The Simple Woman Daybook

The Simple Woman Daybook 

For Today...

March 14, 2016

the weather today....
today is wet and drizzly, currently 56 degrees, high 70

Outside my window...

flower beds are  clear

daffodils  are    flailing in the rain

 others are  singing  merrily in the rain!

I am thinking...

Well, I  suffered  pretty  fiercely all last week with  the  most    horrible cold  in a decade...  this week,  I am   as weak as kitten's breath,   but I am up!

I am thankful...

 for  spiritual confirmation that  even when the physical seems  bleak,, yet  God is still in control... I will keep this up  yet a gain...   

I am wearing...

same ole' bathrobe and slippers... well, Ive been sick!

I am creating...
ummm......

I am going...

I really hope that tomorrow I will feel like going to  my  prayer gals  group for soup and a movie.. that is my aim!

I am wondering... 
last week I was  hoping to  lose a bit more weight...  well it is easy to lose when one is under the weather.. now keeping it off  that is  the  trick...  I have  7 pounds to keep off...  it is worth trying though, isnt it!

On my  reading  table...

Last week I reported that I had reread  3 Lynn Kurland books..  I can add 4 to that now...One just leads right into the next...

well, I have    just a bit to read to finish    that last one...
and the  giddy part I can read 10 more!!!

I am hoping...

 to go to  the greenhouse this week  and purchase some pansies to plant  in the  back garden....I have some sprucing up to do  by next week... when my cousin comes to visit!!

I am learning...
 to do a little bit everyday...  which is really helping  because  the  upstairs was in a state, but  even when I wasn't altogether feeling fine,, a  tiny bit every day produced  a   bit of  renewal and  got  hubs into the  mood to help out, as well...  I need to  figure out how to get him to  do the vaccuuming now!  hummmmm!

In my garden...

  as I said  .. time to  buy some pansies! 

In my kitchen...

well,, Hubs did such a great  job last week.. let's see what he cans still come up with!  Shall we?

A favorite quote/scripture for today...

James 1:2-8

Testing of Your Faith

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith,with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man,unstable in all his ways.

A peek into one of my days...yesterday

That about says it all!

   One of my favorite things...

planning for    upcoming  events with  friends and family.. even though it almost  feels daunting,  feeling  as  poorly as I do at this moment, hubs,  who is a week ahead of me in my recupertion says I'll be fit as  a fiddle..  but  in my mind I  can see   me baking and    organizing and    decorating  to the tune of  eastertide  in preparation for my  dearest Pamela  who will be with me  mid week next...come on  body.. get with the program!!!

From the board room...

dont forget Kathleen's  8th  Annual Blogcrawl celebrting  St. Paddy's Day on March 16th

Post Script

Hodge Podge Wednesday

Hello !

Click the icon to return to Joyce's  page!

1. March is National Women's History Month. In that vein,

who are three women who've been influential in your 

life? How so?

Definitely, my mother was a huge inspiration to me..

being the oldest of six daughters there were expected to work hard along side their dad... they lived on a large dairy farm in SW Virginia.. She was still in her single digits when the depression hit, and thankfully they got along well living off the land.. But she worked hard and learned how to manage on far less. She nearly died as a young woman.. Praise God a cure was found for her ailment and she survived, but it knocked her out of going to college.. She was the only of the six not to go.She married and moved to the west coast during WWII.She thrived on adventure and learned well the lessons of independence. She worked outside of the home until she had me in 1950. She and dad raised me very modestly... She made all of my clothes, was a marvelousw cook and decorated our  cottage with the white picket fence beautifully on a shoestring budget. She went back to work when I went to school but she still sat up late nights making my clothes all through my high school and into college.I believe she lived with a chip on her shoulder because she missed academia like her sisters and often times felt unaccomplished and second rate.... but everyone of them looked up to her with respect and love because of who she was...

Secondly, I thought of my second grade teacher...Mrs. Walters who was my motivation to become a teacher myself some day. Poor Mrs. Walters was probably 55 or more when I had her.. She was grey headed and walked with a limp from when she had had polio. She had to be tired as hard as she worked.. She was always dressed so sweetly in a pastel suit and white ruffled blouse, her hair all rolled back into some kind of bun, but her temperment was one of love, patience, and forebearance.. She made learning fun and enchanting really.. I never remember her raising her voice and she seemed to take everything in her stride... I marveled at her.. I did become a teacher but I cannot say I always exemplified all of her qualities.. Maybe it was because kids in her day knew if they got a note from the teacher there would be a trip to the forsythia bush after dinner.

Thirdly, my daughter Amanda inspires me..

