The Simplest things that have changed because of COVID

I work in an office that is fairly business casual for office wear.  Nice jeans on Fridays but the rest of the week... comfortable, clean and appropriate is the dress code. 

For that past 20 years, the LAST thing I put on when I was getting ready for work was a nice pair of earrings that complimented my outfit.  I had two little dishes of loved earrings.. one on my dresser, and one on my nightstand, because the last thing I would do before falling asleep was to take those earrings out.

Every morning, I would finger through the mess of earrings, searching for what I needed that day! Sometimes I would search for one pair and find something that I hadn't worn in ages, which make me so happy to pop them into my ears!

Sadly, with the daily wearing of masks, my earrings (most of which are dangly or loops, or hooks), would get tangled up in the elastic loops.  I fought it for a while, but after losing a couple of earrings... I finally decided that masks were more important than the earrings and they became my morning accessory!!!

Therefore, the last thing I do before I head to work, is pick out a nice mask that compliments my outfit or at least my mood!!!

 

Spring Garden Fun in Nova Scotia

 

Spring in the Annapolis Valley.  We have a small back yard, and we love gardening, both veg and flowers!!  Our little garden oasis suits our needs perfectly.  We have garlic coming up just perfectly, and asparagus is peaking up.  This is year 3 for the asparagus, and this means this spring we will be hacking off our little sprouts as they come up.. we may only get to eat 2 or 3 at a time.. but thats ok.. we look forward to different ways to cook them!!

 The Rhubarb is pouring out of the ground in two spots.. We have a GIANT rhubarb I inherited from a neighbour more than 30 years ago, as well as a smaller strawberry rhubarb that is about 10 years old. They produce beautiful stocks of both green and red flavourful rhubarb.. great for muffins and cakes! Gonna try a Rhubarb Curd this year too..  

Hostas, sedum, iris and forget me knots are all peaking up in the shade of the back of the veg garden.  During the summer, they get only about 2 hours of sunlight a day, but that is enough to keep them lush and green all summer long.

For Mothers day, Terry made these beautiful veggie garden tags from copper scraps.  I love them and have now requested a few more, like "Cucumbers" and "asparagus" 

My Copper obelisk stands proudly in the garden where it will host a couple of Thunbergia plants on it. This climbing vine is not super thick on the posts so the shiny copper leaves still are visible, but the flowers hug and compliment this beautiful structure.  

This was a labour of love from my hubby last spring, and it was gorgeous all last summer and fall.  We left it out for the winter and the storms and wind broke most of the copper vines off the frame but Terry got it all up to perfection again, and we have learned a valuable lesson...  winter storage for it this coming winter!!

I have missed you Blogspot!!!

Waiting on the parts

So many times in the past few years, I have said to someone... I miss blogging.  I don't really remember why it became so hard to blog, but it did.  

On more than one occasion is the past year, friends have commented that they miss my blogs, and I always tell them I miss them too.. 

So..  why not try again.  Quietly...  just for me...  I am gonna try it!!

Today I have been preparing for a visit from family coming from the city..   for all of us... COVID took that privilege away from us and although there are no longer restrictions, it seems harder to relax and venture out of that solitary comfort that we have all grown into.

Charcuterie Boards are such a fun way to host a few friends or family!!  Stephanie and John gifted me with a wonderful bespoke canoe paddle Charcuterie board, for Xmas, for this very purpose.  It came with Scallop Shell dishes for extra places to put drippy or gooey things! (Made by Drift Works, Michael LeBlanc, Broad Cove)

The parts!!

I had so much fun shopping for this paddle board today and I had no idea how I was going to place everything, but i know that in the past when I have made plain ole rectangle Charcuterie displays... you just keeping putting stuff on...  and eventually.. it looks great!!!

I cut, chopped and sliced.. rolled, stabbed and piled.

Cheeses, meats, cream cheeses, nuts, fruit, veggies and pickles.  Crackers, bread and pretzel thingies.... 

It was hard to know how much to make, and I squeezed as much as I could on the board, and in the sweet little dishes around.

Then after just like 15 minutes of arranging, it was finally ready for visitors!  

Suddenly, at the last minute.. plans and locations changed.  So, we scooped up all the food items off the paddle board and piled it onto a platter that was easier to transport!!! 

It was hilarious how fast I could pile the items high onto a platter and snuggle up  the cream cheeses and Bourins amongst the various items.

Now I know just how much to buy for the paddle board at the next gathering!!! 

YUP, the platter below is holding all the items that were carefully placed on the paddle!!         

                         Hard to believe!!