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11/26/2020 0 Comments

Favourite Holiday Recipe for Sharing

Thanks to a very good friend sharing this a few years ago., We, as a family, now make it part of our holiday tradition. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 qt milk
1 c half & half
1 c butter
¾ c flour (if substituting gluten-free use same amount)
½ c sugar

Topping:
1 c butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
sugar

Directions:
  1. heat milk and half & half, do not scorch. (Little trick here, put in microwave first for 1 minute before adding to pot). Set aside just before boiling.
  2. In large, heavy pan, melt 1 c butter, add flour, cook about 5-minutes, stirring constantly.
  3. Add milk to flour and butter, stir until mixture bubbles and thickens.
  4. Stir in sugar.
  5. To serve, top with melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar.

Variations:
We typically will make a plain white cake and crumble it into bowls and top with the pudding
OR
Using stale bread (gluten-free works excellent for this) add in some raisins and top with pudding and garnish with a bit or orange zest
0 Comments

9/30/2020 0 Comments

Why did "man" discover fire?

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference "in person" after so many months. As everyone now understands there is a certain level of anxiety that comes with this after so long in social isolation. The majority of the nervousness hovered around the fact that I was out of practice of the social norms. Really, what was going to be normal now? What used to take no consideration, now focused heavily.

I was awkward. How would I establish a rapport without the ice breaking handshake? Everyone would be masked. We had committed to the safe distance. How would that work for chitchat? Questions abounded while I considered what to wear, packed, during the drive, the arrival, amounting to my stomach in turmoil right up until I stepped through the doors.

Then, like magic, none of these concerns mattered. 

Like the old saying of riding a bike, I was reminded that indeed we are SOCIAL creatures and will congregate and co-exist...laugh...chat...and share stories.

The masks made no difference, you learn to adapt. The distance was what it was. We spoke a little louder. I missed the hand shake. I'd be lying if I said differently. It was certainly strange to keep the mask in place while carrying on conversation. Certainly, we all realized that the masks were made--duh--for covering, not talking...but we muscled through, because that's what people do. But in the moment, we were like a garden that had just been watered. Lunch arrived and sat untouched as people took their precious "chatting" over hunger to catch up and bask in the sunshine of people's presence.

​Someone said during the session, once "man" , meaning HUMAN,  discovered fire, they gathered, told stories, laughed, cried, shared, cared and SOCIETY was created.
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8/28/2020 0 Comments

I am water

I am water.

Sometimes I am blue. 

At other times I am green.
 
But mostly I am shades of grey and a mixture of all.

In certain light I reflect, and you are dazzled.

With the tilt of the sun I absorb, and you are drawn in.

I fade in the night and wake in the dawn.

I go on forever and end at the horizon where I hold hands with the sky.

While some things can bounce off my surface, most are drawn into my depths.

I surround and hold in an absolute embrace. 

Yet you can move freely. I won’t hold you back.

I am strong, but I can look so very passive. 

I have the power to change everything I touch.

You may think you can conquer me, but I have a will of my own and stubbornly will get my way.

Don’t underestimate me. I will surprise you.

My storms are all encompassing. 

My calm creates your tranquility.

You cannot stay away. 

I nourish both body and soul.

My surface may freeze, but I am always flowing underneath.

I cannot be still.

I am relentless.

I am patient.

I am always.

I am here.

I am water.
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7/22/2020 1 Comment

Pandemic 2020 and Time Travel

While it must be said that I adore historical fiction and am as fascinated by the timeless rogue in the kilt as any other, I have never longed to live in any other time period than present—despite current events,

That being said, this is what Pandemic 2020 has taught me about potential time travel:

Let’s start with the toilet paper hoarding. Obviously, I could not travel back further than 1857 because that was year the cleaning sheets were created by a New York entrepreneur named Joseph Gayetty. He claimed his sheets prevented hemorrhoids. I guess no one cared whether that was fact or not. But it wasn’t until 1890 when the paper found the roll and took off as some may say.

And let’s be honest, the indoor water closet wasn’t a “thing” until mid last century at any rate, so I’d be limited to the last 75-years of time travel exploits.

