Day 45

April 30, 2020

I think my count is off on the days of isolation. I may have to go back and fix something or maybe I won't bother.

It's another sad day here in Nova Scotia. The layers of sadness just keep building up - the poor families who have lost members to COVID-19; all those families and community folks who lost friends and relatives to unspeakable and un-understandable violence and now the RCAF and RCN people who were killed in the helicopter accident in the Ionian Sea while on a training mission. While I understand people die in accidents and violence every day, these times just seem heavier and harder.

The hummingbird feeders went out today. The hummingbird map says that there were 3 sightings across the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and one of them was yesterday. So, although they are usually here a little later, I thought it would be good to be ready.

I have joined a research group which is looking into how people are reacting to the COVID-19 isolation and so on. It was a pretty comprehensive questionnaire. I will be interested to see the results. I believe that if this study will help with any future pandemics, it's worth my time (as if I have anything else).

I leave you with a photo of pear tree blossoms. These are forced - the branches were brought inside and put in a vase. They are quite delicate and bring a smile. We can all use one of those these days.

Onwards!

Day 42

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

As we move through this time of isolation, I was thinking about the nursery rhyme "Ring around the rosie". That's the version I remember. There's a lot more to it than that. One more excursion into Wikipedia finds that there are many versions of where it comes from. The one I thought I knew is associated with the Black Death in 1665. But there is so much more. Here is the link to the other explanations.

          The Great Plague explanation of the mid-20th century

Since after the Second World War, the rhyme has often been associated with the Great Plague which happened in England in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of the Black Death in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this; by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in the United Kingdom. Peter and Iona Opie, the leading authorities on nursery rhymes, remarked:

The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, and posies of herbs were carried as protection and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and "all fall down" was exactly what happened.

The line Ashes, Ashes in colonial versions of the rhyme is claimed to refer variously to cremation of the bodies, the burning of victims' houses, or blackening of their skin, and the theory has been adapted to be applied to other versions of the rhyme. In its various forms, the interpretation has entered into popular culture and has been used elsewhere to make oblique reference to the plague.

On a cheerier note, our weekly trip into Annapolis Royal on Saturday will now include some sunflower hearth baked bread from Oakhaven Bakery, a local baker. While the photo may not be the sunflower bread, it will be delicious.

Oh yes, Remember the Muumuu!

Onwards!

Day 39

Saturday, April 25, 2020

As this household heads into its 6th week of Nobody-but-Us, and we try to accommodate the new layer of awfulness in this province, I reach for the small things that bring a smile or remind me of other nicer times. This delicious-looking Key Lime Pie from Pension Pies was gratefully received this morning at the Annapolis Winter Market. And I got to actually talk to a friend while sitting in the car in the parking lot as she was standing yards away - a real person! It was quite exciting, I tell you. I would also like to thank all my phone buddies. While emails and Facebook are a good way to connect, it is nice to "talk" to someone.

As we were driving home, it was nice to see the green bits starting and the early daffodils that folks have planted along their property lines. There are dandelions out in the yard and our daffs are getting ready. Speaking of gardening, I heard the rototiller chugging across the backyard heading for the garden. I understand the strawberry plants are being replanted.

Like many others, we are getting a tad shaggy around here. It could be ponytails one of these days. And a pedicure is certainly in order for me.

On the Canadian political front, I must say that our provincial and federal politicians (at least the ones in power) are doing very well and have risen to the occasion, as they say. The opposition bunch is either being badgering just to be badgering or just being stupid. I don't pay them any mind, as my grandmother used to say.

As for the mess to the South, what in Gawd's name can they be thinking. I will only say (out loud anyway), that the reputation of that country is in tatters and will take years to repair. I leave you with a couple of items I saw online over the past days. There are lots more but these ones made me smile in a head-shaking kind of way.

"Just to clarify, the medical term for injecting disinfectants into the body is called embalming."

Onwards!

Day 37

Thursday, April 23, 2020

It's been a very rough few days for folks in my home province. I'm sure everyone is well aware of the events so I won't dwell on them today. It feels like it might be better if I keep me and mine calm and hugged - almost all of those have to be virtual ones though.

The hummingbird paraphernalia has been brought up from the basement. I have sugar left over from last year and I will be cleaning up the feeders this week. There is a wonderful Hummer Map that a most-appreciated person puts together each year telling us where they are. Today I see two sightings in Maine so they are on their way. In past years, they have arrived in our backyard around May 9-10. I remember Mary at Thexton's Greenhouses saying that the hummers arrive on May 10 so I have taken her word every year since. By the way, she will be "open" on April 30 this year with curbside orders.

