As it turns out 13 is the number of cheese dependant meals you can consume in one week without adverse effects. In case you were wondering, as I suspect you were if you're anything like me.
During this unique period in history, according to a nationwide poll in Canada, 22 per cent of those polled said they are drinking more alcohol. Not a surprise.
10 per cent are using more cannabis, and seven per cent are smoking more cigarettes than usual.
All due to our increased levels of stress after hearing that Megan and Harry have left Canada for America. WTF is with THAT? We welcome them, surround them with the strong, warm embrace of the Rockies and soothe them with whispers tinged with maple syrup scented breath. I mean honestly.
Me? I'm eating all the cheese.
In the past 7 days or so I've made macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese souffle, chicken parmesan, and stood at the fridge door just eating cheese.
Not only does this help give me something to look forward to every day it cuts down on any time I would have wasted in the bathroom, allowing me to spend more time attending to my latest hobby, watching neighbours sit on porches.
The odd time we'll venture further out than our porches. See below for photo of a Corona street rave.
At this particular moment last Sunday exactly 5 neighbours (the total amount of people allowed to congregate) stood or sat on the street discussing the current situation. Which type of no knead bread we were making and what we were putting on it.
It was through this discussion that Laurel (the one in the hat) and I jointly came up with the idea of electric heated Snuggies that smell like warm bread when you turn them on.
I went for a few morning walks this week. I like to walk where I won't run into anyone because some time in the second week I lost all of my social skills. I'm afraid if someone said hi to me I'd skitter into the bush, dig a hole and live in it.
Moss. Nature's Lorazepam.
My Hunter boots have a leak. So that's something new and exciting.
In other new, but not so exciting news, all community gardens in Ontario have been shut down. I believe this was a misinterpretation of vague language, and am fairly confident that this will be resolved. Community gardens like mine and countless others across the country should be under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture. We are producing food, which is an essential service.
I have made my thoughts known.
Aside from bad news there was good news as well. I got some new pinafores in the mail!
These showed up in the mail from my friend Tricia Rough Linen for me to test drive. Two new pinafore styles.
I am gravitating towards the denim look one. I'm keeping both of course, but it'll be my go-to. So that little thing made me very happy.
If this self isolation is to go on much longer (and it is) I will have pruned away every single thing in my garden to a nub.
This week after work I pruned my apple espalier trees and hacked away half of my climbing hydrangea.
You can see the chopped off portion on the grass.
And THIS morning I woke up to find a hat/basket filled with wild leeks on my front porch. Deposited by a neighbour I assume. :) This little bundle of delicacies is also known as Ramps. They need to get planted somewhere shady and wet.
I am SO excited to have them especially since the closure of my big garden.
Finally, the other good thing that happened this week was Tuesday IT WAS NEW BOOK NIGHT!
I narrowed my new book selection choice down to these four and then after a couple of false starts landed on Dear Edward which only a few chapters in, I am really liking.
What I did NOT like was Barbara Kingsolver's New York Times bestseller Unsheltered. I gave up halfway through which is something I RARELY do. Especially that far into a book. But the characters were so underdeveloped that I couldn't have cared less if they all jumped into a mass grave while beating each on the head. That would have been the highlight of the book actually.
What I Did this Week
THE BEST GRILLED CHEESE YOU'LL EVER EAT.
THIS is the grilled cheese. Aged white cheddar, crispy bacon, green apple and a drizzle of maple syrup. Mmmmmmmmmm.
5 Books I'll Be Cozying Up With This Winter.
In case you need a bit of book inspiration, here's one of my 5 books I've read posts. My suggestions are good, but the really great thing about these posts is the amount of suggestions in the comments section. I'll be doing *another* 5 books I've read here next weekend hopefully so if you have any suggestions save it for then! :)
Marshmallow Salad.
In case you missed it, Marshmallow salad is the high falutin side dish we serve with Easter dinner. Since we'll all be by ourselves this easter dinner, I'm adding all the ingredients for this to my online grocery list and making the whole bowl for myself. Because it's not made of cheese that means it's probably a good things for me to scarf down.
Doing Your Taxes is Gross. Expensify Made it Fun.
I tell myself that I'm going to do my taxes this month, but I didn't do my taxes this early even when there wasn't a push back on the tax deadline. If you have a small business that allows you to write off expenses and you STILL don't have some time of expenses app you should read this post. It really REALLY makes doing your taxes a billion times easier.
Have a good remainder of your weekend and remember. Eat cheese.
Mary W
I have my first veg garden in 45 years and am like a duck in water. It is very small with only three beds about 20-25 feet long and 3 feet wide. Makes use of a small part of the backyard and isn't seen much by neighbors. I walk in it every morning and night just smiling and peace comes over me. I can't tell you how sorry I am for the closure of your garden. Even if they get it sorted out soon, it will have cost you so much time. I've been sewing masks for the local hospital and will finish 100 today or tomorrow. That has made me feel so good. Nurses have sent me pictures of them wearing them - they use them over their 'real' masks to extend the life and they are used by people in the neonatal unit for parents and aides. The other workers in the hospital are using them also, like information clerks, accounting, etc. Finally, I'm making some for our family as my daughter needs one when going into the grocery store and if (God forbid) one of us needs to go to the doctor, we will each have one to use. We are doing virtual birthday parties for the kids through Zoom and they have been fun. We are thinking of doing a Charades party soon. As long as someone organizes and instructs us how to do it. So far the kids are having a blast doing things with Mom and Dad. Games, gardening, building forts, drawing on the driveway. I'm so thankful for the internet and bloggers like you - LOVE YOU.
