The favourite word . . .

No surprise here . . . I am a great lover of words. I think I can thank my father for instilling this great love of words in me. When I was a child, if I wanted to know the meaning of anything at all, he would send me to the Dictionary to look it up. He never simply told me what it was. As a result I learned to love the dictionary, and could often be found simply reading it . . . I know . . . I was always a wierd child!

We also used to play word games like scrabble together as a family but our favourite word game was this one whose name escapes me at the moment. Each person decided on a word they were going to use and then picked out the letters, placing the letter cards face down in front of them in correct order. Then the rest of the players had to guess your word, letter by letter in turn, until one of them had guessed your word completely. Each letter card had a points value and the person who guessed them would get the points for that letter and the person who was able to guess the whole word would get the points for that as well as a bonus. It was great fun!

I can remember always trying to find a word that I thought might stump everyone else, but of course . . . I never succeeded! We used to get a bit frustrated with my dad however, as he would often pick electrical names and terms. (He was an aircraft electrician.) We wouldn't be able to guess his word very easily. (I wish I could remember the name of the game!)



In recent years the British Council conducted a poll in which they asked more than 40,000 English speaking people in 46 countries what their favourite word was. How intriguing!

There were lots of good words to be found in the top 20. Words like cherish, blossom and tranquility took top honours. but can you guess what took the top position??? This will blow your mind.

M-O-T-H-E-R

I know, what a surprise . . . but then again, one wonders why it should be so surprising. What other word could possibly mean so much to so many people of such a variety of different races, creeds or colours?? It is a word that goes right to the heart of us all. The one person on earth that we first learn to love and depend on. Our main nurturer and first teacher.



April 3rd is Mothering Sunday over here in the UK. (Thanks Sheilagh!) We have been teaching the children in our Primary Class at church a special song to sing to the Mother's in our Ward. I can remember learning special songs to sing in church on Mother's Day when I was a girl. I can remember being so filled with love for my mother as we sang them each year, and I still am as I think of those songs this morning. I think that "mother" is my favourite word too.

What is your favourite word?

We went into town yesterday and I managed to walk around quite a bit using the cane, although by the end my back was quite sore as was the hand that was gripping the cane. I will need to get used to that I guess! It was very nice to be out and about though! What a gorgeous day it was!

Here is a quick and easy light supper or luncheon dish which makes good use of leftover cooked chicken. We eat a lot of chicken in this house and often have leftovers so I am always on the hunt for ways to use it up! This is quite a delicious one I have to say!




*White Chicken Pizza*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

A flavourful gourmet pizza which makes good use of leftovers and simple ingredients.

2 TBS soft butter
1 tsp finely chopped fresh garlic
1 cup of shredded cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups of shredded pepper jack or provolone cheese (6 ounces)
2 TBS coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust
(Store bought or make your own. I have an excellent recipe here. )


Preheat oven to 230*C/ 450*F/ gas mark 8. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently until the garlic is softened without browning. Stir frequently. This should take 5 to 6 minutes.

Place your prepared pizza crust onto large ungreased baking sheet. Spread the garlic butter mixture evenly over the crust and then sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the cheese. Evenly spread chicken and parsley over that and then finish off by topping that with the remaining cheese. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let sit for a few minutes before cutting into wedges to serve. I like to serve a salad with this.



In The English Kitchen today a delicious Bun and Butter Pudding.