The Erebus and Terror ships from John Franklin's expedition,
in the bay where they spent the winter of 1845-1846,
illustration by Le Breton from L'Illustration, Journal Universel,
No 529, Volume XXI, April 16, 1853.
(Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

I have been following the search for Sir John Franklin's ships over the years and was delighted when the Erebus and Terror were discovered a few years ago. I recently read Michael Palin's book about the Erebus - yes, that Michael Palin. He is an excellent writer and the story was quite amazing. Here is a story from Macleans magazine recently that I found very interesting. There is much more to discover.

I ordered groceries from Graves Freshmart in Bridgetown yesterday and the service was great again. And last, but not least, bread is in the machine!

Onwards!

Day 34

April 20, 2020

This is a hard blog post to write. I didn't want this one to be about me but it is. And it's about all my fellow Nova Scotians and Canadians who are shocked, overcome and bewildered about the terrible events in our province over the past few days in Portapique and area. As of this morning, we don't know the full extent of the damage done by this guy who went completely off the rails. Over the next days, this tragedy will continue to unfold. I have seen some family member comments posted, mourning the loss of their near and dear ones. But other than the brave RCMP member and a teacher, the other names are not officially released.

My grandson-in-law is in the RCMP. I know how close the membership is and that they know each other or know of each other. I'm not sure why this takes me a bit closer but it does. I grieve with them all. And I grieve for all the others.

As we are staying home with this blasted virus on the loose, I somehow feel there was another virus loose for a time here and it's after effects will reverberate for years now too.

I know that the word "love" gets thrown around like confetti these days and it may have lost some of its true meaning but when I say that there must be love here and compassion and tears to help wash this away, I think it's an appropriate thing to say. It is for me. I hope it is for you and yours.

Be well, be safe.

Onwards!

Day 31

April 17, 2020

Chaucer as a Pilgrim from the Ellesmere manuscript.

I am a fan of Today in History. It is interesting to see what happened (or purportedly happened) on this date many years ago. Today it is Chaucer. My sources below come from Wikipedia (which I support monetarily). I am a big fan. 

According to scholars, today in 1387, Chaucer's characters began their pilgrimage to Canterbury. It was a milestone in English literary history as it was written in the language of England at the time and not Latin, French or Italian.

I had a look at Google maps to see how long it would take to go from London to Canterbury on foot.

And here are a couple of films which were made based on Chaucer's work.

A Canterbury Tale film is a 1944 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger starring Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played several small roles. For the postwar American release, Raymond Massey narrated and Kim Hunter was added to the film. The film was made in black and white, and was the first of two collaborations between Powell and Pressburger and cinematographer Erwin Hillier.

The Canterbury Tales film - The Canterbury Tales (Italian: I racconti di Canterbury) is a 1972 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini and based on the medieval narrative poem The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is the second film in Pasolini's "Trilogy of Life", the others being The Decameron and Arabian Nights. I understand this one was - as we used to say - kind of raunchy.

I think the reason this one caught my eye was that our lives these days don't feel real. I have said to friends (on the phone) that it feels like we are living in a movie. Tales of the Virus that Ate the World or something.

Onwards!

Day 30

April 16, 2020

I think we are now in the business of crystal ball gazing. How long is this staying the blazes home going to last? I have now heard anywhere from 1 more week to 2-1/2 months. Maybe we could start a pool? My guess is 1 more month for us here in Nova Scotia.

These little flowers are known here as "those tough little pink things" and "those little blue things that got transplanted". There are some tulips leaves coming along as well. All flowering things are welcome here even if we don't know their names

Our 4 cords of wood - cut, split and delivered - has arrived. It is now ready to be stacked for next year's warmth. Thanks to CTL Forest Resources - Al and Sharon.

On the joyous front, the third loaf of bread worked! I may have the hang of it now and I won't have to report any more. I feel that I've reached the saturation point on that subject. By the way, it tasted really good as it was still warm when I cut it and put butter on it. Do I hear cries of "enough with the bread!"

Onwards!

Day 29

April 14, 2020

Yesterday became "Grump Day". Today is considerably better. I may even have another go at making bread. So far it's 1 for 2.

