This Week Menu

Monday
Breakfast: Green Smoothies and Whole Wheat English Muffins
Lunch: Burritos and Mexi Rice
Dinner: Mushrooms, Dandelion Greens, Pasta in Cheese Sauce with Corn on the Cob


Tuesday
Breakfast: Cold Cereal
Lunch: Picnic at the Planetarium
Dinner: Steak on the Grill, Twice Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Garden Salad


Wednesday
Breakfast: Poached Eggs on Toast
Lunch: Mac & Cheese, Carrot Sticks and Watermelon
Dinner: Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes, and Glazed Carrots


Thursday
Breakfast: Crepes with Ricotta Cheese Filling and Fruit
Lunch: Tacos and Avocado Slices
Dinner: Layered Chicken Salad with 90 Minute Rolls


Friday
Breakfast: Green Smoothies and Muffins
Lunch: Egg Salad Sandwiches and Cucumber Slices
Dinner: Homemade Pizza


Saturday
Breakfast: Yogurt and Granola
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Cheeseburgers on Homemade Rolls and Macaroni Salad


Sunday
Breakfast: Sour cream Coffee Cake
Lunch: PB&J
Dinner: BBQ Chicken, Potato Salad, and Alyssa's Special Green Beans

Check out all the wonderful menus being shared over at the Organizing Junkie.

Hannah's Chocolate Fudge Cake

Hannah loves to help in the kitchen. She is getting to be a better cook/baker everyday. This week she decided she wanted to make a chocolate cake. So together we searched for a recipe. She chose this one out of Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts.

I did take some really cute pictures for Hannah prepping her pans and melting the chocolate, but I can't figure out how to add more than 5 pictures. So we will start here with sifting the dry ingredients.

Skip ahead again. I didn't think you needed to see the Kitchen Aid at work. Hannah is so much cuter. Here she pours half the batter into her prepared pans.

Wow those cakes baked and cooled fast. We are already to frost them. The frosting recipe was in the same book with the cake. Hannah had never made a frosting like this one. She had to mix it in an ice bath which was cold and fun.

And of course she had to decorate the cake. The missing pictures are of Hannah and Rebekah coloring the frosting. With the amount they ate I was surprised there was enough to decorate the cake.


Steady as she goes. Hannah is using all the skills Mrs. Muria taught her at the Little Explorer's cake decorating class. We miss you Mrs. Muria.

Here is Hannah with her finished cake. She was so proud of herself. and I was proud of her too. She made the cake all by herself. She served it after dinner complete with candles and her rendition of "Happy Family".

Ingredients

• 3 oz unsweetened Chocolate
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp double-acting baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 lb sweet butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with wax paper cut to fit, butter and dust with flour. Set aside.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water completely melted. Remove from the hot water and set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In the large bowl of your mixer cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat to mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until the egg is thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Mix in the vinegar. The mixture will look curdled - it is OK. Add the melted chocolate and beat only until smooth.

On low speed add the sifted dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat only until smooth after each addition.

Place half of the mixture in each prepared pan and smooth the tops. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the layers begin to come away from the sides of the pans and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.

Remove from the oven and, with a small, sharp knife, cut around the insides of the pans to release. Then let the layers stand in the pans for 5 minutes.

Cover each layer with a rack, invert, remove the pan, peel off the paper lining, cover with another rack and invert again, leaving the layer right side up to cool.

Wait to frost until completely cool.

Frosting

• 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 lb sweet butter
• 2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3 Tbsp hot water
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Place the chocolate and butter in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until partially melted, then uncover and stir until completely melted.

Meanwhile, place all the remaining ingredients in the small bowl of an electric mixer. Beat briefly only to mix. Set the small bowl in large bowl and fill the empty space left in the large bowl with ice and water.

Add the melted chocolate and butter, and beat until the mixture thickens slightly. With a rubber spatula stir the frosting over the ice and water until it thickens to the consistency of thick mayonnaise.

