I can also hear crows and seagulls and the odd car driving past.  Its another beautiful day! 

I am thinking ...

Just stuff. Had a lovely day yesterday with all the Missionaries. Good times. Good food.  Great company.  It was soooo hot out there, but everyone was loving it! 

In the kitchen ...

 

Sweet Pea & Avocado Vichyssoise.  A fabulous cold soup that is so simple to make. Quick and easy too.  The hardest part is leaving it in the refrigerator for two hours while it chills.  And you don't need to heat up your kitchen to do it either!  Yay! This is one of the most delicious soups I have ever eaten! 

On my "To Cook" list ...

 

Why not? It sounds delicious. Now to find some grape jelly and some velveeta. None of which are available here. I can dream, however . . .

Good to know ... 

  

From Clean Mama  

I am creating ... 

  

Crochet Mobile Phone Holder, from Crochet Arcade, and there is also a video tutorial.   

 

  

Don't forget Doorknob organizer. Annie's e-patterns Central. Not free but also not expensive.

  

I love this shawl a free pattern on the Half-Assed Knit Blog.  (Their title not mine!)  

  

Knitted Strawberry Tea Cosy. Katya Frankel on Ravelry.  Free pattern download. 

 

No pattern, just something I would like to do.  Hand embroidered handkerchiefs.  

Oh my goodness  ...

These yoghurts from Aldi are fantastic.  Enjoying a Lemon Curd one this morning for breakfast. A bit naughty, but a whole lotta nice! 

I am reading ...

 

Be Still my Soul, the cadence of grace book 1, by Joanne Bischof

Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns. 

Pretty Lonnie Sawyer is shy and innocent, used to fading into the background within her family, and among the creeks and hollows of the Appalachian hills. Though her family is poor and her father abusive, she clings to a quiet faith. But when handsome ladies’ man and bluegrass musician Gideon O’Riley steals a kiss, that one action seals her fate. Her father forces her into a hasty marriage with Gideon—a man she barely knows and does not love. Equally frustrated and confused by his new responsibilities, Gideon yearns for a fresh start, forcing Lonnie on an arduous journey away from her home in Rocky Knob. Her distant groom can’t seem to surrender his rage at the injustice of the forced matrimony or give Lonnie any claim in his life. What will it take for Gideon to give up his past, embrace Lonnie’s God, and discover a hope that can heal their two fractured hearts? Gideon only ever cared about himself. Now that Lonnie is his wife, will he ever be worthy of her heart?

A sweet and easy read.

I am looking forward to ...
Two more weeks of this beautiful weather!  Yay!  So far this has been the nicest summer we have had since I moved over here to the UK!

Dreaming about ... 

 

Hand embroidered napkins  . . .  so pretty . . .  

  

Fluffy embossed towels  . . .  luxurious  . . . 

  

A pretty guest room  . . .  I wish  . . . 

 

China cups with Holly Hocks  . . . 

  

Breakfast with Greengate  . . . in my dreams  . . . 

Something to watch ... 

 

 Lucky Man on Now TV.   Its from Stan Lee.  We have watched one episode and are hooked. 

A goal for the week ...

To get rid of at least 10 more books.  Wish you all lived closer. Instead the charity shop will get them.

Makes me smile ...

 

Elder Boyer doing his thing yesterday at the BBQ.

 

Elder Anderson soaking up some rays. He was trying to get his underarms to tan as much as his upper arms are. 

 

Elder Anderson (Alaska), Elder Quinton (Alberta), Elder Bishop (Utah), and Elder Cepeda (Ireland)  all enjoying the sunshine.  Oh, and I see Mitzie in there as well! 

 

Todd getting some grilling tips from Elder Boyer  . . . 

  

Sister Boyer sharing some insights with Elder Cepeda!  And Todd supervising again.  Oh, I found actual Root Beer, so we all enjoyed that also!  It was soooooo hot out there!  We were all sweating buckets, but we had a great time! 

Corners of my kingdom ...

 

Bibury England, in the Cotswolds.  Known to be the prettiest village in the UK. Known for both its honey coloured stone cottages with steeply pitched rooves, as well as for being the filming location for movies such as "Brigit Jone's Diary."

 And that's my daybook for this week!



  ⋱ ⋮ ⋰
⋯ ◯ ⋯ Take time to enjoy the small *´¯`.¸¸.☆
  ⋰ ⋮ ⋱ blessings in life.*´¯`.¸¸.☆ 



✿¸.•*¨`*•..✿✿¸.•*¨`*•..✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.• ╬♥═╬╬═♥=╬╬═♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥═╬♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥
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Have a beautiful day!  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.  