But I digress…

Aside from modern convenience, I have no transferable skills. Let’s face it…I’m not going to be royalty or upper class, so where does that leave me … milking cows? I’d likely not even make it to the kitchen help. 

What would we do with no internet? Certainly, without spellcheck, I’m likely illiterate. Never mind mathematical skills or basic map navigation. So, there’d I’d be walking in circles never able to reach my destination without Google Maps or Siri. You never find those time travel stones in the middle of city centre after all.
 
We’ve given up the ability to do for ourselves, growing our own food, raising chickens, etc. What no skip the dish? I’m out.

Just keeping a house would be fundamentally frustrating with no Windex or basic cleaning tools. Vinegar and water, eh. No scrubbing bubbles then? How about my washer and dryer? The dishwasher would be me, ouch. I guess that’s a no go for the leftovers in the microwave. And absolutely no complaining, because let’s not forget, women had no rights.

What on Earth would I do without my moisturizing soap, cream, wax strips. I am reminded of the bug population and would be lost without my Off spray. 

Evenings by candlelight and no Netflix. I guess nighttime entertainment would be my trust butter churn and certainly no Apple tunes to keep me motivated and on task. I can just feel the tap of my foot fading away. 

Think about how much time we spend writing on all our various platforms a day. If we could even find paper and quill, messing with the ink and blotter, we’d be lucky to share out a post a week IF we could get it to the printer between chores and the ability to find a mode of travel.
​
Yes, we may have gone through months of isolation and a big pity party, but we are still incredibly spoiled in comparison to our ancestral generations. We have more than one room to move around in, plenty to entertain and distract, and considerable convenience to make it all bareable.

1 Comment

6/22/2020 0 Comments

The bread & butter pickle lure

The birds are singing in the trees, the geese are swimming with their young, the breeze blows lightly, the sun is shining, and its Father's Day.

What could be better than going fishing with dad? 

As an aspiring cook, our youngest boy treats us daily to new creations which tantalize and satisfy the palette in equal measure. So, when he decides to go fishing with dad, well...there has to be luncheon to accompany trip. With lunch prepared and bait packed, rods, lures, all that was missing were the fish. Into the boat and off they go, puttering down the lake.

Much later, their laughter preceded the tut-tut of the motor as they came around the bend and returned to the dock.

First thing as he hops from the boat, a grin splitting his features ear to ear. "Wait 'til I tell you what the new foolproof bait is?"

Intrigued, I wait for the story that's sure to come.

Nothing was biting, for the first hour, but they were enjoying casting and telling stories. They paused for lunch and while eating, a pickle dropped out of the sandwich. There are no five-second rules on the floor of the fishing boat, so what to do with this pickle? Recycle of course. Not to go to waste, my son decides if it's good enough for a sandwich, it's good enough for a fish. Who is dad to disagree? Up comes the line and the bait is replaced by one bread and butter slice, carefully threaded into the hook. 

The fish must have smelled it coming, he told me, because they landed the big one first cast!

I'm told future fishing trips will include extra pickle!
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5/25/2020 0 Comments

Writing during COVID-19

The best Facebook post by a friend of mine...

Romance novels written during COVID-19 will be like..."as she slowly slipped her mask down and removed her gloves..."

As I read this post, all I could think was "No, they haven't socially distanced."

This of course lead to considering that 1993 Sylvester Stallone movie with Sandra Bullock "Demolition Man". Stallone's character is frozen in 1996 and brought back in 2032 to a very different reality than the one he knew prior to being frozen. Taco Bell being the only remaining restaurant and physical intimacy is no more...as he knew it at least. Everything is social distanced.

Remember laughing at the absurdity of this notion?

Some say the context was based loosely on Aldouse Huxley's dystopian novel "Brave New World". Though I can't say I was ever a fan of the novel, certainly the COVID experience has caused me to reference many of the 1932 novels ideas.

