Happy Independence Day Nigeria

 I wrote the following blog a number of years ago. Since it's now the 60th anniversary of the independence of Nigeria, I decided it bears repeating. I am not of Nigerian heritage nor do I know much about the country. What I do know, is that it gained its independence from Great Britain on October 1, 1960.

Here's the blog - 

As this new month has started, so has my reminiscing. Fifty years ago today, October 1st, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from Great Britain. That's one of those pieces of trivia, and I have many, that is firmly etched in my brain. Why do I remember this? I was 10 years old, sitting in Mr. Footit's 7th grade music class at Essex Sr. Public School, not too far from the famed Christie Pits in Toronto. To commemorate the event our music teacher decided we should learn the Nigerian national anthem. "Nigeria we hail thee, our own dear native land, though tribe and tongue may differ...in brotherhood we stand.." Sorry Mr. Footit, that's all I remember.

I do recall a rather different teacher though. I'm not certain how old he was because he always seemed ancient. But then, all teachers did. I can't even tell you if he was any good as an educator. I do know that he was severely handicapped by arthritis. His back was slightly hunched and his feet shuffled when he walked. His gray suit hung loosely on his ever shrinking body. On good days we could see the pained expression on his face as his gnarled fingers attempted to play a few chords on the piano. Other times, he could barely function and found it challenging to start the record player.

Without fail, we ended every music class by listening to and singing along with a scratched up recording of *"Heart of My Heart". I wouldn't be surprised if it had been a 78 rpm. He told us he'd worn out many such vinyls during his teaching career. We all wondered why.

I recall how one day, a brave student finally asked. " Sir, why do you always play that record?"

 With moist eyes, I recall Mr. Footit's simple answer. "I want you to always remember me". 

It worked.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 *Excerpt from "Heart of My Heart" ....."too bad we had to part. I know a tear would glisten, if once more I could listen, to that gang that sang heart of my heart."

I Just Want A Hippopotamus

Our lives are all about making connections. I'm not talking about connections with family, friends, or other people. I'm referring to the connections which teachers are always hoping children can make. The ones when they learn something new...connections between facts, or songs, or news, or family traditions for example. I'm talking about the connections that  make ideas come together and sometimes make us say, "aha", or "oh yeah, I remember that", or "now it all makes sense".

So I started to wonder. If we hear something frequently, does it sit in the back of our brain somehow as if it were important or special? Is it lingering there, waiting to break out some day?  Is there some kind of subconscious or subliminal connection?

When I was very young, I remember hearing a song called, "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas". It didn't mean much to me, or so I thought. I just remember hearing it...a lot.  In the 80's, Anne Murray sang about a hippo in her bathtub. I know this because my toddler children wanted to hear the cassette tape ad infinitum.
                                                                     
In the late 90's, there was a Canadian tv commercial about house hippos. The commercial was aimed at children, attempting to get them to use critical thinking skills to ask questions about what they were watching on tv.  Apparently, children started to believe that house hippos were an actual real thing.

Similar commercials reappeared in 2019, created by the Canadian non profit literary organization MediaSmarts. It was part of a public service "break the fake" campaign produced by an Ottawa firm HyperActive (I got this from Wikipedia). The video was more explicit in reminding children that they shouldn't believe everything they see on tv. There were accompanying lesson plans for teachers who opted to use this as a teaching tool.

“Many Canadians remember the little hippos fondly, so we thought they were the perfect reminder that just because we want something to be true, doesn’t mean we should believe it,” said Kathryn Ann Hill, Executive Director at MediaSmarts.

I couldn't help but wonder, "Why a hippo?"

Why was the hippo the symbol that the media company decided to use for the commercials? In my mind, I had a vision of advertisers who were somehow influenced by either hippos in their bathtub, or wanting a hippopotamus for Christmas.

More recently, I've seen frequent mentions of house hippos on Facebook. People have been excitedly posting, "I found one," and sharing its obscure location. Whether they're planters or ornaments,  hippos in Canadian homes are starting to replace the age old Norwegian kitchen witch it seems. And why not? They're purely Canadian and they are real after all aren't they?

I think, "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas". Perhaps I'll find one during my eventual post pandemic excursions. There seems to be a certain joy in locating them hiding away in gift shops and thrift stores. Maybe I'll discover one that speaks to me.

Meanwhile, I have to wonder what creativity will eventually come out of the current "Baby Shark" generation.

UPDATE

Found one. Like me, he is slightly flawed, rough around the edges,  has been chipped away at, but is not totally worn out. His colouring has become bland, but there are still occasional artsy signs of creativity, and perhaps of a once quite different and busy life. He has short little legs, is a little hefty in the mid section, and enjoys decorating himself for the occasional nightly outing. He becomes more easily tired, continues to be frequently distracted, but still manages to do a lot more than many other hippos his age. In fact, he has even travelled a distance from a scratch and dent rack, just to live at this house. He enjoys fun, and smiling, and is hoping to be around for awhile to add to his lifetime of adventures.