Spread a scant third of it about 1/4 inch thick over the bottom layer of cake. Cover with the other layer, placing it right side up. Spread the sides and top with the remaining frosting.

I Think, I Hope the Frost Is Over

Well I think we have survived the frost! You can read more about our battle with temps in the upper 20's here. Everything is planted except for a few eggplant plants that a friend just gave me. I have never grown eggplant before so we'll see how it does.

This isn't the best picture of the garden. It was actually taken before we planted the tomatoes. And you can see it is a little dry. Not to worry since the cold temps have passed all it has done is rain. But it has been a wonderful gentle soaking rain for the most part. Hopefully the sun will come out soon and all our little plants will just burst!

Here the kids are planting our carrots. I have never done carrots in a container before, but our soil is so rocky we never had good luck with carrots in the ground. And of course the kids love carrots and didn't want to cross them off the garden plan. So we will just have to wait and see how they do. Any of you have experience with carrots in a container? I would love to hear how it worked for you.

To take a peek into the gardens of some other wonderful bloggers stop by the Seed to Harvest Challenge. And if you have a garden of your own why not link up for a chance to win some cool prices.

Making Music - Guitar

We were back at Mountain Top Music for another class. This week was the guitar! Quite a few of the children had some experience with this instrument. And as always they couldn't wait to strum a few notes. I thought it was funny to ssee all their little toes tapping away after last week's drum class.

Hannah has really enjoyed these classes. I think music lessons may be in her near future. The only question - What instrument? She has loved them all and would like to play them all. I hope she just realizes how much time, effort and PRACTICE it takes to play an instrument well. But you know what. I really can't worry about that. The experience is priceless, just look at her face.

Here Tiff, Tyler, Maggie, and Christian get their turn to strum a few bars.

Here is a video of the girls strumming along with the instructor. I think Sarah was little nervous and really didn't play much. No surprise that Kyle played the most.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

I know some people think I am crazy to make as much from scratch as I do and that's okay. However, I must tell you if you don't make anything else from scratch you MUST try these English muffins. They are just dreamy! (And really not difficult) Not to mention they are sooo much healthier and much less expensive. And how can argue with that?



Ingredients

• 1 cup milk, warmed until just barely bubbling




• 2 Tbsp honey




• 1 scant Tbsp yeast




• 1 cup warm water




• 1/4 melted butter




• 5 cups whole wheat flour - give or take a bit




• 1 cup all-purpose flour (if you like a lighter muffin you can use more and less whole wheat)




• cornmeal

Combine warmed milk and honey in the bowl of your stand mixer and stir until dissolved. In a separate bowl, proof the yeast in the warm water. After about 10 minutes it should be nice and bubbly.

Add yeast mixture, butter, and three cups of whole wheat flour to the milk. Beat on low speed with the dough hook until mostly smooth. Add remaining flour a half cup at a time until a soft dough forms. You will know that the dough has the right amount of flour when it pulls into a ball and cleans the side of the mixer.

Place the dough in a oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

Layout a piece of wax paper and sprinkle it with cornmeal. Sprinkle your work surface with flour. Punch down the dough and move to the floured surface. Cut the dough into 12 to 14 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the waxed paper, leaving 2-3 inches between the muffins. Slightly flatten each round and sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a greased griddle over medium heat. Gently brush off the excess cornmeal and place muffin on the griddle. Cooking until a deep golden brown, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Place grilled muffins on buttered baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes more or until the edges feel firm.

Cool on wire rack. Toast before serving.

Don't forget to stop by and check out all the recipes being swapped this week at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Lilacs

I just love lilacs. My grandparents had beautiful lilac bushes in their yard and I remember them bringing bouquets of lilacs to my mother. They made the house smell so nice. Now I am lucky enough to have my own lilac bushes. And every spring I can't wait to bring a huge bouquet inside. They still smell so sweet.

