Happy New Year & 2021 Food Trends

Well, Happy 2021. In truth, I did not get all excited about this event. The sun sets, the sun rises - and I saw no reason why January 1 would be so different than the day before. Yes, there’s the promise of the vaccine - though this will likely be months down the road for most of us. It doesn’t seem to be a time when we can make prophecies with any assurance.

But that hasn’t stopped food writers. Are you bumping into all the 2021 Food Trend predictions? I have no idea how writers come up with these lists. here are a few of my own thoughts (which are sort of obvious) added to what I’ve seen in the media.

Continued interest in Plant-Based Foods. Perhaps you’ve already seen burgers that are 50% plant-based – aiming to nudge people in this direction. The truth is that a lot of us already eat a fair amount of plant-based foods – just keep it up. Mushrooms seem to be popping up a lot as a plant-based food. So many ways to enjoy these! I don’t eat much fried food, but here’s a Hungarian favourite.

Home Cooking Projects. We have already witnessed the obsessions with sour dough and Dalgona – some say homemade peanut butter will be next, as well as pickling (which was making a comeback in recent years anyhow). An increased interest in making homemade pasta is also predicted. Hot Cocoa Bombs have been all the rage in the last few weeks. Many people will forget about buying these and make them at home. What are they? Put the chocolate ball in a cup, pour over hot milk - the chocolate melts releasing min0marshamllows floating to the top- a quick stir and you have hot chocolate. (Not to be mistaken for a bath bomb…)

Make At Home Kits will increase in popularity – not only those from big-brand companies but from local restaurants. I already see some of them combining kits with wine and even a music soundtrack (I thought that was my idea!) – all to create an at-home resto experience.

As comfort levels with meeting programs increase, fasten your seatbelts for an explosion of Online Cooking Classes – some where you simply watch and some where you cook along with the chef.

More Ghost Kitchens. This refers to someone (often an existing resto) setting up a new business with no bricks and mortar – they simply use an existing resto kitchen to offer an entirely new menu.

Mocktails. I am still surprised when I do resto reviews at how many places do not have a list of non-alcoholic cocktails. Yes, they will make one if you ask but it’s not on the menu. I am betting we will see more of these using various base ingredients such as Seedlip. Kombucha is already popular and some say it contains traces of alcohol. Watch for “hard” Kombucha this year. By the way – this is Dry January – a month when people are challenged to drink no alcohol.

Spicy Sauces. I read that these will be popular. I have already seen stores that sell dozens of them and I wish they would STOP. Who needs this? I cannot handle anything more than mouth-warmth and IMHO “heat” masks all other flavours in the food.

Hot Breakfasts are supposedly making a comeback – and I don’t mean Eggos heated in the toaster. Some say we will soon be making pancakes, French toast etc. Have you ever had a Full English Breakfast – with beans and fried tomato etc.? I have been meaning to make this - maybe even for supper – for ages. I will make 2021 the year that I follow through on this. I even have the toast rack!

Home-based Food Enterprises are popping up - everything from pizza, to baking, chocolates – and even charcuterie! I am working on an article on this. It is astounding how many people have been inspired to begin making something at home and then sell it via social media. It’s partly exciting to witness such creativity, but you might be shocked to learn how many of these people seem to have no idea about the health, safety and legal requirements linked to setting up a home food business. Watch for my article in the weeks to come.

Gadgets? I resisted the Instant Pot – mainly because I have absolutely no room for another gadget. I hear that Air Fryers will be the new Instant Pot.

Especially as pandemic restrictions begin to loosen and restos reopen, watch for the continued “Reset” where restos aim to improve workplace conditions for employees. Be prepared – that can mean higher prices.

A wish, not a prophecy. Let’s hope for more kindness all around. Happy 2021!

P.S. Let me know if you have any 2021 food trend predictions.

Distancing Diary #3

A distancing diary seems like trivial fluff in light of recent news / current events, but I’m using this in part to share something that may make you smile, giggle, shed a tear – and haunt you with its profound truth.