Lemon Posset

I saw this pretty photo somewhere and thought this dessert looked good.  The appearance reminded me a bit of creme brulee which is my all time favourite super rich dessert, not to be eaten more than once a year.

I found out it was called, Lemon Posset...bonus. I love lemon. Curious to find out what "posset" meant and assuming it was some kind of french culinary term, I searched google translate.

Wow...who knew? Posset, means...posset. That got me nowhere.

So I tried another tact, looked up "posset" and "detect language". Google detected Latin. Seriously? So posset is Latin for the word "could".

Posset this possibly be correct? I doubted it.

Further research was required because I hate not knowing stuff, and now I needed a derivation and definition.

I looked up "posset" in dictionary.com. Thankfully, I didn't do this first because I would have given up my quest. I found this meaning, "a drink made of hot milk curdled with ale, wine, or the like, often sweetened and spiced." Sounded very unappealing.

Alas, wikipedia came to my rescue...or did it? Once again, I found the British hot drink with milk and ale description. 

So after looking at the recipe, I decided to create my own definitions.

Posset - n.  A fancy french pudding with lots of sugar. A diabetic nightmare.

                  Alternate  meaning - A decadent  dessert, insanely expensive at a restaurant.

                                      

I actually found the recipe for this dessert to be very simple and very high in calories. It's just one step away from eating from the sugar bowl.  Dare I try it? Tempting.  I'll report back if I do.

Ingredients

2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar   
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
lemon zest from 2 lemons

Directions

Bring whipping cream to a gradual boil for 3 minutes. Combine and boil sugar, zest, and lemon juice. Whisk lemon mixture into cream. Remove from heat and strain out zest before pouring into individual dessert bowls. Let cool then put in fridge to chill until firm. Decorate with fruit or flowers

UPDATE

I made it. It's not so simple. I combined a couple of recipes as I always do and noted changes in "ingredients" and "directions" above. If you don't warm the cream slowly, it gets a strange consistency. Also, I heated the sugar and lemon juice to dissolve sugar. Used only 2/3 cups sugar. Then I whisked the sugar, lemon mixture into the cream. Strained the whole thing to remove zest. Poured into dishes and cooled.  Once cooled, I put it in the fridge to solidify. Decorated.

It tasted pretty good but I likely won't make it again.

Where Have the Months Gone? A Pandemic Review

For awhile since self isolation,  I'd wake up in the morning with the title and melody from a Carpenters' song, "It's Yesterday Once More" swimming in my head. Although the song has nothing to do with our current situation, it does contain a poignant verse which spoke to me.

"Lookin' back on how it was in years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad, so much has changed"

I miss my friends, my trips, certain group activities, shopping, my appointments (yes even those), and mostly, my freedom. I suppose it is affecting me more since I am now considered "older", "senior", and "high risk group", during this time of covid-19 pandemic. The problem is that with age, there's also a certain element of urgency to get on with life, and to do all those things we always wanted to do while it's still possible. This isolation is severely impacting the time I have left to complete those activities.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not playing the world's tiniest violin here. I understand how fortunate I am. I know there are all kinds of horrific issues in the world, and there are people who were suffering prior to this, and even more so now as a result of this pandemic. The loss of jobs, the homelessness, the poverty, the hunger, the death toll, has escalated everywhere. I too have family members who are impacted.

Nonetheless, I'm no longer young enough to recoup this time, or to consider it as just a blip in my life.

On the bright side, there are things I've accomplished during my stay at home time. I'm trying hard not to think of them as "make work projects", since that would depress me. So, in an effort to make the best of my "captivity" as it were, here are some of my escapades and accomplishments over the last couple of months. This summary, is not meant to sound boastful. I have not found ways to save the world. It is rather an attempt to remind myself that I have managed to use some of the time to a good end.

It all started with new and inventive ways of cooking with food finds early on, while we were unable to shop. I've completed several blogs about that including  "Covid Cooking" 5/21/20 .

The cooking, then got interspersed with the dreaded housework, "Fanatical Tidying, Organizing, or Not! " 5/15/20, and as the weather improved,  gardening, "Pandemic Planting" 5/16/20.

For awhile, when we thought the pandemic would be short lived, we had special celebratory days. I decorated, we dressed up in costumes, and it was fun. Eventually, my poor hubby got tired of my silliness and I got sick of all the work involved, so we've put everything on a hiatus. It's only temporary, so shhhhh...don't tell.