We adopted her from Seoul when she was 15 weeks old.. such a sweetheart as a child, and always. She is a huge ball of talent. she could do anything she set to mind to...Our neighborhood had some great classes for girls to figure out what they wanted to do.. In the course off a couple of years she was a gymnast, a dancer, and a highsteppin majorette! But she then settled on violin and piano lessons.. which she took all through school.. Speaking of school she excelled in every area. And soon decided she wanted to be a dentist and take her skill to the mission field. She accepted Christ on the Thursday of Bible School one year... it was such a wonderful moment in our life together to hear her tell us of her decision. She loved swimming, played softball, volleyball, tennis, and was on the high school soccer team. She sang in a College Children's Choir and performed at Carnegie Hall and at the Lighting of the Christmas tree at the White House. It seemed nothing was out of her reach. In college she took the classes that would propel her to dental school and reached for opportunites to research at the vet school to have as much lab experience an undergrad to attain.

She had a storybook romance with the only boy she ever dated... a young man she had trained in violin along side and had secretly admired for some time.. They attended the same college and married while doing post grad work at university.. 

They each worked under research stipends and made ample salaries playing their violins at college events. They played in the college symphony and Joshua played in a prestigious quintet on campus. After 7 years of university they both graduated debt free! They each got fabulous employment in Massachusetts.. Amanda in cancer research in Cambridge and Joshua in the top of his field in techonolgy. Amanda decided her love for Joshua supplanted her previous desire for dentistry and it is just as well, because now that she has two precious daughters she just wants to stay at home for a while, anyway!

So there you have a glimpse at my stellar daughter who not only excelled at eveything she attempted... she also has the   sweetest spirit this side of heaven and  uses her God given gifts to mentor and lead other women to Christ by her walk and leadership!

2. In what ways do you think women have it easier than men?

I agree with our hostess in that there are definitely many things in which men are more suitable to take the lead... like anything pertaining to reptiles, insects, spiders,bumps in the night, water leaks, electrical, and construction issues.

But women do appear to be more intuitive and there in lies her strength.. She helps in making major decisions, and maintains a more level headedness in times of crisis.

3. What do you need most right now: faith, love, hope, or peace?

As I think on this question I cannot separate these but I lump them altogether in trusting God through our relationship with Christ.. For in trusting Him we have all these wonderful attribtes    in one! And I need them every hour!!

4. Do you have a collection? If so, what do you collect and why?

I am an anglophile.. I love everything British, Scottish or irish, because  I love genealogy , and I  love anything that  brings to mind  and British time of yore.

I collect English China especially transfer ware.. I have the red, blue, black and a bit of green..

5. Plaids, checks, polka dots, stripes...your favorite?

I am going to go with plaid, because I love my Scottish heritage and I do use it a lot in my decor!

6. In what ways are you the same as your childhood self?

I love my childhood self... even as quiet and sensitive as I was... I learned to love being by myself and the dreaminess of my imagination. I could fly in my dreams and I often went  to that weightless state of mind.. I many times will close my eyes and travel back to a late summer's afternoon perhaps after a rain, when I would lie on the porch glider and muse on the ability to fly with the fairies... I can still smell the rain in my mind's eye and see the afternoon glow of the setting sun.. I love those memories and still cling to them..

7. You're a contestant on the TV game show Jeopardy. What category will you ace?

I would do well in American History, earth science, geology, and English lit.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Well, as I look back over the last couple of months I can count on maybe 2 hands the number of days I havent had something physically ailing me...praise God nothing serious, but just the doldrums of allergies, sinuses, and now this horrid cold which has sent into the 99-100.4 temps continually for the last 4 days... I am literally sick of it!

Thinking about a Spring Tea

      Spring is definitely in the air so of course it is  showing up            around the house, as well!!

Time to  start dreaming and planning   a spring tea!

Time to  bring out the  planning books and    idea starters...

  I am  really interested in  learning to make   macarons!



I need to find a macaron pan....  hmmm... I know just the store for that!

Now that's my cup o' tea!

Friends Sharing Tea 

Teacup Tuesday

Grace at Home

Thursday Favorite Things

No Place Like Home

Home and Garden Thursday

The Simple Woman Daybook

The Simple Woman Daybook 

For Today...

March 7, 2016

it is 11:20am  and spring is definitely in the air!
Outside my window...

the daffodils a re    about to  explode into a   mass of  pure gold

green is  greener 

 the word is out...  spring is right around the corner!

I am thinking...

Well, I  tested positive on 21/28  allergens...  and this after  several years of  allergy shots...  I went off them last summer  because I was feeling so much better....  my bad!!!  Within a week of  my allergy tests  I broke out in  a rash    over my legs and feet...  the  Dr.,  nor the allergist , has  no clue as why...  hmmm. 

I am thankful...

 for  spiritual confirmation that  even when the physical seems  bleak,, yet  God is still in control 

I am wearing...

yayayay.... Im in my  lounging  wear... that is a bit of improvement I'd say!!!