It’s a documentary about Jane Elliott called “A Class Divided” – also known as the Brown Eyes-Blue Eyes “experiment”. It was actually a rather simple exercise she used with her third-graders the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. In my own teaching I used this film countless times in a course that focused on self-concept, self-esteem, and prejudicial treatment that fosters “otherness”. I was reminded of the film when she was interviewed by Jimmy Fallon on June 1, a week after George Floyd was killed. If you’re busy, give up 7 minutes of your time to watch that interview. In it, Jane refers to the horrible consequences suffered by her and her family once she became a full time diversity educator. Then try to find an hour to watch the PBS documentary. It will change you and sensitize you to the power of even subtle interactions. (Note the link to the doc is in the top right of the PBS page.)

And now the diary…

Films, PDAs & Father’s Day

A memory triggered by the above… When I first began to teach, the College had film rooms. A projectionist had a full-time job running the projector and students had the attention span to watch films running at least an hour. In my last years of teaching, it was risky to show a film clip of more than 10 minutes. Distractions quickly ruled. Teaching usually mature students, I once showed a film to younger students and was alerted to some PDA in the back row. I’m a techie. I thought “PDA” meant Personal Digital Assistant. Not so. Now it means public displays of affection.

Eventually the projectionist was made redundant and we had to roll a projection cart into a classroom and run it ourselves. I never had a problem with this and could even repair films. I share this story now as a Father’s Day tribute. I have always felt that I owe all my techie inclinations (which includes being a master IKEA furniture assembler) to my sweet father.

Born on Father’s Day, always a Daddy’s Girl

As a footnote: Some friends might recall that Mr. KB and I used to have film parties – borrowing a 16 mm projector to show films borrowed from the library. Bambi Meets Godzilla was screened more than once. At 1.32 minutes it was hardly worth threading the film.

Beloved among the films we screened was Munro - also linked to our current political climate. It won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short (Short. Get it? You have time to watch it.) With the absurdist plot of a 4-year-old being drafted into the US Army, “Munro tells (this story) entertainingly and sweetly… and particularly when you see the film, you feel your stomach knot up because of the obvious abuse and ignorance of authority. And people connected to their own situations with authority in or out of the Army when no one listens, no one believes you. They know, you don't, and they may even start to convince you, as they do Munro, that they're right and you're wrong."

Spotify & Ina Garten

Speaking of tech… Life is better with a soundtrack, don’t you think? My first record player (inherited from my uncle after his tragic death) was for 78 rpm records, so I have lived through every recording phase since. Through buying tracks and “burning CDs” I got music on my iPhone. I always felt it frivolous to pay monthly for a music service until…

To cheer people up, Ina Garten (who could not do her usual spring trip to Paris – c’est domage) shared her “Trip to Paris” Spotify Playlist. Irresistible right? Ok, so I downloaded Spotify with the intention of enjoying the playlist for the free month. The month ended. I confessed to Mr. KB that I was caving and signing up. He announced that it was intended to be my b’day prezzie. We got the family deal and that looks after our June/July birthdays! I have to admit that being able to listen to any song I fancy is at once spooky and delightful.

Tech-ing at a Distance

I’ve now helped with several Zoom encounters – friends, book club. Weekly my yoga class is via Zoom and I just “attended” a Zoom cooking class. Have also used the competition – Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.

It’s surprising how “sheltering at home” no longer cuts you off. Although we never used services for grocery shopping, we did order several things from books to watchbands to underwear – and their arrival was unpredictable. Sometimes the next day. Another item ordered 24 days ago just arrived as I’m writing. I had to make a checklist to ensure I remembered what we had ordered lest we end up like the man who received his order 8 years later.

One of the best things I ordered? After getting Purdy’s Chocolate Survival Kit they invited me to purchase a large box of their “seconds” for a bargain price. They were fab - hardly noticeable that they were seconds.

BTW, ever heard of Second Grade Asparagus? Perfectly fine except each piece is not ramrod, perfectly straight. Cheaper, but rarely seen in grocery stores.