First we celebrated the Blue Jays no home opener day this year.  We wore our fan gear and ate hot dogs, fries, and other ballpark delicacies.  Next came Maritime fish Fryday...self explanatory, but who knew I had an Anne of Green Gables outfit and would dress hubby as a fisherman in his yellow slicker?

German Day was a celebration of our heritage, complete with schnitzel, sauerkraut, spaetzle, and beer. Medieval Times was a lot of work. We wore elaborate costumes and wigs and performed feats of strength. Formal Friday was a suggestion by late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, even though I'd already thought of it. Then there was our Green Eggs and Ham party.  For Cinco de Mayo, which conveniently fell on Taco Tuesday, I made a papier mache pinata and sombrero.  Choice of food was obvious and simple.

Then,  after hearing everyone complaining about the length of their hair, it became time for a little haircutting fun.         

 Hobbies have managed to take on a new life. First, I painted a bookcase (details in blog "Now I Am An Old Purple Woman" 5/29/20).  The stool was an old rickety unpainted wreck. Now, it's an old rickety, weirdly painted wreck. I'll never be a Picasso, but I'm having fun. The easel has seen a few of my efforts.

I recently wallpapered the laundry room, practiced piano, and  reverse tie dyed a shirt (blog yet to come). I've also managed to make a dent in the pile of books I've been meaning to read.

Perhaps it's all been time well spent after all. At least that's what I'll tell myself.

There are countless jokes on the internet about the coronavirus, and this calendar year. There are comments about unused day planners, and those who say that 2020 doesn't count and we're really not a year older. I fear that I will be at least a year older before all this is over. 

After  I saw a rather humorous meme from Aunty Acid using the  movie "Groundhog Day", I now no longer hear the Carpenters' song "It's Yesterday Once More" in the morning.  Instead, I've started waking up to "I've Got You Babe".

Cool Tip I Learned in My Old Age

I can't imagine where the world would be without youtube videos to show us how to do anything and everything nowadays. It's especially useful during our current self isolation.

My daughter has become an expert at crochet. I have not as yet been quite as ambitious, although I have learned some new things. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

This morning, hubby opened the cereal cupboard and laughed when he saw this.

Why had nobody told me about this before? This is brilliant. I'm tired of ripped lids, and half open boxes, particularly cereal boxes.

I found a video on youtube that showed how to close a cereal box. Since I was tired of shredded, half open lids, I thought I'd try it.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhEHnIypRM0

The first box was rather large, and I was unsuccessful, although, I was able to get it sealed enough that all I needed to add was a clip and it still looked neat.

Next, I attempted a smaller box. Wow... it worked.

Before long, my cereal cupboard was organized. I had managed to seal all the rest of the boxes as in the video. Another unnecessary pandemic self isolation project completed. 

Here's a repeat of how for those who haven't seen the video.

Step 1 - Close inside waxed paper containing cereal. Then, at the top of the box, fold in one large lid and two small end ones.

Step 2 -  Bend small end portions of box to from a V shape which points to the inside of the box.

Step 3-   Tuck the other large lid in on the far side of the V's against the first large lid.

Fantastic!

Amazing isn't it how these small efforts and successes keep us amused during the current health crisis?

Someone told me there's a hack to seal potato chip bags as well, to which I asked, "Who actually has partial potato chip bags?" Anyhow, I shall leave that little trick for someone else to post.

Cinnamon Rolls

As I mentioned before, this was never meant to be a cooking or baking blog, but alas. Facebook has been inundating me, and probably everyone else with recipes. I wonder what makes them think we all have time to cook and bake? You'd think there was a pandemic, and we were all bored while sitting around at home. Having said that, I must admit, I've looked at some of the recipe offerings and I've even tried a few.

Today, I made easy, healthier, crock pot chicken and dumplings thanks to Allrecipes.com. It was a pretty good lunch. Then, I made some zucchini pancakes, and the following cinnamon rolls.

I'm sharing this method of making cinnamon rolls, which I discovered under the heading "Newfoundland Recipes" because it was incredibly easy, quick, and delicious. Although I'm certain most people in my age group have probably made variations of cinnamon rolls before, I haven't...until now. I suppose I always thought the process to be much more complex.

I will share the recipe here, and what I learned. I absolutely would do several things differently, having completed this once. In fact, I think it would only take one more batch to perfect these. Now if only someone would eat up all of the first platter so that I could make more.

Dough

2 cups flour
1/2  cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix ingredients together and roll out on lightly floured surface.

Filling

Mix together -

1/4 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used brown sugar substitute for part of this)

***What I learned - I would probably add nuts or raisins to this filling next time. Also, do not spread filling too close to edge because it oozes out while baking.

Spread filling onto rolled out dough.

