Tuesday 28 August 2012

The Simple Woman's Day book . . .




FOR TODAY, August 28th, 2012...

Outside My Window...
The sky is overcast . . . looks like it may clear though. Hoping we have a nice day weather wise. It wasn't so great yesterday and there is a definite autumnal chill in the air!

I am thinking...
"At every moment of our lives,
we all have one foot in a fairy tale
and the other in the abyss."
~paulo coelho

I suppose there is a lot of truth to that statment. If it wasn't for the fairy tale part . . . however would many of us be able to move forward???

I am thankful for...
I lay in bed last night and marvelled at the different paths my life has taken. I know . . . you are supposed to sleep in bed, but I often do a lot of thinking in bed. As I thought back I was so very grateful for all of the twists and turns, the good and the bad . . . the joy and sorrow. It is all of those things that have shaped who I am. I would not be "me" without them and I rather like me, pretty much just the way that I am. Oh, for sure . . . I would love to be thin, but I am working on that. I know I'll never be a Twiggy, but at least I can be sizewize, somewhere in between a Twiggy and a me!

From the kitchen...
I baked a Banana Snack Cake last night after supper. It's been cooling all night and today I will ice it with a caramel icing. Sound indulgent?

Banana+Snack+Cake

Definitely. I'll have to lock this one up so I can't get at it I think!!
(photo from Taste of Home. Recipe to follow. I changed out a few things in it.)

I am wearing...
A lavendar nightie . . . bare feet. I'll soon have to start wearing my slippers again. The nights are definitely getting a LOT cooler.

I am creating...

Source: etsy.com via Marie on Pinterest



I have the tins all collected, (M&S Strong Mint tins, should smell nice) and I picked up some fabric the other day that has adhesive on the back, AND it's got a sewing theme on it too, which was a lucky find, so I am ready to begin making up some of these as Christmas Gifts.



I am thinking that this might be my next afghan project. I am very close to finishing the one I've been working on. I expect that it will be done over the next week or so. (Finger's Crossed!) I'll take a photo when it is finished to show you all!

I have a bunch of stocking tops made and am going to finish them up for the grandchildren, a cat doll in the works, and of course I am still working on my Christmas Cookbooklet!

I am going...
We are going to be pretty much housebound except for the evenings and weekends for the next couple of weeks, while they work on our bath. (Construction begins today.) I am hoping that it won't take the 2 1/2 weeks that they have estimated. (Finger's crosse!) In any case it will be nice when it's done.
I am reading...




Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth
I really enjoyed the series by the BBC and thought I would like to read the book. Books are always a lot more detailed than films or television shows. I am really enjoying this book. It's fabulous and I am glad that I picked it up to read. It details the life of a young midwife in London's East End in the 1950's and is a real peek into the way of life which existed there during that time period . . . the hardship, the poverty, the sadness, the joy, etc. I highly recommend.

Still reading this.





The Last Concubine, by Lesley Downer

The Last Concubine tells the story of Sachi, who grows up as the adopted daughter of an innkeeper in a rural Japanese village, knowing nothing about her true origins. Her world changes forever when an imperial princess, on her way to marry the shogun, passes through the village and takes Sachi into her entourage. In the secluded, formal, traditional world of the women’s palace in Edo, Sachi eventually becomes the last concubine of the last shogun — but that’s just a prelude to the turbulent events she’s about to be caught up in as Japan erupts into civil war and the world Sachi has grown up in, a world that seemed immutable for hundreds, even thousands of years, changes almost overnight.

Lesley Downer has created a wonderful character through whose eyes we are able to view the upheavals in Japanese society in the 1860s: because of her complicated background, Sachi is able to move and interact with people at a variety of different social levels. She’s uncomfortable, as any Japanese woman of that era would be, with stepping outside rigidly prescribed social roles, yet recognizes that because of the unique situation she finds herself in, she often has to do so. She also falls in love, in a society which doesn’t talk about or celebrate the concept of romantic love (or even have a word for it!) in the way we do in the West, and she has to struggle to fit her emotions in with her concepts of duty and social order. She also gets to see the beginning of the rapid Westernization and industrialization of Japan following the civil war — a fascinating story in and of itself.