Masks & Breathing

Week by week we are moving closer to compulsory mask wearing. I’m still seeing great variations in this practice. My collection is growing and those that worked in colder weather are now annoying. I still cannot fathom how care providers wear these for an entire shift. Sweet friend Jane just delivered some gorgeous home-made versions that are super comfortable and even have a nose wire. That has turned out to be important to me as one who wears eyeglasses. Squeezing the nose wire helps a lot in preventing my glasses from fogging up. Experts say “fogging” can be minimized by breathing through the nose, not the mouth.

Speaking of Experts

I’m definitely in the camp of science vs nonsense, but the nonsense end of the spectrum picks up some fuel from the reality that not every “scientist” is competent, ethical, reliable, responsible, trustworthy, or even correct. The scientific process involves asking questions and conducting research to seek answers. There are many missteps and research must be replicated and, before being accepted, peer reviewed – which involves analysis and interpretation.

Hence the barrage of scientific opinions that are often contradictory - not just because they are learning more about this coronavirus each day, but because scientists too can have biases – and worse, ulterior motives. In the May 29 Toronto Star, Rick Salutin quoted past-Premier Bill Davis saying “he could always find an expert to say what he wanted to hear. This sounds contemptuous of expertise, but on the other hand makes clear that real decisions always remain in the hands of elected leaders”. Mind you, repeatedly saying you are taking your ideas from the scientists will be a handy cop-out if required later. Meanwhile we must muddle through the jungle of science news.

Long Term Care

As of June 18, LTCs can permit family members to visit, though the list of conditions is long. The family member must have had a negative COVID test result within the two weeks prior to the visit. I ran out to get tested – waited 70 minutes and paid $7.50 parking for sitting in an examination room for 4 minutes. Will have to do this every two weeks if I want to see my mother. I think testing centres will be overwhelmed. Meanwhile her LTC has made no announcements. This test result could expire before I get to visit.

Stage 2 & Relaxing Restrictions

My area has just moved into stage 2 and all that means. Mind you, it mainly means even greater individual risk management responsibilities. I have had two visits with friends - in the outdoors, at a six-foot distance. I wonder what might change in the weeks ahead? Will I, by this time next month, return to a restaurant patio?

The new mantra is the 3 Cs – or maybe the 4 Cs – be careful about CLOSED spaces; about being too CLOSE; and too CROWDED; for too long CONTINUOUS.

I must admit I have also welcomed the “relaxing” of the media. Hurray that CBC returned to regular programming such as Q at 10 a.m. Endless hours of repetitive COVID overage became tremendously repetitive and emotionally draining. The entire planet was affected by the pandemic, but international news seemed to disappear – yet we know things were/are happening – things deserving attention. The almost giddy coverage of the launch of the Space X snuck in on May 30 just days before attention shifted to rights and racism.

Blessings

While listening and learning we also count blessings. The worst thing that happened in the last month was that a squirrel ripped through our kitchen screen and was barred entry seconds before gaining access to a cooling strawberry rhubarb crumble. YouTube instructed us on how to fix the screen. This happened two years ago. Could it be the same squirrel? (How long do they live?) Or is this behaviour now in the genetic code of her offspring? Update: Screen damaged again even though there was no cooling baking.

The Garden

Situated near Lake Ontario and its cool breezes, weather has swung from a blazing 40 C to mid-teens which feels a bit chilly for gardening unless you dress warmly and work hard. On the whole, year by year, my incredibly complex garden feels burdensome at times.

My garden insight this year? When you visit you cannot “see” all that I have done. You can only see what remains to be done in terms of trimming and tidying. Though some have said only I can see that and I should lighten up, lower my standards.

For years I have been pondering how cool it would be to have a garden party – a “working” garden party. I figure 4-5 friends (or family) working for 4 hours could whip the place into shape and then I’d feed them with a bounty of food made blissfully in the kitchen. Not going to happen in this year of the pandemic.