I was wondering the other day about the decline of the Roman Empire in light of the rather chaotic situation in the US these days. And while I realize they are not in as dire a situation, the paragraph below from Wikipedia caused me to see the present situation through a slightly different lens. Fanciful, I know. I think the parts that struck me the most were the underlined bits.

"The Roman Empire lost the strengths that had allowed it to exercise effective control over its Western provinces; modern historians posit factors including the effectiveness and numbers of the army, the health and numbers of the Roman population compared to its less urbanized and more epidemic-resistant neighbors, the strength of the economy, the competence of the Emperors, the internal struggles for power, the religious changes of the period, and the efficiency of the civil administration. Increasing pressure from invading barbarians outside Roman culture also contributed greatly to the collapse."

I watched the President of the United States of America go into a complete 8-year-old temper tantrum yesterday. He was rude, incoherent, all but swearing, using his favourite word "fake", getting very red/orange in the face (wonder what his blood pressure was), and lying. I have resisted, to a large extent, from making comments about what happens in the US these days. But this was just extraordinary. The various media will have put the timeline of COVID-19 reactions together so I don't need to do that. There were some mistakes made and when the reviews happen - probably next year - we'll know what could have/should have been done. Blaming everything on Obama and every other person in the world is asinine. There, that's off my chest!

On a far less vital item - I can't get my hair trimmed this week. It's not that I am hellbent on being stunningly beautiful but I miss my favourite hairdresser and getting caught up on her goings-on. She is a dear friend and neighbour. So I will get shaggier and live with it. And No, I'm not letting the resident handyman do a thing with scissors!

Onwards!

4 WEEKS TODAY!

April 13, 2020

I realized this morning that I have been "somewhere else" 4 times in the past weeks! Amazing! We are doing OK, how about you?

Here are a couple of those "colourized" photos I was telling you about a few days ago. It is keeping me busy and smiling with the remembrances.

About 1948 in Ottawa. Loved that pony!
A commercial guy came around with it.

1962 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.
I was attending some function or other in a houndstooth light
wool dress which I made.

I started watching a new TV series called Burden of Proof - a CBC production. Not bad but they'd better get this thing solved or I will start to lose interest.

I have been pretty good about not getting into politics recently. Those who know me realize how difficult that is for me. 😀 Here is an interesting item I read the other day. I may not entirely agree with everything but at least it is not a rabid and foaming at the mouth piece.

https://www.bedlamfarm.com/2020/04/02/the-cuomo-brothers-versus-the-president-what-a-show/

Further in the COVID-19 info department, I check this website every morning. I believe it is an accurate reflection of the numbers.

The bread experiment has been put on hold. The second loaf is now in the compost feeding whoever wants it. It was a tad heavy - as in doorstop heavy!

Onwards!

Day 26 OMG REALLY?

Friday, April 10, 2020

I am quite certain you have missed my musings - here I am again😊

It was snowing today - oh goodie! And the wind is raging, goodie again! Oh well.

In no particular order of importance: I ordered a Lemon Meringue Pie from my favourite baker and excellent friend Sandy at Pension Pies. We will drive in to the Annapolis Winter Market tomorrow, follow the pickup rules and come home and eat a piece. It will last 3 days if we each have a piece a day - or less if we don't.

I had a big bread making adventure the other day after bringing the breadmaker up from the basement. You just know why it was down there - so I wouldn't make that delicious stuff and eat it, right? I tell you, it took a community to make the first loaf. Yeast (which you cannot get at any grocery store these days) from my lovely friend Cindy and cottage cheese from my great neighbour Sandie. They delivered the goods to our mailbox at the bottom of the driveway. The cheese bread was delicious! And it's almost all gone. So now I have to make some whole wheat bread with seedy cereal in it for the guy who lives here. And I have to figure out what to substitute for milk powder. I'll let know how it works out - whether you care or not.

We live in the country where I think we can manage much better than those folks who live in big apartment buildings in The Cities. Our local grocery store - Graves Freshmart and out local drug store Pharmasave in Bridgetown are open with new rules. Bill has been going to get groceries on a reduced schedule of once a week. We decided to pre-order and he would pick it up. Worked like a hot damn! I emailed in the order, they called when it was ready and asked when it would be picked up and what kind of vehicle. Bill drove in, opened up the back, groceries were loaded in and I paid by eTransfer when they got home. Slick as anything!