BUT as we return to a more interactive life, I thought I would share a small snippet from my current work and hope you like it:

June 1992
Sweat slicks our entwined legs. My heart races and his pulse pumps a similar rhythm beneath my ear. With his arm under my neck, I snuggle my cheek into the crook beneath his chin, along his collar bone. 
I’m as snug and content as I’ve ever been. Lazily, I stroke the hair encircling his nipple. I feel his smile on the top of my head.
“It’s been too long,” he says into my hair.
I reach to cup his cheek, casting my gaze upward and recognize a face I haven’t seen in years. I return his smile. “I’ve come home.”
He rolls me over, his knee between my willing thighs, and heat flushes across my skin. His elbow supports his weight next to my ear, where he decides to trace his tongue along the contours. The gesture both tickles and excites. Butterfly wings flutter in my stomach and takes flight, drawing my breath with the beat of its tiny movements. 
His lips embrace my ear and he whispers, “I’ve been waiting.”
I wake with a start, panting, embarrassed that I was dreaming. And so intimately of Ben. Ben? My skin is coated in perspiration. A part of me is disappointed. I would have liked to finish that encounter. But with Ben? I could understand if I had dreamed of my husband—correction, ex-husband, Matt, but Ben. How many years has it been? Another lifetime.
I’m confused. Then I realize someone is knocking on the car window and I draw the thin blanket closer around my fully clothed frame. I had cracked the windows when I pulled over to the rest stop to not only provide airflow, but to stifle the late spring heat. The bright light from the flashlight blinds me, but I can hear a male voice.
The man knocks again. “Madam?” He points the beam into my face. “Je suis un officier de police. Est-ce que, ca va, s’il vous plait?”I scoot up as best I can between the suitcases. I’ve had enough French in school to understand, but not enough to converse. I cough and run my fingers through my cropped hair, knowing it’s stuck out like a porcupine. “Anglais, s’il vous plait?”
“Qui, Madam.” He tilts the beam so he can scan the inside of the vehicle piled with boxes and whatever else constitutes my life worth keeping. “You drink?”
I know he is not asking me out. I lean forward to glance out the windscreen and see the dawn mist shrouding the sides of the road. 
I yawn so deeply my jaw cracks. “I’m fine, officer.” With a quick movement, I confirming my keys are still in the pocket of my jean shorts and glance around to see that the doors are locked. I run my hands across my eyes and focus away from the torch beam. “Just road weary.”
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4/18/2020 0 Comments

Lakeside Isolation

In our quest to keep up with the COVIDs, the new reality show we call LIFE, while in lakeside isolation at maximum social distance, we have learned a few tricks for coping.

COVID-19 Proof is what we have now in the constantly stocked up liquor cabinet purchased from the "essential" service liquor store. Because of this global pandemic, we know it is 3 o'clock somewhere and places where we can cross the international date line, so we need only ZOOM to the location, so we can get a head start on the weekend.

Since we have no need of Taxi's, Ubers, or driving of any sort while drinking, we have partaken of the latest ZOOM drinking game... watch the news and every time an announcer says "isolation" we click the screen and bottom's up. It's a two-finger catch for "social distancing".

Case Cluster now represents how like new-born blossoms thawing from the long winter, fellow isolators emerge, roots showing through scraggly, uncut hair, in the baggiest clothes they can find, to stand across the street and cheer one another as fellow survivors. It's like we're all extras from the movie "Call of the Wild".

The COVID-13 variation is the weight epidemic sidecar of the pandemic. This is the average extra poundage we've gained during our time at home.

With spring in the air and not being able to button our jeans, Flatten the Curve, has come to mean the new exercise regime we'll have to pull ourselves away from the tv to start so we'll have clothes to wear when finally we can get back to work.

Forget about watching sports. This new "reality" comes with its own brand of excitement. The harrowing trip to the grocery store. Keeping track of the arrows on the floor, while remembering the social distance rule is two and half lengths of the cart, means it's a wonder anything gets purchased. By the time I get the protocol down, remember not to scratch or touch my face with the list tucked under my glove, I've forgotten what I had to come in for...

And, with nothing better to do, and no new shows to choose from, the soon to come Baby Boom will spring a new generational reference CORONIALS.

So fellow COVID-19inites, please remember this is simply intended to give you a bit of a laugh, a lightening of mood, and remind you, YOU are not alone. We are in this together. Be well, stay safe, and more importantly, healthy!
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3/27/2020 0 Comments

Be careful what you catch; PANIC-itus

There is no question COVID-19 is taking it's toll on all of us.