Now, here's another of my regrets. I rolled up the dough lengthwise until it looked like the rolling pin.  I suppose I was afraid it would get too thick. Next time, I will roll it in the other direction. The buns need to be a bit bigger than what I made. Also, I cut one inch slices. I found them to be too small. So, in my opinion, thicker and fatter is better.

Place on parchment lined cookie sheet but not too close together. They do tend to get middle age spread. Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes until they are lightly browned and done looking (not at you but done looking to you...as in not raw).

After you bring them out of the oven, brush on glaze while rolls are still warm.

Glaze

1 cup icing sugar
2 tblsp. milk

So here they are...my first attempt. Not pretty, but very delicious.

Empire Cookies...a favourite

Empire Cookies

From what I’ve read, empire cookies originated in Germany and are a form of linzer cookie (the ones with the cut out on top and various jams inside). Later they were adopted in other countries in various forms, but they are basically supposed to look like a little crown. 

This is one of my favourite simple cookies. I use the same cookie dough recipe for special holidays. I cut them out with seasonal cookie cutters, and decorate accordingly. In this case, I don’t double them up and I make the individual cookies a bit thicker. 

Basically, these are a sugar cookie and pretty easy. My original recipe came from Canadian Living, but I have made some adaptations as necessary over the years and they're my "go to" emergency cookie.

I prefer smaller cookies, because I’m a dainty person, and because after the effort, I want them to last for a few minutes before they all get eaten. I think that most recipes are similar, and when I google the photos, most look like mine.

The last time I made these cookies was in Atlanta, Christmas 2019 while visiting my daughter. I worked with what I had because there was no rolling pin, and none were available at stores. In the words of one sales person, “What do you use those for?” 

We did manage to find a vast array of cookie cutters on sale and there was one which I found suitable, roundish with wiggly edges, although regular round, or a small juice glass will work as well.

Ingredients                                                                          

1/2 cup butter, softened                                                        

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg                                                                                     

1 tsp. vanilla                                                                         

2 cups flour                                                                           

1 tsp. baking powder     

Filling & Topping

raspberry jam (for inside cookie)

1 cup icing sugar

1/4 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. hot water approx. (add more by drops if necessary)

maraschino or candied cherries

Directions

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder and add gradually to creamed mixture. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough quite thin because, don’t forget they get doubled. Cut into rounds. Place on parchment paper or ungreased baking sheet.

Hint - I usually use a large cafeteria type tray to sprinkle flour and roll out the dough. This saves a lot of mess, and clean up later.

Bake 325 for about 7-10 minutes for small, or 10 minutes if you made larger ones. My oven runs hot. Don’t let them get brown...just a bit at the edges. Let cool. Spread half the cookies with raspberry jam.

Combine icing sugar, almond extract and enough water for a thin icing...start with less and add lest it get too runny. Frost tops of cookies. Put a small piece of cherry on top. I usually cut about 3 or 4 cherries into bits and dry them on a paper towel (not drying them will make the red bleed into the icing). Size of cookie cutter determines how many you get. I usually have a couple dozen.

What can I say...no rolling pin? Use a liquor bottle. Only problem is that it’s hard to get the dough really smooth and even harder to get all the dough off the bottle.

I'm not too fussy so they never look perfect. They still taste the same.                                     

Pandemic Pancakes - Easy Peasy

I had forgotten about these very simple pancakes. I made them for myself this morning when my breakfast chef was not available.

Many years ago, I belonged to a diet group (Insert name of any diet group here. I've belonged to them all.)   I remember getting this pancake recipe. It's ridiculously simple, delicious, and filling. They're especially great if you don't have, or don't want to use flour, baking powder, or sugar.

The beauty of these is that the content is easily measurable in calories, protein, carbs, and fruit. There's no added sugar.

If you have a blender, it makes a more smooth pancake, but it's not essential. Basically, just toss all these ingredients together.


Ingredients    (makes 2 medium or one large)

1 egg     80 calories
1 slice bread (any kind you like, I used thin sliced) 70 calories
1/2 banana (good use for any that are starting to darken) 45 calories
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
cinnamon if you wish

Total calories for a substantial breakfast 195 . I find these pancakes
to be quite sweet and moist enough on their own, but if you prefer to top them with a bit of syrup, honey, agave, or a dusting of powdered sugar, be sure to consider the extra sugar and calories.

If doubling the recipe, just use another slice of bread and another half banana.  I  have never used a second egg, but have added a splash of milk if the mixture looks too dry.

Directions

If using a blender, put egg and banana into blender and mix. Tear bread into a few pieces and add it along with vanilla. Blend briefly until smooth. Pour onto a pan as in photo.  (I used a tiny amount of spray olive oil to cook).

Recipe as I wrote it made 2 medium sized pancakes or if you prefer, one large.