I brought this bouquet in today and was pleasantly surprised to see both the girls take an interest in it. They moved it to the kitchen table and were busily sketching. I love their finished interpretations of lilacs. Sarah - always the realist. Hannah - with her own unique take on the world. I cherish their differences, their uniqueness and individuality. My hope is that I as their mom am able to give them what THEY need.

Gratituesday - Green Plants & a Tarp

This past weekend was so beautiful and warm. So we took a chance and put our garden in. The plants were so happy to get off my kitchen table and into good, rich dirt. But then . . .

FROST! Yes we had a frost watch for last night with temps predicted around 27 degrees.

With the help of dh and the girls we hurried to rig up something to tent the garden and raised beds. A few stakes, tarps, and cinder blocks later the garden was covered and we went to bed praying everything would survive. The girls have been working so hard planting and caring for all our little seedlings. It would have been a shame to loose them all - and impossible to replace.

This morning we woke to beautiful blue skies, but a chilly temp of 35 degrees. Our mini weather station said the low was 32. We waited for it to warm up a bit before we headed out to check the garden. AND . . .

. . . beautiful, green tomatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, onions, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, and more.

So this week I'm grateful for a little dh ingenuity, tarps, and green plants.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday, May 25th. . .

Outside my window...
my garden is finally in the ground and loving the sunshine and fresh air. There are already a few yellow flowers on the tomato plants and the buds on the bean plant are just about to burst! Just praying that we don't have a late frost.


I am thinking...
how wonderful it is to have a weekday with just my girls. Oh the fun that we have planned.


I am thankful for...
my wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for us and doesn't ask for much at all in return.

From the learning rooms...
we are finishing up our science projects for the Science Fair on Friday. Hannah and I are discussing a way to make her school days more productive with less conflict. We are considering Sue Patrick's Workbox System.


From the kitchen...
I promised Hannah we would make soft pretzels and Sarah has been wanting to try homemade English muffins. And we need to make the tortillas for dinner and of course some kind of cookie.


I am wearing...
my favorite denim skirt with grey leggings, orange sock, white t-shirt and dark green fleece pullover, my mud boots are waiting by the door.


I am creating...
matching ribbon skirts for Rebekah and her doll Rosie. Plant markers for the garden. The Science Fair Program.


I am going...
to try and approach life, especially my children with a more quiet and meek spirit. The world tries to convince us that Biblical womanhood is weak. This is so far from the true. Biblical woman are so strong, for their strength is found in HIM. I want to be one of those woman.


I am reading...
I Love Dirt by Jennifer Ward
Clean Home, Clean Planet by Karen Logan
Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

I am hoping...
that today is a peaceful, joyous fun filled day for a mother and her three daughters.


I am hearing...
my two year old singing while she and her big sister make waffles and bacon. The cheep-cheep of our 19 two week old chickens is in the background.


Around the house...
the spare bedroom/craft room is a MESS! Today's big project is to get it back in order and make it function for all of us.


One of my favorite things...
is sneaking out to weed my garden with a cup of coffee before anyone else is awake. I find this so relaxing and it is productive too!


A few plans for the rest of the week:
Music Class and Karate on Wednesday, to the farm to pick up eggs and honey, Homegrown Explorers Science Fair on Friday, birding on Saturday
**created a three ring binder system for the recipes I use often**
***change over the girls' clothes from winter to spring/summer***

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

It seems in this day that man is always taking all the credit. However if one takes just a moment to look beyond themselves it is evident that we are just a small almost insignificant part of this wonderful creation. I wonder how different the world would be if we stopped taking the credit and gave it to whom it belonged - GOD.

The Simple Woman's Daybook is sponsored by Peggy. Take a peek into the lives of some other simple women.