Jane
Very good of you to make masks for your local hospital, Mary. The front line workers need all the help they can get.
Karen
Thank you Mary! I'm thankful for readers like yourself! 100 masks?! That's great! A charades party sounds fantastic! ~ karen
Librarian Nancy
Too bad about your community garden - hope they get that sorted out. In between doing exciting things like cleaning the linen closet and sewing face masks for family and friends, I just finished reading Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (classic English fiction, humorous and a good choice for now) and The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel (historical fiction, the 3rd book in her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell - 750 pages and wonderful). I'm currently reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, a fantasy set in an alternate world that is just made for book lovers. American Dirt is sitting on my bedside table waiting for me.
Julie Pearce
Just read on an old post (guest on Steven & Chris) that you had your own TV Host show. When, what, can I find it somewhere?
Karen
Hi Julie. Yes, my actual job up until starting this blog was that of a television host. I also wrote everything I ever spoke on television. There were too many different shows to mention honestly. :) ~ karen!
Linda in Illinois
Come garden with me in my back yard. Live your life.
Nancy
What about the pinafores? What is new and exciting about the new ones? Right now we live in our RV and travel so I have no need but soon I might. This summer we traveled in south east Canada. I didn’t want to go see Anne of Green Gables, I wanted to see your house. Dang it, I’m too scared to be a stalker.
Cheryl Young
I too am making comfort food and cheese figures heavily in my diet.
Can’t believe that community gardens may be closed, hopefully someone will see the light on that and figure out how to make it work.
Barb
Karen, another version of grilled cheese that I love is to make it with old cheddar cheese and some of my home made pesto. Delicious!
Gail
Love your new hobby - porch gazing. I watch my neighbor’s 5 children play all afternoon in their yard Getting my 10,000 steps in from lounge chair to refrig and back
Bc how you write, your posts provide a fresh ingredients respite in my day. Thanks
Gail
Don’t know how “ ingredients”snuck in my comments
Karen
Thanks Gail. I appreciate you saying that and I'm glad they help. ~ karen!
Christine Hilton
I got the bright idea l would make a moss terrarium because it has "that" magic ability.l got the charcoal,right soil etc.and set it up as directed by the pinterest professionals.lt was beautiful and after four weeks it was still beautiful.The moss was growing,the lichens still had those cute little red tops.l loved it.After five weeks it had a million tiny bugs flying around.After six weeks it had two million.I tried putting it outside with the lid off and some left.l tried friendly bug spray and then with great guilt Raid.l could not get the bugs to move out.I had to dump it.l hope this will spark an interest for you to try.Maybe you can figure out where l went wrong.
Sharon
Great time to do genealogical searching - cemeteries are quiet with few people. Toured Allenwood and Elmvale to visit the Lawsons, Ledgers and Does
Karen
Well I'm still working every day so really not a huge amount has changed for me. So please pass all the information you glean onto me, lol! ~ karen
Rose Devlin
Just read Dear Edward last week. Loved it!
MaryG
You continue to inspire! Yesterday I ‘“darned” some socks. I haven’t darned socks since I was 12 years old (I am 64).
Swiss Stepher
Ramps - at least in Europe- have a wider leaf and are not as tall. Ramps have a distinct garlic smell/flavor.
Swiss Stepher
Indeed wild leek images show ramps, but what you have look more like wild onions. In any case, enjoy!
Erin
Thinking the same thing. Leaves aren't wide enough for North American ramps, either.
That's a nice bunch of delicious alliums, though whatever they are.
Karen
I believe they're just immature. :) ` karen!
Sally
Nobody’s mentioned the ‘rounding amount' field on the receipt! I assume that it’s there to remove the 'handful of shrapnel' nature of giving out small change? Does this mean that it always works in the customer’s favour, or is it random in order to even out? Either way, it’s a great idea (although not, obviously, for the change jars at home).
Heather
Sally, it’s rounded as per the usual rules: .01 & .02 get rounded to 0; .03 & .04 get rounded to .05, .06 & .07 are rounded to .05, .08 & .09 are rounded to .10.
This only applies when paying cash (we no longer have pennies.) If paying by credit or debit it’s the actual amount.
Karen
We have no pennies here. So if something comes to 12.04, we pay 12.05. If something is 12.06 we pay 12.05. :) ~ karen!
Sandi
I missed that they’d switched to here to America? What on earth for?! We’re all trying to get to Canada!
Sarah
Closing the community garden? That’s dumb. What if the farmers and ranchers have to stop? No food. No cheese. What are you going to do in the garden roll in the compost? Open the gardens!!! Or you can garden in my back 40. Sorry about your garden.
Karen
Thanks Sarah! I think it was an oversight or miscommunication. Hopefully it'll be resolved. ~ karen!
Vaughan
Books!
I couldn't put 'American Dirt' down. And I'm studying Spanish (in my copious spare time...)
The book was riveting and I picked up a few cuss words in español.
Cheese and books. Works for me.
Trying to stay sane.
Other Karen
Totally agree Vaughan ... I read American Dirt over the weekend! Two thumbs up!
Jude Popper
Omg you made me giggle out loud today, thank you!
Karen
You're very welcome! ~ karen
Jules McShera
Really sorry to hear about your garden closure.
I just watched the moon setting, here in the UK.
Karen
I'm working on getting it opened up again so here's hoping! ~ karen
Victoria Regina Marsh
Nature's Lorazepam! LOL