If  you don't have or don't want to use a blender,  mash the banana and whisk
together with egg and vanilla. Break bread into very small pieces and add to banana and egg . Mix together. Pour into pan. If there are small pieces of undissolved bread, it's not really a problem.

I hope you enjoy them. I did.

More Covid Organization Projects

I'm beginning to wonder whether the things we do while we are in self isolation are actually essential, something we would have done sooner if we'd had the time, or if they are just make work projects to keep us busy.

At our house, we have a fair sized pantry filled with quite a few canned goods. I thought it might be a good idea to take inventory of the contents. I was afraid that some items had been there for awhile and would get outdated or remain unused when new products are bought. I made an inventory which I soon decided was not an efficient way to keep track. I listed how many of each item there was, then changed the numbers as the cans were used...messy.

After a short time, I decided to sort out the contents of our jelly cupboard as well. Same issues as the pantry. In fact, you might say there are more pantry type items stored in the jelly cupboard

I came up with a better plan. After creating the chart, with enough boxes in each direction, I put an / for each  thing we already have. I taped the charts to the inside of the cupboard doors. As the
 products are used, we will put a line through and end up with something like an x. That's the theory. There's space to add to the list at the  bottom. I have left a conspicuous pen to be sure that what's used is crossed off. Essential or make work project? So far, it's working well and I like it.

I also decided to do something about my jewelry. I found a hanging holder which was formerly my daughter's. I'm sure she's forgotten it exists since she's no longer even in the country. I hung it on my bedroom wall near the closet. How sensible. Now I can see my earrings and perhaps even use some of them instead of  wearing the same ones every day. I also found a hanger type jewelry holder that I'd forgotten about, in my basement. I've owned it for a long time but, like so many other things, it was just sitting idle. It has a clothes hanger and is two sided...brilliant. It will store costume jewelry and larger items...eighty in total. The concept of "shopping your house" is becoming more and more handy for me these days.

I decided that whatever I don't wear/use in the next year, will be disposed of.  The left holder looks pretty good on the wall. The one on the right, once filled will go into the closet and hang with my clothing.


My next project will be an attempt to deal with shoes. I have not as yet figured out a perfect storage solution. I've tried see through shoe boxes, boxes with photos on the outside, racks, and hanging organizers. All of these take up space which I don't have. It leads me to think that perhaps I just need to downsize. Alas, I'll miss my multitudinous Birkenstocks. On the other hand, as the expressions goes, "How many shoes can you wear at a time?"

Now I Am An Old Purple Woman

Many people are familiar with the poem, "Warning" by Jenny Joseph which begins, "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple."  Essentially, she suggests that when people are older, they don't care as much about what others think of them. They have the freedom to do as they please, without feeling the need to impress others. I believe this to be true. She also suggests that some people should be a bit quirky before they become old, so that nobody will think them odd later in life. It doesn't work. People still think I'm odd, but alas, I don't care that much about what they think. So clearly, Joseph has a point. 

This week, I was busy. We had an old brown bookcase in the garage. Why does most furniture have to be brown anyhow? During one of my energetic moments, I decided to paint it, so that it could be placed the bedroom. I wanted my impossible pile of books to be organized enough that they could be shelved, and hopefully read. I knew I wouldn't offend anyone who has issues with the painting of wood, since this shelf was made of ***chipboard photo-paper. After a trip to Home Depot, I learned that I needed to use primer, then cover with two paint coats. What colour was I going to pick? 

After careful consideration, I decided to paint my bookcase purple to add some life to the room. Back in 9/23/11 "Missing Blogs...Updated Digs" I redid the bedroom in shades of green and aubergine, and although some changes have taken place since then, the basic colours have remained the same. I like them.

The whole time I was using the purple paint, I was reminded of the children's story, "Harold and the Purple Crayon". I wondered how it would look if I sketched and painted Harold on the side of my shelf. At no point did I care what people might think about this odd childlike shelf showing up in a bedroom. On the other hand, not many would see it and it would probably bring me joy.

Although I had some issues with the paint adhering without lifting off the photo paper (not sure if the primer preparation was correct), I eventually succeeded in completing the additions to my satisfaction. I protected it with varathane, and it was done...night time appropriate with moon and stars.

My books are now stacked and the room makes me happy. The colour  breaks up the boredom of the rest of the brown furnishings.

Earlier on, when I was doing the priming, I decided to also coat a rocking chair which I had retrieved from a neighbour's trash. There wasn't much wrong with it except that a dog had chewed part of the seat at the back. Wood purists of the world might take issue with me. When I turned the rocker over, I was surprised to make some discoveries. Still, it will become my next art project.

Although I'm not yet certain how I will complete the chair, I do know one thing for sure. It will not be purple.