This Weeks Menu - May 25th

Monday

Breakfast: Waffles and Bacon

Lunch: Mac & Cheese and Apple Slices

Dinner: Chicken Fajitas and Mexican Rice

Tuesday

Breakfast: Yogurt and Granola

Lunch: Popcorn Chicken and Potato Salad

Dinner: Baked Pollock, Brown Rice and Peas

Wednesday

Breakfast: Poached Eggs on Toast and Fruit

Lunch: Tuna Melts on Homemade English Muffins, Orange Wedges and Veggie Fries

Dinner: Steak Subs on Homemade Rolls, Onion Strings and Carrots

Thursday

Breakfast: Muffins

Lunch: Tacos and Avocado Slices

Dinner: Spaghetti with Meatballs, Garlic Bread and Garden Salad

Friday

Breakfast: Green Smoothies and Muffins

Lunch: Orzo with Tomatoes & Green Olives, Cantaloupe

Dinner: Pot Luck at the Science Fair

Saturday

Breakfast: Cold Cereal - bird watching again

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Homemade Pizza

Sunday

Breakfast: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Lunch: Leftovers or PB&J

Dinner: Marinated Sirloin Tips, Baked Potatoes and Green Beans

For more summer menus and recipe don't forget to stop by the Organizing Junkie. Your taste buds wont be sorry.

Ricotta Cheese Crepe Filling

• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
• 4 tsp honey or maple syrup
• dash of lemon juice
• dash of vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a mall bowl. Spoon down the center of a crepe. Add fresh or thawed fruit of your choice. Fold crepe up and enjoy!

This is such an easy yet special treat. My girls and I love these for breakfast. They also make a healthy desert.

Knitting for Rosie

One of the wonderful apects of the blogging world is the inspiration one gains from the numerous other women sharing their lives on their blogs. I am often touched and challenged by many of the women I have become friends with via their blogs.

One things that has continues to inspire me has been the crafty abilities of so many. I love to craft but am not great with coming up with my own unique designs. I also find new techniques intimidating. I am more of a hands on learner when it comes to crafts and like to be shown how to do something.

All that being said I have always wanted to learn to knit. My mother knit beautifully. I treasure all the sweaters she has lovingly made my daughters. Unfortunately she took up knitting after I had left home and she is too far away to show me how.

So I turned to one of my favorite crafty women, Amanda Soule, aka Soulemama. Lucky for me she listed Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick among her recomended books. What a wonderful introduction to knitting and not just for kids.

After looking through the book and knitting a few squares in different patterns, I was ready to try something more. There is an adorable pattern for a doll's vest. I just knew Rebekah's doll Rosie needed one of these vests.

Here is Rosie in her new vest. It is a little large as the pattern was for an 18" doll, but I think it looks ok. And Rebekah thinks Rosie new vest is the best!

Now to find a hat pattern. My goal is to knit hats for the family before next fall. Wish me luck.

Birding from a Canoe

For the last week of birding in the bog we headed out in canoes to view the birds from the water. Not sure about taking three girls in a canoe by myself, Doug came with us. Sarah jumped in Dixie and Lisa's canoe which was just fine. The rest of us were in one with Doug in the back steering, Hannah and Rebekah in the middle, and Mom up front paddling. As you probably guessed, Rebekah didn't last long with Hannah and moved up with me, which left Hannah to paddle. Which actually worked out great, except that I couldn't get very many pictures. I was afraid I would drop either my camera or Rebekah in the bog.

I love this picture of Lisa, Sarah and Dixie. I'm not sure what Lisa is pointing out, but all eyes seem to be on it. These two women have been so wonderful with Sarah. I'm not sure if Sarah's passion for birding would have developed into what it is without them.

Now while I have truly enjoyed our birding adventures, I must admit that I prefer birding on land. I found it hard to paddle, hold Rebekah, find the birds and then zoom in on the little feathered creatures with my binoculars. Maybe next time I will sit in the middle of the canoe and leave Rebekah with friends.

Our next two birding adventures will be on land, and not at the bog. Hopefully we will see a lot of different birds that we haven't seen yet.

Beach Day

The first day to reach 90 degrees called for a trip to the beach. White Lake State Park was the perfect place to spend a beautiful day. About seven families from Homegrown Explorers met for a day of frolicking in the water. I still can't believe the kids were swimming in May. You can bet I wont brave the water for another month or so.