And I was able to get lovely big organic eggs from our neighbour. See photo. I am considering them our own Easter Eggs. They arrived in the mailbox and money was placed in the now-empty container of cottage cheese and put in the mailbox (see above adventure).

I set up ZOOM and sang Happy Birthday to my nephew last evening! Boy, we are learning lots of techie stuff here. And I "spoke" to a couple of friends this morning on some kind of video call! I am not used to folks (other than my husband) seeing me in the morning like that. That's OK, we all looked familiar!

I am now reduced to things like changing my Google background picture and having longer FB conversations with folks around the globe. I am going through old photos too which remind me of all the places I've been and all the things I've done. It's kind of comforting somehow. Oh yeah, I paid the power bill this morning too.

My next techie challenge is trying to figure how to watch Crave TV via my Roku account. Good thing there is still stuff to challenge the brain.

Onwards!

Day 23

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

And the numbers continue to climb - Johns Hopkins Data Map. My first thoughts are, and have been, how can the numbers be so high for the US? This is probably the most powerful nation in the world - maybe not the richest per capita but it has power. I am a little out of my depth on this, I realise that, but there is something very wrong with this picture. It's possible that chasing the Almighty Dollar doesn't always bring the desired result. And I'm off this topic now.

My "hobby" these days is colourising! My Heritage has a great (and incredibly easy) tool to colourise your black and white photos. I am boring my relatives and friends and filling up my hard drive with pix that I inherited from my mother from days gone by. It's also kind of interesting that there are a lot of b/w photos that were taken in my lifetime - dating myself, I know. I have posted a couple on Facebook but here are a couple you won't have seen.

 

I am able to save both versions for "comparison". The one on the left was taken around 1950 and shows a bunch of cousins on the steps of my aunt and uncle's house on James Street in Ottawa. This is definitely one of my favourites. The second one was taken on the SS Homeric on our family's trip home from Dad's posting at the 4th ATAF base in Trier, Germany. There was a comedian making us laugh. I was old enough to stay up and go to this event. I am on the right, my Dad is on the left with my Mom next to him. My dress was actually dark green velvet even though it looks black in the colour version. I may have to stop now but if you have old photos, please try this. We do have the time after all.

I will be making some phone calls today to hear folks' tales which are getting shorter and shorter, I must say.

And I'm sending hugs and love to my terrific daughters in BC, my grandkids in BC, NWT and my great grandkids in the NWT. Here are a couple of great photos of my second-to-youngest great grandkid on the ice road from Yellowknife to Dettah, NWT. Warning - ultimate cuteness!

 
We are fine here on Mt. Crossman.
Onwards!

Day 21

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Today marks 21 days of conscious self-isolation. I was cautious for a few days before though. Our little ladies-who-do-lunch group last met on Friday, March 13 at Temple on Queen restaurant in Bridgetown. I think we were already being careful as we didn't hug as we usually do. Who knows how long this will last? I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post but I have had to cancel my end-of-July birthday BIG party. Making reservations and all that became really iffy. Oh well, as I've been saying, "I just have to stay around for another year." If I said it before, sorry, but it's been on my mind a lot as I was really looking forward to it.

A friend who also writes a blog sent me a really interesting article from a publication he follows - BrainPickings. This latest one featured an article on a remarkable Alaskan radio reporter who covered the 1964 earthquake which hit Anchorage. In a time when women were scarce in the radio biz, this lady proved her mettle and I laud her accomplishments. I was fortunate to have been to this community a number of years ago and while on a bus tour up Turnagain Arm, saw the the earth upheavals which were scary even after 40-odd years. Here is a quote from a book written about Genie Chance, that intrepid reporter -

Stationing herself at Anchorage’s Public Safety Building as night fell on the powerless city, she began working with the police chief, the fire chief, and various officials. As soon as KENI was back on the air with a generator, she began broadcasting the essentials of survival: where to take shelter, how to purify snow for drinking water. She instructed people to limit the use of candles to the bare minimum of necessity — candles were a fire hazard, the city had just evaded a conflagration by what seemed like a miracle, and the water supply system was too savaged to fight a fire outbreak.

She then began collating eyewitness accounts to give people an accurate picture of what had just unworlded them, careful to convey the gravity of the situation without details so gruesome that people would lose hope, still performing the impossible informational acrobatics at the balance-point on the beam between paralysis and panic.

The book is called THIS IS CHANCE by Jon Mooallem and sounds like a good read. Thanks Bob (Ernest Blair Experiment) for the referral.