Markets

Thrilled that markets have begun to open. Last year we discovered the Red Barn owned by the Tigchelaar family. My parents picked strawberries there for years. Their current ever-bearing crop delivers the best tasting berries I’ve had since childhood. Had my fist delicious berry from them on June 3. This new Crumble/Crisp recipe will be appearing weekly in my kitchen using whatever fruit is in season. Here’s the recipe - try it!

PS Want to make your own Penguin book cover? Click here.

Distancing Diary #2

Hello again! Happy May! I wasn’t planning to make a habit of this, but the pandemic continues and I keep collecting stories to share.

Update – still no routine, no significant change on fitness, still no Spring cleaning – though I have now narrowed my goal to tidying just my office. A few banker boxes and I’m almost there. Of course, that will require a trip to Walmart. BTW – why is that open as an essential service – the grocery, yes – but the other side? Well I should be happy it’s open.

I did get into the garden on a day that was not too chilly. Can it be true that we’ve just gone 200 days with no temperature higher than 20? (Source) They just announced Garden Centres will open on Monday!!

Did a Care Package delivery to family in TO. Lots of goodies that made everyone happy. The Care Package included (frozen) gnocchi. If you need a pandemic project you should try these!

Despite being busy writing for the Spec, I managed to add a few things to Kitchen Bliss. Fabulous Hungarian Goulash and Corn and Bacon Pasta – I had you at bacon, right? I’m on my fourth batch of bone broth – which I’ll add to the blog soon. Made a fab Pork Marsala which I’ll tell you about next time.

Some specific COVID things?

Dalgona

It’s the only pandemic craze I’ve tried (so far) – having avoided sour dough starter. This is a whipped coffee “cream” made from instant coffee, sugar and water. It’s said to be popular in South Korea, but versions of it have appeared in various countries – India, Pakistan, Greece, Libya… You might be surprised that I have instant coffee in the house. I always have a precious wee jar of Medgalia D’Oro instant espresso that I use in a few recipes.

Some people say it takes up to 3 minutes to whip up Dalgona. My immersion blender has a whisk attachment - glorious peaks appeared in less than a minute. A blogging friend has treated this project like a science experiment, testing all kinds of variables. Visit her site for the story – although if it’s too much to read, simply whip together I TB of instant coffee, 1 TB of sugar and 1 TB of very hot water. (I used superfine sugar so that it would melt faster.)

I suppose you could eat this like a pudding, but it’s meant as a garnish. I served it with cold milk but Mr. KB had it with a regular coffee. A fun way to make coffee fancy!

No Flour

Yup – there is never any flour in the stores. Everyone is baking – bread and sweets. Just as well that we may not be able to enter parks this summer. We’ll all be popping out of our wardrobes. Let’s just say our clothes shrank in the laundry. Google “no flour in stores” and stories are popping up even in the UK! What the heck!? In Canada the deal is that they have flour but no packaging. In Hamilton, many restos are becoming grocery stores. Simply Italian Bakery on Ottawa Street is bundling up smaller quantities from her wholesaler. See also Nique.

Remember - there’s a lot you can bake without flour. Here are only a few from Kitchen Bliss. Mrs. London’s Cake; Chocolate Quinoa Cake; Walnut Cookies.

No yeast

Yeast manufacturers are also having a problem with packaging, but added to that is production. You cannot press a button and make yeast come out. It has to go through stages of fermentation and that takes time. Be patient or make your own sour dough starter. (Remember I know nothing about that.) OTOH – google bread with no yeast and you’ll find lots of recipes. You could make Irish Soda Bread.

Too Much Food | Too Many Potatoes

So much new vocabulary. How many times have you heard or used the phrase “supply chain”? Sometimes supply chain problems translate into shortages, but in the case of potatoes the system is over-flowing.

Folks! – stop with the bread and make everything / anything out of potatoes. (There is such a thing as potato bread and I get ours from Bench Kitchen.

There are tons of recipes on Kitchen Bliss that use potatoes - many Hungarian. We seem to love our potatoes!