Rebekah was taken aback by the HUGE sandbox. I don't think she remembers the beach from last year. She spent hours digging and filling her bucket. She didn't even care when Deklin dumped an entire shovel of sand on her head!

Hannah did manage to get Rebekah into the water for a while, but she definitely preferred the beach. I think it was a little too cold for her.

Sarah on the other hand thought it was great. Of course the big kids have to go pretty far out before the water is deep enough to swim. But that is one of the features that make this such a great family beach. No worries of the little ones getting out too deep too fast.

The views were awesome. The beach was mostly deserted. The bugs were kept at bay by the gentle breeze. The new playgrounds were very cool. And the company was the best. I'm predicting there will be many more trips to the beach this summer.

You can check out more pictures from the day here.

Birding in the Back Yard

Sarah's interest in birds just keeps growing, thanks in part to Dixie, Lisa and Josh. And I think it is great. She is now working on ways to attract more birds to our back yard. She made this feeder out of an old milk jug. She was so excited when the birds found it.

The most exciting bird visitors this week were two pairs of Evening Grosbeaks. Here you can see one of the males and his mate. The picture doesn't do these birds justice. They are awesome to see. The male are bright yellow and both male and female are quite large. We were lucky enough to be sitting at the kitchen table when they visited the feeder in our kitchen window. Unfortunately they haven't been back. We keep hoping.

Sarah has a new humming bird feeder. It is really cool as it attaches directly to the window with a suction cup. This she placed in our living room windows. We have a couple of Ruby Throated Humming Birds that visit the feeder numerous times in the morning and evening.

We spent one evening trying to snap pictures of the little guy. He was a little camera shy at first, but then I think hunger got the best of him. I love the tail feathers in the picture above.

Sarah has been inspired by the Evert boys and the bird garden they built in their back yard. She was so excited when her dad agreed to give her a section of yard to created her very own bird garden. She has been working hard clearing out the overgrown area.

She has been researching how to design the area and what to include. She has come across a few books she would like:

Projects for the Birder's Garden: Over 100 Easy Things You Can Make To Turn Your Yard and Garden Into A Bird-Friendly Haven

A Backyard Bird Feeders Bible: The A-Z Guide to Feeders, Seed Mixes, Projects and Treats

Making Music - Drums

This week's music class moved us away from string instruments and on to percussion. I think this was the class that most of the kids were waiting for, and it didn't disappoint.

The instructor was fabulous. Introducing the kids to musical notation - quarter note, half note, eighth note, and how to count them. Then the clapping and foot tapping began as the children had to clap out a pattern. Each pattern got more difficult adding in both feet and hands. As the children mastered a pattern a few of them would get to try to play the pattern on the drum set or bongos.

Above Hannah gets a helping hand on her pattern. It really is a lot harder than it looks.


But by the smile I think you can tell she had a great time even if she wasn't quite in rhythm.

Next up was Sarah. You could see her counting trying hard to follow the pattern.

And then both girls got a turn at the bongos. I think they would agree that the bongos were easier than the drum set - no feet to worry about.

That's it for this week. Tune in next week to see how the guitar class went. Until then keep making music.

Blueberry Squares

These have been one of my husband's favorite cookies since he was little. Now it is a family favorite. You can make these with whatever jam you prefer. We like our homemade blueberry or raspberry, but apricot and strawberry are good too.

• 
  
  3/4 cup butter, softened


• 
  
  1 cup sugar


• 
  
  1 egg


• 
  
  1 tsp vanilla


• 
  
  2 cups and 1 Tbsp flour


• 
  
  1/2 tsp baking powder


• 
  
  1/4 tsp salt


• 
  
  12oz jam

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla, add flour, baking powder and salt. Grease and flour a 9x9 pan. Spread 2/3 thirds of batter in pan. Spread jam. Take small pieces of remaining batter and flatten, place over jam to cover the majority of jam.

Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

You can find more wonderful recipes at the recipe swap.