I leave you with the following which turned up my Facebook yesterday and made me smile - we could all use one these days. And I left on the credit. Always try to give credit where credit is due.

Day 20

Saturday, April 4, 2020

A delicious-looking Peach Pie from
Pension Pies - supper's dessert.

Big excitement today! We went for a drive to Annapolis Royal (15 minutes down the road) to the Annapolis Royal Winter Farmers Market held at the Historic Gardens. There is a new COVID-19 protocol for getting one's goodies. One has to pre-order, pay by eTransfer or you can pay by cash in an envelope. We got there, Bill went across the parking lot, Chris stood back from the Pension Pie truck, he picked up the goodies - Lemon Blueberry scones and Orange Cranberry scones and the delicious thing pictured here. And then right back to our vehicle and home again.


There have been some very funny things on Facebook today. I think this is my favourite today.

I heard from another friend and neighbour last evening. I must say these conversations get shorter as most haven't really done much since all "this" began.

On another completely different note (I do seem to be leaping around today) - my son-in-law Rob is on a mining job in Mali. He usually does 4 (or 6) weeks in and 2 weeks home. He is probably stuck there until July now because of the lack of international travel these days. I am thinking of my daughter who is patiently waiting for his next visit.

And there is our Nova Scotia Premier, my MLA. He has become something of a hero for being down-to-earth, straight-talking and passionate. Yay, Stephen!

Day 19

Friday, April 3, 2020

First, the dinner last night was a huge success! The lovely beef with 3 cups of red wine and other things was succulent beyond belief! Oh yes, there is enough for dinner tonight and I guess there will be enough to freeze for sometime later.

I noted that I'm feeling a tad schizophrenic here - vacillating between being really pissed off with what's going on in the US and what's going on here - politically speaking. I saw in this morning's provincial newspaper that the provincial leader of the NDP has nothing but praise for the way the Premier and Dr. Strang (hero) are handling things to do with COVID-19. Nationally, Prime Minister Trudeau and his team are acting responsibly and firmly. I see that Trudeau and Dr. Tam (another one of those fabulous medical officers) are going to answer kids' questions on Sunday on CBC Kids News. Can you imagine President Trump doing that?

I continue to be alarmed - like everyone else - by the rise in the number of cases world-wide. I watched New York Governor Cuomo and his brother CNN host Chris Cuomo kibitz yesterday in-between the serious talk of what it's like to get this virus. Chris C. is now in his basement feeling like hell and talking about the symptoms. A good piece of information for us all. I know all my relatives, friends and neighbours are staying home - right?

Anne comng home for lunch in Rankin Inlet, NU in 1984.
I love my sealskin kamiks.

In a discussion here on Mt. Crossman, we were wondering if our time in remote Northern Canadian communities prepared us for being housebound for long periods of time with only the occasional sojourn out as absolutely necessary - especially in the winter. We think both being retired and having that experience has helped us with this situation. Rankin Inlet on the west coast of Hudson Bay, Inuvik on the Mackenzie River Delta and even Yellowknife were harsh climes for sure. There are far more stories to tell but I won't do that here. Although the weather was harsh, the people were great and I wouldn't have missed those times for anything.

Daily phone calls to folks continue including the daughter on the west coast and a mapping buddy just up the road here.

Green things are coming along outside the window too.

Onwards!

Day 18

Thursday, April 2, 2020

BRAISED BEEF POT ROAST WITH RED WINE AND MUSHROOMS

 
Some of the ingredients for the Royal Acres Highland beef - mushrooms coming from the store. I will let you know how it turns out.

Speaking of groceries, Graves Freshmart in Bridgetown is doing a great job from what I read on Facebook. They deliver and keep people distanced in the store. Our local Pharmasave are doing a splendid job as well. We thank them mightily for staying open and looking after us. I would like to suggest a huge street party in Bridgetown when this is all over - and it will be, folks, it will be.

In the meantime, I have been calling friends and relatives occasionally. I have been sending emails as well. I do try not to be annoying but if I call too often, there isn't too much to talk about since the last time. Hi, how are you? Getting a bit bored, thanks. Baking, cooking, reading, watching TV, staying home A LOT is about it.

I play Scrabble online with two siblings. I let them beat me quite regularly - it makes them feel better. That's what the elder sister does.

Better get to the browning of the beast!

Onwards!