  

A 5 am sky with a bit of cloud cover and the moon still hanging in there. Not sure any photograph would ever be able to capture the true beauty of it.  Sea guys flying overhead squawking, but the rising sunline reflected off them makes them look like flying stars.  

  

Watched THIS, and it just made my heart sing. This was the best carpool Karoke ever.  I was literally smiling through the whole thing. It was just wonderful.  I always loved the Beatles.  *Beep Beep Yah!*  If you want to spend about 23 minutes grinning from ear to ear, tune in!  Its pretty wonderful.

  

Then last night we watched this on Prime. Every single minute of it, even the credits at the end. (If you watch this, don't miss them.)  A lot of never seen before footage, etc. Ron Howard took us on a very unexpected journey and we got to see the underbelly of what astonishing fame does to person/people's life. This is a group of young men who changed "our" worlds with their beautiful music, and who managed to do what nobody had ever done before, or has done since. 60+ years later we are still loving on them.  Well, I am anyways.    

George was my favourite one.  

What is your favourite Beatle's song?  I can't pick one. I love them all. We were watching the film last night and it struck me just how magical life is with its twists and turns and how amazed my little girl/teenage self would have been to think that one day I would actually be living here,  less than 40 minutes from where the Beatles grew up and got started and that I would one day be sitting in the Cavern, the actual club that they used to play in, etc.  Life is so amazing.  It truly is.

 

Partaking of the Sacrament each week and being able to renew my covenants with my Heavenly Father, remembering the Saviour and taking His name upon me, having the opportunity to do better every week. Second chances.  Renewal.  Faith. Gratitude. Love.

  

Answered prayers.  My leg seems to be all better now.  Keeping a close watch on it to make sure that it doesn't flare up again.  Thanks for all of your prayers and happy thoughts!  

 

Warm hearts and smiling faces.  Doesn't this photo of Mitzie just reach down into your heart strings and give them a big tug.  She is so happy and brings so much joy into our lives.  She is going to be so very excited later on today as all of the Missionaries in our District are coming over for a BBQ to celebrate a combo 1st and 4th.  She is going to love that.  

 

The capacity and ability we have to bloom every day, right where we are planted. What a wonderful opportunity this is.  A gift we can unwrap every single day of our lives.  Every day might not be a good day, but there is surely something good in every single day . . . 

 

Blackbirds enjoying the water we put out for all the birds in the garden.  They love to take baths. It is so much fun watching them.  I love blackbirds.  They have such a beautiful song to listen to.   I never realised just how beautiful until we moved over here to the UK.  In fact I don't think I ever saw a blackbird really until I moved over here.  Plenty of crows, but never a blackbird.  Crows don't sing like blackbirds, lol.

  

An abundance of warm sunny days.  Not complaining, no matter how warm it gets. I know they will all disappear soon enough. We have been truly been blessed with an abundance over these past couple of weeks.  Truly.  

  

We lost it all and then it all came back. So very grateful for that.  It makes me feel horrid that people can do this to you at all, but I am so grateful that they never really get away with it, and that the banks do replace what was lost.  Whew!  A few pretty scary days that passed.  Praise God!

  

Having found the peace that passes all understanding.  I can never truly express how very grateful I am for this . . .  

  

Friendship.  Near and dear . . .  or far away.  Little pieces of my heart reside in a multitude of places, and small pieces of their hearts reside in mine.  It's pretty special.  

 

Waking up this morning and being able to unwrap another gift of today  . . . I try not to take my days for granted and treat each day for the gift that it is.  I think as you start to get older, you realise that each day truly is a most precious and wonderful gift.  I am grateful for my ability to treat each day as "My favourite day."   Even the not so good ones. 

And with that I will leave you with a thought for today  . . . 

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 *.˛.Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift, that's why they call it

the present. ~Unknown  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen, a complete meal on the grill with the perfect Steak Marinade, and grilled Roadkill Potatoes, asparagus and onions.  This was so good!  We are really enjoying our new grill.  ANOTHER blessing in our lives!  God is good!

Have a wonderful week.  I hope it is filled with abundance!  Don't forget! 

  

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 And I do too!   

 

Wither Thou Goest . . .

I believe that the loveliest of words ever spoken from one woman to another were the words which Ruth spoke to her mother-in-law Naomi . . . words spoken after her husband (Naomi's son) had died and whilst Naomi was preparing to return to her own country.

"And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave theee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."
~Ruth 1:16

These were not words spoken in that first happy flush of the newly-wed getting to know you stage . . . but after ten years of the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship. These are words which should be read at every wedding service I think . . . when you marry someone, you are not just marrying one person . . . but you are marrying a family, and I believe it is so very important to the success of your relationship that you are able to get along with and love your partner's family as you would your own. 