 ***Chipboard photo-paper shelf - No real wood was harmed in the painting of this bookcase.

Lumps, Bumps, and Annoying Night Things

Today, as I was changing my sheets and re-making my bed, I discovered something. There were two large bumps, one near the pillow area, and one close to the centre of the bed. Mystified, I felt around. Sometimes, things cling to sheets and get stuck in odd places. Usually though, it's a ***sock (a partial explanation as to where the other sock goes after doing laundry).

Clearly, these lumps were impossible. My pajamas were in the wash. My shorts, shirt, and slippers were on my body. I had no missing pets. Hmmm...could I have amassed that many dust mites since my last wash? Gross, NO!

On the other hand, I like to think of myself as somewhat of a ***"Princess and the Pea", and these bulges would clearly explain my sleepless nights of late.

Since I have a zip on mattress cover to protect against any alien type infestations, there was only one thing left to do. I had to locate the end of the fastener, a feat in itself, then open up the mattress cover sufficiently to seek out the offending "things".

After pulling out all the extra fabric around the edges of my bed, wiping my now perspiring brow, and locating a tiny zipper pull, I did it. I must admit, I was nervous. I unzipped what I now remembered was a king sized mattress cover on my queen sized bed. It was the only anti bedbug one available, and I purchased it during a time when we could still go travelling without pandemic fears.

I zipped,  I zipped, thinking two sides open would be sufficient. Once my head and most of my body was inside the cover, and my bare, but slippered legs were flailing in the air,  hubby arrived to inquire as to what on earth I was doing. "Are you washing the mattress cover?" he asked.

My mission was not hindered, as my muffled voice shared with him the issue of the mystery protrusions. Hubby is used to me by now, well, sort of, so he just carried on with what he was doing allowing my imprisoned self to seek out the offending bumps.

The only thing I learned during my spelunking betwixt the formerly unsullied mattress and the massive protective wrapper was that there was clearly something invasive between the layers of  fabric. After a few minutes of thinking, and wondering whether I should slit part of the seam to determine what it was, I came to the most logical and sensible conclusion.

The mattress cover was padded, and the mattress cover was king sized. Clearly some of the excess padding had wadded itself up to create the illusion of something more compelling. Yes, that's it and that's what I'll believe until the next time I change the sheets.

I re-zipped and smoothed the cover as best I could, put clean sheets on the bed in a slimming dark purple colour, so that the lumps are less apparent, and went about my business. Now, I'll see how I sleep tonight, and what happens next week when I once again change the bedding.
_________________________________________________________________________________

***Seinfeld's hilarious bit about missing socks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQxyOROXtA

     
***See Blog - The Princess, The Pea, and Prince Charming  8/4/10
https://rockinrobinsramblings.blogspot.com/2010/08/princess-pea-and-prince-charming.html

Wild Rice, Cranberry, Walnut Salad

I have learned to be much more food flexible in my old age, and also during this pandemic. My best suggestion is to be creative and/or lazy.  If you don't have an ingredient, try a substitution. If the recipe looks as though it has too much of one thing or another for your liking, change the recipe. If everything has to be made from scratch, think twice about how to adapt the recipe. It usually works out without too much of an ensuing disaster.

***Allergy alert - The recipe that follows contains walnuts, but any types of nuts can be substituted including pine nuts (I don't care for these), almonds, or pecans. I've only tried it with walnuts so far.

Whereas I was less than enthusiastic about my recent attempt at Jambalaya, this recipe is definitely a keeper. I think it's been around for a long time. A rice salad with very few ingredients, it tastes delicious even though it doesn't look too appealing to everyone in the photo...wait, nobody's in the photo. It doesn't look appealing to everyone the way it appears in the photo...better.  It also keeps for several days in the fridge.

I didn't do anything 'much' to change this recipe (unusual for me) which I found in several different online locations including a page on anti-aging foods...yayyy. Let's see if it helps. Here's the version that my stepmom used, and that I am also currently using. 


Cranberry, Rice, & Walnut Salad


Ingredients in red.

1 cup rice - brown and wild is suggested, but I substituted long and wild rice. Is there really much difference? ***I also have been known to use prefab rice. In other words, something of slightly lesser nutritional value and much less work. On the other hand, if you're a purist and you have an hour to kill, go ahead and use wild rice that you need to cook. I think the brown takes a little less time.

When rice cools (if you're using cooked), mix with  1/2 cup of dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup of squashed walnuts. I had to use halves which I put in a bag and crushed with a rolling pin.

For dressing -

Whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 tsp. of sugar (I used sweetener), 1 tablespoon lemon juice (from a real lemon or from a squeezy plastic lemon), a tsp. of rind if you have any kind of citrus fruit, like the aforementioned lemon (not the plastic one) or an orange-like item with rind, salt, pepper to your taste.

Assemble by pouring dressing on rice mixture, and serve. I've also seen versions using roasted nuts that have been cooled, and versions that are warm salads. I like to refrigerate mine prior to consuming.