I have only just started this book. As you know I am very intrigued by Oriental culture. I am enjoying this very much thus far.

Still on these books, but have added another one . . .


Breaking Night, by Liz Murray
It's an autobiography written by a survivor against all odds. Murray is the daughter of drug addicts who died of Aids. They neglected her, scandalously, but loved her in their own hopelessly dysfunctional way. By the age of six she was accustomed to watching her parents shoot up (her mother was almost blind, so her father had to help her do it). She left home at 15, carrying with her a crumpled snapshot of her mother, taken at a similar age – a girl with a storm cloud of hair and an unnervingly absent stare. It is the only picture reproduced in the book – her talisman. No wonder Murray preferred the photo to the reality. I have only just begun this one.

All are on my Kindle. It's so much easier to manage in bed than a book, and a lot easier on my wrists. (Nothing has changed. Still working on the same books!)

I am hoping...
I am teaching the lesson in Relief Society on Sunday this week. Nothing is coming to me. As the first lesson of the month it is the RS Presidency's choice and I am just not having anything come to mind. Help!!! I better think of something SOON!

I am hearing...
Nothing new really. Mitzie is snoring on the couch. The clock is ticking . . . my fingers are clicking on the keyboard. Yesterday afternoon though the Red Arrows were flying over doing some sort of pratice in the skies over our house. Very loud but also very exciting! They were so close, almost as if you could touch them. I thought only the Queen had these guys flying over her house???? Perhaps I am a princess after all!!

Around the house...



Is this not adorable??? It's a rolling pin, converted into a tea towel holder! Fabulous! My old rolling pin actually disappeared a couple of weeks ago. I don't know where it is! A friend had asked to borrow it overnight, so I had put it into a bag for her to pick up, and then she changed her mind. Where did it go??? I don't know, because I haven't seen it since! But I am thinking Todd may know something about it . . . he may have thought it was garbage and gotten rid. I'm afraid to ask!

Source: google.com via Marie on Pinterest




I just adore this bed, always have done. One can but dream . . . no pun intended.



I am just absolutely adoring this. A bench made from two chairs. Now, to find two chairs. Shouldn't be hard I don't think!! I just have to figure out how to join them together so that it's stable.

One of my favourite things . . .



Lee Ingleby is a British film, television, and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Detective Sergeant John Bacchus in the BBC drama Inspector George Gently and as Stan Shunpike in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I just adore this character he plays in George Gently . . . I get all goosebumpy when I see him . . .



Yes . . . I am old enough to be his mother, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a nice piece of eye candy when I see it. He might not be to everyone's taste . . . but he does it for me!



Todd at around the same age or a bit younger. Can you see the resemblance???? I can! Wowsa!! Wowsa!! I am a very lucky woman!

Something new about me ...



I have a great love for old glass door knobs . . . if I had my way (and the money)my house would be filled with them . . . there wouldn't be a door knob in the house that wasn't glass. I just think they're so pretty. I like pretty things.

One of my guilty pleasures ...



I have a weakness for Jo Malone perfume. This one here is their new Wild Bluebell fragrance . . . so pretty. My favourite is Blue Agava . . . which has the smell of blue chocolate. I can't explain it. But it smells like the colour Blue and chocolate at the same time. I also have a penchant for their Pomegranate Noir . . . which smells red and spicy.

Pet Peeves...
People who do reviews of things, like cookbooks . . . without actually using them. How can you give an honest opinion of something if you haven't actually used it, or tasted it, etc. It doesn't make sense . . .

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



The power of finding beauty in the humblest of things makes home happy and life lovely.
~Louisa May Alcott

I think this is the key to true happiness. We must learn to be content with what we have, who we are, where we are, who we're with. There is not a spot of joy to be found in a life that spends itself always longing for something else, someone else, someplace else . . .

As a closing thought I would like to leave you with this:

Don't postpone joy until you have learned all of your lens.
Joy is the lesson.
~Alan Cohen



And there you have it . . . my day book for this week. Don't forget to hop on over to the Simple Woman to check out the other day book entries! (Or better yet, do a simple day book entry yourself! It's not that hard and I am betting you would enjoy it!)



Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . a delicious Courgette Loaf (Zucchini bread.)

Happy Day to you!

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