I have had three mothers-in-law in my lifetime. ( I wish that I didn't have to say that and I could say that I have only ever had one, but alas . . . I cannot.) My first mother-in-law was a farmer's wife and I was rather in awe of her and all that she did. Lois was a wonderful example to me of a woman who was always ready and willing to get stuck in to anything. Cow's broken out of the pasture and wandering through the neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning?? Not a problem! She'd be up and out there gathering them in right along side of my father-in-law and ex husband. Able to create a beautifully edible feast out of the simplest of ingredients, I learned a lot about cooking from her and about being frugal. Nothing frazzled her . . .

unexpected company . . . just put another plate out
putting up jams and preserves, pickles and such from the years harvest . . . always enjoyed
keeping the farm accounts . . . just a part of her life
creating beautiful quilts and rag rugs out of scraps and old clothing . . . one of her talents
having to bury your husband at a fairly young age . . . not what she chose, but she was strong enough to do it and still carry on.

I learned much from her. Skills and habits that I still uphold today. She had two family's really. There were an older three children, which were more my parents age . . . and then two younger boys, which were my age. She never ever had a real holiday, or travelled very far from where she lived. I have many fond memories of my times spent with her and I value all that she taught me.

She lived to be 100, and only passed away a couple of years ago now. She had been a widow for all of my oldest son's lifetime.  

My second mother-in-law was every bit as valuable to me. Of course she was my mother-in-law for an awful lot longer than the first one was. Twenty two years is a long time . . . and we always had a really wonderful relationship. From the very first she always made me very welcome in her home.

We shared a great love of scrapbooking and old films. Whenever we would be on the Island visiting, the men would go off and do their thing, and she and I would do ours. I loved to look through her scrapbooks. She had quite a few of them. Into them she would put newspaper clippings of interesting articles gleaned from the daily papers, and weekly community papers. They may have been pertaining to health or to historical happenings, etc. There would be lovely little souveniers gleaned from things she had done or places she had gone. Perhaps a lovely gift tag from something she had been given, etc. They were quite wonderful and whoever inherits them is inheriting a wonderful legacy.

She lived for years with a man who never really had a kind word to say to her or about her, especially in his later years, and yet she never complained or had an unkind word to say about him . . . not while he was alive, and not after he had passed away. She was a wonderful example to me of loyalty and service . . . and selfless love. Even though her son and I have been divorced some 20 years now . . . I still miss her. She was more than a mother-in-law to me . . . she was a friend. I think the saddest casualty of divorce is the loss of family members that you love with all your heart, but for one reason or another, simply fade away and out of your life. I think of all my ex's family I miss Elizabeth most of all.

 

 

I never knew Todd's mum. She had passed away long before I met Todd and we got married . . . but I feel that I know a lot of her from the things he has told me about her, and from knowing and loving the man that he is. I know that during the war, she took very good care of him . . . and she lived with her parents in a place that she felt he would be safe. That could not have been easy. Her husband was away at war, just a short year after they married and they were not together again for another seven years . . . and yet she remained faithful to him in every way, and once travelled from Hornchurch in Essex by train all the way up to Scotland . . . with a wee babe in arms and on her own, just because he was there and she wanted to see him and show him their son. That must have been very frightening and she must have been a very brave woman.

I know that she was very thrifty and frugal and that she took very good care of her husband and two sons . . . on a window washer's wages . . . She too, never ever had a real holiday or travelled very far from her home or her roots, except for that one trip to Scotland in her younger years, and a few days out to South End. I may have never met her in person, but her son is a good man . . . decent, hard working, kind and compassionate, intelligent and witty . . . and I know she played a large part in helping him to become that man. How can I not love her too??

I know nothing of the type of mother-in-law that would inspire those horrible mother-in-law jokes that you hear at times. My mothers-in-law have always been really special to me, and I have always valued my relationships with them. I can only hope that am as good a mother-in-law to my children's partners as I have had in them . . . and that they would value me as much as I have valued mine.

I love the words of Ruth. They speak to my heart in a beautiful and meaningful way. That is the power and the worth of scripture. It should speak to your heart . . . it should make a difference in how you think and how you do . . . it should enrich your life in every way.

Just my thoughts this morning . . . I wish for you a blessed sabbath. Wherever you are and whatever you may do today, may your day be a special one.

A thought to carry with you  . . .



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 *“...love...it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our church callings, and our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities and nations. love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk.”
~President Dieter F Uchtdorf  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Oaty Cinnamon Scones.  Seriously tasty!

Have a great day, don't forget! 

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And I do too!