There’s the gnocchi mentioned above. Mini Potato Gratin we make often and everyone fights over them. Potato Leek Soup (Julia Child’s version). Salt and Vinegar Potatoes - using malt vinegar - I cry just thinking about how good they are.

Gosh, I could suggest so much more. Then of course - there’s Potato Chips

Not Enough Food

I have so many thoughts on this. I hate food waste and seeing crops plowed under because they can’t get it to market!? It’s gut wrenching, but I’ll save that for next time. Meanwhile keep in mind that Food Banks need support.

Long Term Care

I just received a robo-call from my mother’s LTC provider announcing they are still COVID-free. I’m annoyed with “experts” saying “if it was my mother, I’d bring her out”. Totally insensitive, irresponsible and unprofessional. We cannot care for my mother here. We thought she’d be safe and now cannot bear to ponder the risks. She was a bit congested last week, resulting in my only meltdown so far. She was tested for coronavirus and came back negative. Phew!

Lineups

Went to Costco for the first time during the pandemic. Heard they had an early bird shopping hour for people of a certain age. Turns out there are hundreds of people of a certain age, and they all wake up early because they can’t sleep anyhow. Note to self – this is the worst time to go. Took almost a half hour to get in. The woman ahead of us was barred entry because she didn’t look old enough. I was not barred from entering.

“Culture” | Screen Time

Here are highlights of my screen time – and I do mean highlights only. I recently sent a friend a list of shows I’d recommend and I am not telling you how many pages that took. I have spared you.

• Usual PBS viewing – Call the Midwife, World on Fire

• HBO – My Brilliant Friend; The Plot Against America (based on Phillip Roth’s 2004 fiction – what if the president in the 40s had been Lindbergh, known to be anti-Semitic and the spokesperson for the America First Committee – and that is true. )

• BBC Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly. Master dog trainer Graeme Hall makes every episode end “happily ever after” and along the way you either giggle or drop your jaw at dog behaviours that some people cope with. Moral? It’s almost always the owner’s fault. Not sure when it airs, but you can watch this and so many other things on CBC Gem. (e.g. Escape to the Chateau)

• What are you watching?

Social Media

I admit I am now peeking at TikTok. How did this happen?!?! I had known about it but didn’t care.

Pause here. What is it? - “TikTok is an online video sharing social networking service. It lets people create short music and lip-sync videos of 3 to 15 seconds and short looping videos of 3 to 60 seconds. They can post anything from life hacks to dances or even recipes” (Source: Wikipedia)

Then my niece did a cool piece I shared in the last Diary. That set the stage for approach vs avoidance. Then the media goes bonkers over Dame Judi Dench appearing on her grandson’s TikTok.

So I’m thinking… good enough for the 85-year-old Dame is good enough for me – and I peek. She is charming (and without makeup a beautiful woman ageing with class). Her grandson seriously looks like Ed Sheeran!! Click here to watch one of the viral segments of the two of them - and her alone. (They’re doing “juice, sauce, little bit of dressing “ - common on TikTok.)

Many things are done over and over, and can take a lot of practice. Seems parents and kids in isolation have been doing TikTok A LOT!

The true experience comes when you download the (free) app. Nothing offensive has ever appeared in my feed - cats, lip-sync and dancing - oh and home repair. (Swipe up when you don;t like something.) Anyhow, it never fails to make me laugh. I know someone who has done the #lippick lipsync, but forgot to ask permission to share. Here’s an example.

Next Time – more on masks, the environment, pandemic playlists, flowers, supply chains, and haircuts.

Happy Mothers Day!!

(I just did an Afternoon Tea takeout - how cool is that? The woman has totally sold out for Mother’s Day!!)

Distancing Diary

I’ve become accustomed to sending followers a weekly newsletter about my Spectator columns, but this week I did not submit a column to The Spec. Just needed a breather. Typical me - that didn’t equate to stillness or boredom.

An upcoming column will be on “Food Safety in the Time of COVID”. Lots of research and reading and interesting interviews including one with Dr. Jeff Farber, Director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety (CRIFS) at the University of Guelph.