However, in the midst of quarantine, isolation, and social distancing, it is important to also take care of:

Mind
Body
Soul

So...

​Each day, we make it a point to walk. It’s a long beautiful lane fronted by the lake and back-ended by trees and forest. In all about 5 K. Peaceful and tranquil in a time where we need it most.

Respectful of social distancing, we've removed ourselves from the city. There’s not a lot of people here during the winter, as many cabins are not winterized. Not a lot of opportunity to encounter others and when we do, we are mindful and chat from the across the width of the road.

This day reminded us that sometimes there is an over-reaction that comes along as the side-effect to a pandemic. That highly contagious agent called "panic".

We’re at the end of the lane, where the road to town intersects, and are about to approach the community notice board to see if there are any posted updates. We halt as a half-ton truck pulls up fast and stops.

A troll-like man emerges with his his palm facing us. "Stop," he says gruffly.

We've already stopped well away from the truck, to give him room, so we've time to take in his complete appearance. He's the very embodiment to a character I would love to create, complete with dark bushy brows, wild hair, and beard. Dark glasses reflect our image back on us. His half-burned cigarette hangs out of the corner of his mouth, barely adhered on to his thin lip. Still he manages to talk and not lose a puff. Smoke encircles his head holding him in a something like a spotlight under the morning sun.

“You healthy?” he barks.
 
We nod and say "Yes". Even our dog is mesmerized by this guys appearance.

“Okay," he says, still holding up his hand. "Stay there ’til I’m done.”

Has he watched the entire series of the "Walking Dead"?

A million retorts surface, but are swallowed back. The first being, "Don't worry. I can smell you from here." The second, a bit of a "mom" reminder that soap is your friend to combat the virus. But I say none of those things as neither of us are interested in getting close.

He turns and grabs his mail, still managing to smoke, and jumps back into his truck. 

Imagining he feels safe now, we start forward. We are about to wave the friendly neighbourly, "have a good day" wave when we hear the truck door locks engage and he slams the truck into gear and races away, onto the highway and into town. 

I wonder if he knows that the Coronavirus doesn't abide by the mechanics of locked doors.

0 Comments

2/23/2020 1 Comment

February Funny

With all the hearts and flowers consistent with February, here's a little something fun I recently read...

Lovers like underwear ???

Some crawl up your arse,

Some snap under pressure,

Some don't have the strength to hold you up,

Some get a little twisted,

Some are your favourites,

Some you can see right through,

Some are cheap and just plain nasty,

AND

Some actually cover your arse when you need them to.
1 Comment

1/18/2020 0 Comments

Where's Garry?

Having to be at the airport so early now to clear security and all the various check points, leaves a lot of time for people watching. 

From the moment you walk through the airport revolving doors, check in at the counter or kiosk, you are then listed as being present for your flight … then there are at least two, if not three checks through security, all before you arrive at your departing gate. So, we’re waiting for our flight and the intercom buzzes with missing people from various flights. “So and so is requested at gate X, your flight is fully boarded and awaiting your arrival.”

I think whatever happened to the days when the flight just left. So sorry, but if you didn’t arrive on time, why should everyone else have to delay their flight time because of you. 

The first list goes by and Garry’s name is listed. Few minutes later, only Garry is called. Then along comes the oversized golf cart pausing within every crowd and asking, “Does anyone know Garry, he’s late for his flight?”

I think, man this Garry must be a VIP or something, we’re twenty minutes into this. 

Then she backtracks through the departures area, same request in reverse. One more announcement and then quiet for about ten minutes. THEN…I know unbelievable, the intercom crackles with the search for Garry…again. “Your flight is boarded and waiting your arrival.”

Who is this guy? I want to be Garry…or at least meet him.

The oversized golf cart makes it way down again…everyone’s on the hunt for Garry. They know he’s there somewhere. He’s made it through all the check points so far, so he’s here. Apparently the airport staff were in the mood for hide and seek, they were all sporting to find Garry.

And lo and behold, they do!

Along comes that golf cart, the driver frazzled looking, but smiling and Garry in the back looking like he just came off a bender and was topping up for the flight. 
​
We couldn’t help but wave as Garry went by. I almost wished I were on his flight so I could get the full story…
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