I am creating...
sorry to say my creative  gene is asleep  this morning... 

I am going...

to try to really catch up on  things around the house because my datebook is completely clear this week...  well, I do ahve Bible Study    which isnt listed...  But I am up on my  homework  so Im    sitting  pretty  this week..  Another praise!!!

I am wondering... 
if I can really  catch hold of this    tendency  to loose a bit of weight... I've lost  about    4 pounds  recently  and Id like to turn that into 14!  hehehehe

I am reading...

Acts 9
Bible Study   by  James MacDonald... I Want to Change my Attitude

just for fun..  am rereading   some Lynn Kurland books...  I am so glad that I ahve finally  gotten  into reading again..  I  just  couldnt concentrate  there for a while...  recently I've read  3  of her books  and  am  really enjoying them...


I am hoping...

  we get to do facetime tomorrow with our girls.... today just didnt work out  and     I dont do well if I dont get my weekly  dose of  lovin  on time!!

I am learning...
  to be content  with   my circumstances and  life.   We have been blessed and  I  really  want to  downsize and    enjoy living  on less.... we  certainly have all that we need... and  more... 

In my garden...

    we did get   one flower bed  cleared out...  that always   feels so good doesn't it??

now it's time to  shop for  pansies....  I love  this time of year!!!!

In my kitchen...

this week  I have soup on my   list....  probably  a bit of potato soup  and maybe  a   veggie beef....

A favorite quote/scripture for today...

Colossians 3:12

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience

      A peek into one of my days...yesterday
well, I was under the weather  so  my day was very low key..
I spent some time with Jonathan Falwell  and  Charles Billingsley    in praise.. Then   I  read some in my book  and  til Lynn came home from church...  in the afternoon  I read some more  and  we  ate  a  simple  bowl of  progresso soup....
Then I propped myself up and    prepared  for  watching  PBS  the rest of the  evening
Did anyone ever  see Giada Valenti's  from Venice  with Love...

then, of course,  there  was  3 hours of  Downton Abbey..

   One of my favorite things...

surprise   emails ...
 we recently had  our  newish neighbors  over for  dessert and  really had a  great time... but  the  layout of our  lawns  doesnt give up ready access to see them coming and going... and folks in oour neighborhood   dont  come outside very much      until  better weather at least... so  we  havent been so chummy  as I would like to be... But last night  she sent me the cutest email  in preparation of the last  Downton Abbey.. some thing  we  all share    a great  affection for...  so cool  because I sent her back one  saying  we'll have to get together for tea and crumpets  to  reminisce   about the program...
 baby steps  toward  waht I hope will be a    rewarding  relationship  between good friends!

From the board room...

This may not be news for  anyone, but if you  do not follow Susan Branch...  you have to start...  her books are so charming and I    love her  posts... so   full of her    artistry and    wit... anyway   this post to Downton Abbey is a must read for all!

Post Script
to coin a phrase   from  Mrs. Crawley..  'We must  Look to the future!'

One Thousand Gifts (792-800)

792.  I am so thankful for    a lifting of my spirit that I haven't felt in some time.. it is a turning of a corner.

793.  Peace  that confounds all understanding  in a world  that seems to be spinning out of control

794.  Fulfilment  of  my days...  

795.  The  satisfaction  of picking up a book that  has lain too long on the shelf and  is being read  for  simple pleasure... just hadn't felt like reading in a long spanse of time

796. Green shoots of spring  bounding out of the  cold  brown earth

797. Snippets of  savory basil  from my very own    plant on my kitchen   counter... I love basil!

798.  The expectation of    blossoms  from  the new   hydrangeas  I  am ordering  for spring planting

799.The realization of  how  thankful  one  came be  once  the darkness of depression lifts its snarly head  and  one can breathe free the  essence of peace and vitality

800.  The wondrous memories  that this coming  St. Patrick's Day  has  brought forth of our    marvelous  Ireland trip last spring...oh, how I love to relive every moment of those 13 days!

Wednesday Hodge Podge

Hello March!

Click the icon to return to Joyce's  page!

1. February ended with an extra 24 hours in 2016. What did you do with your bonus day?
Unfortunately we spent the day at the doctor's office... I had allergy testing and then Hubs had an appointment because I fear I have given him some kind of virus infection I had last week... Poor fellow, he doesn't do sickness at all well..