This week, I’m sharing from my Distancing Diary.

My days unfold haphazardly with no predictable routine other than reading, writing, connecting with friends and family by phone, email, texting or social media. Calories and pounds are accumulating, and required counter-balancing exercise has been minimal. I just began adding exercise to my days last week, and my yoga teacher is now offering sessions via Zoom – which works quite well. If you’re using Zoom, do note the pitfalls of “zoom-bombing”.

As implied, there is cooking and eating going on, and yet when a friend wrote asking me whether I am “blissing in my kitchen”, I replied “not so much”. The various takeout and delivery foods we’ve been getting linked to Spec articles and supporting local small business are providing plenty of food.

But then I paused and took stock of what I had made in the last week. Rebar Granola and wonderful Date Orange Muffins (twice), 4 different kinds of cookies (Chocolate Kiss, Lemon, Belgian and Oatmeal – no one has complained about the latter but this is the fourth Oatmeal Cookie recipe I have tried over the years and I always find the results to be “meh”). Most of everything went into care packages sent to family in TO.

So, as you can see, not too much time in the kitchen – hahaha.

I have not succumbed to the sour dough starter craze and instead tried to make focaccia – supposedly one of the simplest breads. I used the recipe from the delightful Samin Nosrat. The result was disappointing – although she’s not. If you’ve binged everything else watch her series Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix. She’ll make you smile.

If you are keen on making bread, you can’t beat this recipe for Almost No-Knead Bread.

I tried Lemon Poppy-seed Pound Cake from NYT’s Melissa Clark. It was not stellar so I’ll hunt for a better recipe or keep making Cannoli Bread.

Have you tried making Dalgona Whipped Coffee? (Google it) It’s another pandemic obsession that I might attempt sometime.

I’ve also been making a new Goulash Soup (also twice), and dusted off my recipe for Bone Broth. (My third batch is in the slow cooker right now.) The bone broth trend (which arguably has been with us for centuries) became trendy again some years ago with various health claims that have since been debated and disputed. Even if it’s a placebo effect, I am noticing positive changes in my various “ailments” and am enjoying this daily treat. It becomes gelatinous when refrigerated. I simply warm it up, add a good pinch of turmeric and a wee bit of honey and enjoy.

The book I use has a website from which they sell prepared broth, but if you have bones, a slow cooker and 24 hours then it’s easy to make at home. (I’ll post the recipe asap. They share recipes, but not the one I use.)

Easter has always been spent with family, but this year it will be just us two empty-nesters. I’ve set the dining room table and we will enjoy a meal from one of my favourite restos in Hamilton Bon Temps - a half roast duck, smoked ham hock, house-made Mac and cheese, French beans with brown butter and almonds, brown sugar turnip with demi glacé, and duck fat roast potatoes.

Oddly, we have few “Easter food” traditions. The exception being braided egg bread “challah” from Quality Bakery. That bread has shown up on our table not only at Easter breakfast, but for every birthday party as the base for traditional Hungarian open-faced sandwiches. While I hope to one day make that bread, this year it was my Easter nostalgia purchase and it’s been open-faced ham sandwiches for the last few days.

Speaking of sandwiches, I backup photos on my iPhone to Google Photos which occasionally throws up a notification inviting me to see what I was doing on this day in ‘xyz’ year. On March 29, 2018 my retired friends were here for a tea party. It was fun to prepare – a kind of treat that leaves everyone smiling and in good spirits. I LOVE tea sandwiches and for several days after this reminder I was obsessed with eating (crustless) cucumber sandwiches - enjoying my own mini tea party.

Back to Easter… my brother should be fine with a house full of people working in isolation. My mother-in-law (turning 98 on Easter Monday) spent part of the pandemic in hospital and is now home being cared for by loving sons, with limits on other visitors because of COVID isolation. My mother is in Long Term Care. It seemed, at first, like a safe place to be – suddenly no more, but her care is too challenging to bring her out. My brother and I have been dropping goodies off for her at the front door of her LTC.