Et voi​là. There you have it...easy peasy.

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***Prefab rice example. I don't use them often because of the plastic, but this one comes in two, one cup sizes so I just use one of the two for the recipe.  The plastic cups can however be recycled, or up cycled and used for other purposes.

Creole Jambalaya Fatigue

Well, it's Friday again. In my perception of time, the only day more frequent than Friday is Sunday. I know this because I have a drug (prescribed) which I need to take on Sundays, and it always seems to be Sunday. So many days now mush themselves together.

I saw a meme that said 2020 doesn't count so really, none of us are a year older. Tell that to my body parts which at this point seem to be aging at warp speed.

On the bright side, it's a beautiful, warm, t-shirt day today with no wind, so I was able to walk with minimal allergy discomfort. After my morning trek, I struggled through a jambalaya recipe, the meal which I had planned for today. Personally, I don't really care for any kind of multi ingredient, one dish type food. I guess I'm more like the kid who likes everything separate on a plate. Hubby on the other hand really enjoys jambalaya.

I learned through extensive recipe googling, that there is Cajun jambalaya, and there is Creole jambalaya. The difference is that the Creole jambalaya contains tomatoes and Cajun does not. Since I'm fairly certain that the restaurant meal which hubby likes, is reddish, I opted for the Creole recipe.

Here's the Martha Stewart Cajun recipe I found.

https://www.marthastewart.com/1512701/cajun-jambalaya

I soon discovered why this meal is expensive in a restaurant. Besides having many costly ingredients, it's time consuming and exhausting. I used the following recipe but substituted kielbasa because it's what I had, and because I have no idea what andouille sausage is.

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/jambalaya-recipe/

 Here is my completed jambalaya.

I have made some discoveries which will provide shortcuts should I ever actually consider serving this again.

Shortcut # 1 - Chop all the veggies, chicken, shrimp, and sausage the day before. I now have                                             peppers, onions, parsley, chopped and ready to go in my freezer for many recipes.

Shortcut  #2 - Look at several recipes and find the one that looks easiest. I neglected to do this.

Shortcut  #3 - Go to M&M's Meats and get their frozen Jambalaya. I can't guarantee it's any                                                                good.  Haven't tried it.

Shortcut #4 -  My favourite - Order take out from CJ's restaurant. Go for a walk. Bring it home, and                                                   pretend I made it.

So, we just consumed the jambalaya that it took me all morning to make. It tasted pretty good, even to me. Apparently, the one from the restaurant is preferred. Next time, I'll definitely use shortcut #4.

Covid Cooking

I had never intended this to become a cooking blog, and it really isn't. If I share recipes, it's because I have a plan which I'll explain later.

Recently, a friend and I read and discussed the book, "Recipe for A Perfect Wife,"  by Karma Brown. The author describes the lives of two housewives, one from the 50's and one from present day, both of whom occupied the same home during their marriages. Their stories intersect when the current inhabitant of the house, a hopeful author-wife, discovers the other's recipes which were left behind in the basement.

Although my friend and I originally discussed dressing up and recreating some of the recipes, this idea was soon abandoned, well, except for the dressing up part. She made the meat loaf and didn't like it. I made the chocolate chip cookies and they were good. We gave up after that...just as well, since neither of us were remembering 50's-60's type food with fond memories.

This did give me an idea, however.  I know that almost anything is available on the internet nowadays, but, old recipes, especially family favourites, or mom's versions, are not always easy to find. In fact, my children have been known to ask for ingredients and techniques to create certain dishes that they remember and always enjoyed.

With my daughter now married and living far away, I had an idea for her next birthday. I decided to  create a book of recipes and ship it to her. I thought about the various forms this could take...recipe cards, hand written pages by mom (do I have that much time left in my life?), and so on. Finally, I concluded that if I take photos of things that I cook, and write up the recipes on the computer, I could print them, add little messages/asides/jokes, and compile them into plastic protectors in a binder with a "catchy" front cover. So that's my plan. That's why every now and again, tried and true or even experimental recipes that turned out well might show up on my blog.

Books can be different things to different people. They can be educational,  riveting, thought provoking, shocking, suspenseful, or inspirational. I thank the author of this book, Karma Brown for the inspiration to leave a piece of myself, in the form of "Mom's Favourite Recipes", for my child.
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Pandemic Planting

I am about to make a statement that will be very unpopular.

I hate gardening. There, I said it.

Every year I see people painstakingly working in their gardens. They tend to shrubs, trees, blooms, and make the yard lovely. Some have extensive vegetable gardens. None of these activities have ever appealed to me. In fact, it's beyond the realm of my comprehension how digging, planting, weed pulling, and repeating those steps ad infinitum, or for a couple of months at least, is in any way enjoyable. It makes my knees and back ache just thinking about it.