2. What's something in your life that's grown by leaps and bounds in recent days, weeks, months, or years? I'm giving you lots of room to come up with an answer here, so no fair passing on this one.
For me the most noticeable way I have grown in recent years is in my confidence in the Lord... I must say that I was a very timid child and young adult. I even made my life's work teaching children in part because I was intimidated with working with adults. IN college I shifted direction from a career I really wanted to do in interior design because of my insecurities. Praise God over the years my faith has grown along with my understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. I have learned that there is nothing in me that is able to do anything of lasting value, but when I trust completely in God's leading and His spirit alive in me I can do all things... I also credit the internet in giving me non-threatening opportunities to share the gospel with "friends" I meet in various venues..I can say that I have had a positive impact on several people I've met and I have built my confidence in "talking" on spiritual issues through blogging.. which has developed into positive face to face encounters... Now I really enjoy my social interactions with both men and women and I am not timid at all about drawing others into conversations and new topics.. This has also had a very positive impact on my husband who like me was very retiring and non committal in social engagements... but now he is the president of our Sunday School class, sings in the choir, and heads up an important committee in our large church.. But we both give God and His precious Spirit full credit for changing and growing us!!

3. Do you read reviews about a film before deciding if you'll see it? Did you watch The Oscars this year, and if so your thoughts on the program? How many of the Best Picture nominees had you seen prior to the broadcast? (Spotlight, The Martian, The Big Short, The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road, Room, and Brooklyn) If you watched The Oscars who gets your award for 'best dressed'?
We only saw one film in the theater this past year and that was Warroom which we absolutely loved... Doubt it was mentioned at the Oscars.. We don't follow Hollywood... we do enjoy having netflix and we are about 3 or more years behind the current season of shows and films.
4. When did you last have overnight houseguests? Give us your
top three tips on being a good houseguest.
Wow, it has been sometime since we had anyone overnight except our children. But I believe a good house guest should
1. bring a token gift to the host,, flowers or even a box of candy or a bottle of wine.
2. offer to help in the kitchen or other tasks hoping not be treated any more special that a family member
3.  leave the house in good order... either make up the bed or strip it before you leave after asking which the hostess would prefer

5. March 2nd is Peanut Butter Lover's Day. Will you be celebrating? If so, would you prefer a home made peanut butter cookie, a Reese's peanut butter cup, an old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or shall I just hand you a jar and a tablespoon?
Gee, each of those ideas sound scrummy to me... I just bought some natural peanut butter which is the kind we will only use, and a new jar of cherry preserves, so a PBJ sounds most likely!!

6. Why is failure important? Or isn't it?
Failure or trial or whatever you want to call it is hugely important.. James, the brother of Christ said it well... James 1:2-8 Trials and Temptations
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
7. Share with us one fun thing on your March calendar.
This coming Friday, March 4th will be fun... We get together with Hubs' cousins once a month to dine out... and we really enjoy this time of fellowship because we went for years disconnected and have only really found each other in the past year. I believe it has to do with life in retirement.. it gives us a very different outlook and perspective and old grievances or whatever may have been at work dissipate... thankfully we can truly just enjoy each other! Then later that evening The Desolation of Smaug comes on TNT and I just got to see The Hobbit last week... I am terribly interested in following up on this trilogy, and I really look forward to the discourse between Smaug and the Hobbit.. between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.. (my 2 new favorite duo from the "Sherlock" series!!!!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I was reading Joyce's post from yesterday on the climate in America.. it seems so many people have lost their moral compass.. I sometmes think I have been living in a vaccuum because I just don't get how far America has slidden down the slippery slope we are on..I realize there were many things wrong with the America in which I was raised but now I realize that the most important thing that was changing was so subtle and behind the scenes it is no wonder many missed it... and then now here we are facing what I believe is the most critical election we have ever faced before with no clear candidate out there to cast our vote on because the dilemma is two fold it has to be someone who can take down a a running mate who has I fear if he gets the nomination he will be a super easy mark for the opposing team to take down because of the scandal that follows him, and so deciding which other candidate has the capacity to take that one out and 2. actually win the election.. because if we don't win this election... we will be so far gone toward socialism there will be no return. And Socialism is synonomous with Communism and Lord help us to know what to do as a nation today Super Tuesday at the ballot box.... and never let it be said that anyone would actully say I give up and I'm not going to vote..... America needs everyone to honor their first privelege of citizenship... America needs your thought and moral vote!!!

Enjoying Tea for One

Enjoying  Tea   for One

 
One of my favorite  ways to enjoy  tea  alone here at home is  over my Bible Study...

as I did the morning I  baked my first   loaf  of  Irish soda bread!


whether  inside 


or outside

Or  when  I have just finished  changing up  the seasonal decor.. I celebrate with  a  spicy  brew!

maybe with a bit of  brunch..

  This could very well be me in a day or two as I sit down with my  gardening books.

or maybe  just because I need an afternoon snack


I love a cup of  tea  while I am blogging...


and when I am  lazing on the sofa enjoying my new  magazine

Let's just admit it.. a  cup of tea  goes along with everything...
Let's face it,  C. S. Lewis said it best!

Friends Sharing Tea 
Teacup Tuesday

  Grace at Home

 Thursday Favorite Things
No Place Like Home

 Home and Garden Thursday