Daily she asks “When will this be over?” I have an app from the library - here’s their guess. At first they changed the due date for all my books to April 14, and now it’s been changed to July 6.

We missed the celebration of my daughter-in-law’s birthday – that would have been (and will one day) be good company and a great meal. There was a pandemic birthday party on our street. A procession of decorated cars, tooting their horns though I never could figure out who’s birthday it was. A nice gesture.

Speaking of my brother. Yesterday was Sibling Day and I didn’t post on that, but I’ll use this opportunity to say that we’ve made a great team in the course of the last decade’s journey and he’s a treasure.

My Mother knit that sweater!!

Whereas I spend money eating out, he saves it for musical theatre (and must be thrilled that he saw “Hamilton” before the world turned.) Reminds me that when I was in grade school we had to walk home for lunch which I ate with my mother in front of the TV watching “As the World Turns” and “Search for Tomorrow” – crazy titles - fitting for our current situation!

It was fun to make my brother laugh with this great UK pandemic adaptation of Les Mis. {Seriously Watch this! The Marsh Family from Faversham is magnificent!!]

I broke some rules during this period. Since childhood I have never been a fan of chain letters. Breaking the chain always came with warnings of dire consequences and once I realized they never happened I always opted out. During the pandemic I have been scooped up in two Recipe Share chains and have played along because I love the people who sent them. I have received not a single recipe from participating – maybe I’m not the only one on the planet who doesn’t play nice? Now that I think of it there have also been various forms of chains on social media, tag women you admire etc. etc. Sigh.

There is much to criticize about social media, but if you’re careful it does connect you daily with people you know and care about. In one poignant example, a blogger friend in Montréal lost her mother and as per Jewish custom the service happened quickly. None of the family were allowed to attend except by a FaceTime group chat. She shared that and I watched it. So sad. Meanwhile, a couple of friends have welcomed grandchildren into the world – with another on the way anytime soon. Yes, the world turns.

Babies are more cheerful news than much of what is on offer. I think most of us are trying to limit our exposure to news which might actually leave you misinformed, and maybe angry depending on who’s speaking. Overall, not cheerful. We love NYC where son #2 lived for almost a decade and scenes from that city are particularly gut-wrenching.

NYC: Governor’s Island 2017

And yet, it does seem that pandemics can bring out the best in people both in kindness and creativity and good humour.

Need proof? My creative (and athletic) niece paired up with her talented film-making brother to create this TikTok which should make you smile - maybe even laugh!

Many people report feeling helpless. Our movements are being restricted, but there is so much we can still do in attempts to make a difference. I am writing and ordering food from local entrepreneurs in an effort to help keep them afloat. I know someone making masks. I’ve been saying for weeks that regular people should be wearing regular masks but it was not until April 6 that Dr. Tam formally announced – “ok, I guess it doesn’t hurt”.

Mask patterns abound on the internet. They are easy to make and creative fabrics make them fun. I have pondered making some, but it’s not coming to the top of the “to do” list. Besides, I got stuck on one that requires a handkerchief and two hair elastics and no sewing (and is easily washed). That will do for now.

I REALLY thought I’d be doing Spring Cleaning. With the exception of a few cupboards this is not happening - yet. In recent months, I have also been inspired by “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family” by Margareta Magnusson. I’m beginning with my office. If COVID gets me - let my little space at least be purged and sorted. This is taking way longer than I hoped for a tiny room, and now I am stepping between and over piles of stuff I need to dispose of. Lots of books.

A great breakthrough is that I am finally tossing all the cards my mother saved from my wedding and shower. We emptied her house a couple of years ago and the collection has been taking up space here. The idea behind Death Cleaning is not the “joy” question. It’s more putting yourself in your kids’ shoes as they deal with your belongings and imagining them saying “Why in heaven’s name was she hanging on to this!?”

The sun is shining, and though a bit chilly my roses are coming back to life. Tulips we planted last fall are getting tall and will soon be joining the display of snowdrops and irises. May your Pandemic Days be safe and healthy!