Garden Update

Well, we took the plunge and started planting. Here you can see a row (well almost a row) of onions, white and red. We finished off the row with broccoli. The second row starts with broccoli and then we added our green mix that just had to get in the ground. It is actually ready for picking. Yeah!

Everything looked great and made it through the first night. We were all so excited and ready to plant more. Then we checked the weather report. You guessed it FROST! and not for one night but for the next five nights. Obviously we didn't plant anymore and we needed to protect what we had in the ground.

Here is the garden tent. We have since added a few taller stakes to keep the plastic off the plants. We have had four nights of 30 degree nights and so far so good. Everything is still green and growing.

Memorial Day is right around the corner so hopefully the entire garden will be in soon. The weather man is promising nights in the 50's by the end of the week. I can hardly wait.

Keep updated on others' gardening progress or share your own green experiences at the Seed To Harvest Challenge.

The Frog Pond

Today we headed over to Tin Mountain Conservation Center for a program on ponds. The children and I just can't say enough about their programs and staff. We always have such a good time and learn a ton from their programs.

We started out in the library their beautiful building on Bald Hill. Josh Potter "quizzed" the kids to see what they new about ponds and the kinds of animals that might live in or around the pond. Josh has a bunch of really cool items to share with the kids - turtle shells, snapping turtle and beaver skulls. He also read them a cute story.

The turtle shells and the two skulls were passed around the circle. I don't think Sarah was to keen on holding the skull. On the other hand Hannah thought it was pretty cool and took a much closer look.

When we finished inside we headed outside to hike down the pond. Sarah was excited to see her "new" friend Erica again.


Once down at the pond the kids started digging up pond muck and dumping it into wash tubs. Do you know how much stuff lives in pond muck? It is pretty gross and I don't know if I will ever let my feet touch pond muck again. And to think as a kid I loved to play in pond muck. Hey, maybe that explains a lot.

We ended up catching leaches, nymphs, salamanders, side swimmers, and lot of other BUGS, but no frogs. We did see one little green guy, but he wasn't going to be caught. Go figure!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday, May 18th. . .

Outside my window...

there is a Ruby Throated Hummingbird having his breakfast.

I am thinking...

about all we have planned this week.

I am thankful for...

Spring - the amazing rebirth of the world after the long winter always rejuvenates me. It forever reminds me of the resurrection of our savior

From the learning rooms...

we are headed to the frog pond for an adventure lead by Tin Mountain. Continuing to work on the girls science fair projects. It is time to start putting the finishing touches on them.

From the kitchen...

today, not much. My lovely daughter, Sarah, is in charge of dinner and we are packing a picnic lunch

I am wearing...

my favorite denim skirt with grey leggings, purple fleece sock, white t-shirt and purple fleece pullover, my mud boots are waiting by the door.

I am creating...

felt spring flower fairies for the nature table

I am going...

to try and be a more Godly woman. Starting with the small stuff, because if I can't do what HE has called me to everyday, how can HE call me to do something more?

I am reading...

I Love Dirt by Jennifer Ward

Clean Home, Clean Planet by Karen Logan

Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

I am hoping...

Rebekah stays asleep just a little while longer, and that all the stuffy little noses are gone when they all wake up.

I am hearing...

the cheep-cheep of our 19 week old chickens

Around the house...

the kitchen table is covered with plants just waiting to be planted in the garden when the weather warms up a bit, the chicken coop is almost finished, and I really need to go to the dump and mop the kitchen floor!

One of my favorite things...

is sneaking out to weed my garden with a cup of coffee before anyone else is awake. I find this so relaxing and it is productive too!

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Music Class and Karate on Wednesday, to the farm to pick up milk and yogurt on Thursday, Canoeing in the Bog on Saturday

**finish decluttering my desk**

***change over the girls' clothes from winter to spring/summer***

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Many hand make light work!

A Simple Woman' Daybook is hosted by Peggy. Take a peek into other Simple Women's Daybooks or join in if you like.