Having said that, every spring, I shop for, and plant an array of flowers in our yard. I usually spend a small fortune and don't pay much attention to what I select from the local garden centre.  I just pick what I like.  It's  a one time annual deal, just like the flowers. Sometimes, I have a theme, like when Canada celebrated its 150th anniversary of confederation.  I planted red and white, adding a few small flags to the design. It looked pretty.

So this year,  I'm late. The weather has taken awhile to warm up but today, I acquired a solid collection of flowers.

I decided to make the activity a little more fun for myself. Prior to working, I created a short "Mosquito Lady" video to get in the mood. Then I got down and dirty...and I do mean dirty. I was covered head to toe by the time I was finished burying all the plants I had schlepped home. (Turn up volume to fully appreciate my silliness).

After a couple of hours, I  packed away the tools, saving them hopefully for next year. It was time to relax and enjoy my efforts.

Fanatical Tidying, Organizing, or Not!

Every now and again, someone comes up with new and wonderful ways to downsize, clean, de-clutter, or sanitize your house. The books and websites are becoming as trendy as culinary t.v. shows and cookbooks.

Understand that I'm not being critical when I say that I think each person needs to do what they find helpful to them. If spending countless hours folding and organizing your clothing into little squares is what you enjoy, go for it. If setting a timer for twenty minutes to clean areas of your house works, more power to you. There is in fact no area of my house that can be cleaned in twenty minutes, but that's another problem.

Almost everyone's heard of Marie Kondo and her philosophies by now. She's a delightful young woman who shows you how to "spark joy" by folding and organizing your underwear (of which you shouldn't have too many), into tiny bundles that stand up on their own, like little soldiers in your dresser drawer.

During this time of covid isolation, I'm continuing to provide entertainment for myself. Through it all though, I have to give kudos to hubby for tolerating my nonsense.

As I  was folding laundry last week,  I decided to Marie Kondo the sheets. That means, once they are
folded in the correct and most space efficient manner, they get placed inside a pillow case, never to be seen again. While I was doing this, I figured, why not add some pizzazz. Wow...never noticed before that the word pizzazz has pizza in it. Reminds me, it's lunch time. But alas, I digress.

So I located a ribbon, tied everything up, and left the sheets on the bed for hubby to put on the high shelf. He probably had no idea what to make of this new found pillow-like package. It was too early by a week or two for his birthday.  By the way, I doubt Marie would approve of the wrinkled case and the disorganized bow, but alas, I have to save some part of my persona lest I turn into too much of a ***Stepford wife.

It's not as though I don't have any goals or plans for each day although it's not the way it used to be when our agenda was overflowing with trips, meetings with friends, doctor's appointments, dinners out, baseball games, etc. Nowadays, the calendar is empty, save for the occasional Walmart curbside grocery pickup...our biggest outing. Apart from that,  everything is limited to what can be done around the house, inside and out, or on a walk. I guess that's about it. 

I am not, nor have I ever been a person who can blindly and rigidly follow a schedule that's laid out. I also have a limited attention span, often moving on to another thing while abandoning the first. You might call me flexible, spontaneous, scatterbrained, or whatever other word fits the category.  So I told my friend who follows the Fly Lady website, that I'd more likely be a gnat or a mosquito lady. 

Based on that idea, I came up with my own "Mosquito Lady" plan. When we were first in lockdown as I like to call it, because it sounds better than isolation, quarantine, or captivity, I was a mad cleaning machine. I had this crazy idea that I could get my whole house tidy and sterilized in a few days...something I hadn't accomplished in years of living here because I actually had an active life. I also thought I could pursue all the hobbies I'd never had time for. End result, it didn't happen. Part way through, I became resentful, fed up, and went on a ***"Dead to Me" Netflix binge.

My new plan because I am retired and fortunate to have the luxury of doing this, was to do housework and cook for an hour or two in the morning. Then after lunch, go for a walk, pursue hobbies such as reading, writing, practicing keyboard, painting, crafting and lingering in the tub (not necessarily everything every day or in that order).  This has made me much happier.  

I do occasionally make lists and meal plans, but that's difficult for me because it's not in my nature. On the other hand, I've done some pretty odd, out of my comfort zone things lately and found them strangely satisfying.  

Perhaps I'll just go binge watch some Marie Kondo videos on Netflix after all.

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***Stepford Wives - A 1970's Ira Levin book and later a movie about a group of men who created robotic versions of their wives. These robots were physically perfect and also immaculate house keepers with no individuality or interests other than keeping the men happy.

***Dead to Me - Good show. Great cast. Somewhat irreverant and unlikely, with terrific writing and cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Not everyone's taste but the clever writing makes it mine.