Spreading Faster than Covid19

I opened Google up on my phone this morning and this is the screen capture. 

My Google screen capture this morning

I rarely click on trending headlines, but this one caught my attention.

I clicked on the story, even though I knew exactly what the content would be: A world-wide good  news story during this bizarre unprecedented pandemic we are experiencing.

You'd have to be living under a rock to not have come across at least one "hearts in the window" group in your social media feeds. And they all started eleven days ago, right here in L'il Ol' PG, under the creative direction of Bailey Grose.

Yes, ELEVEN days ago. (Well, depending on when you are reading this...) March 17, 2020 to be more precise. And it has spread across the world faster than Covid19 itself.

Bailey is the event planner who hosts and organizes Prince George's Original Wine & Paint Nights that Lauren Gull and I are honoured to be the resident artists for. She is also an admin for the HYPG Facebook group that has nearly 42,000 members.

The original "Hearts of PG" has lots of off-shoot groups across the world. Some are mentioned in the Toronto Star article.  Have you joined one? Do you have hearts in your window? I encourage you to participate.  Heck, join more than one group! And make sure you post a photo to the original Hearts of PG page and check out some of the amazing displays hailing from far and wide.

Painting watercolour hearts was a great distraction while in quarantine after returning from Maui. 

Social Distancing? or Social Connecting?

There's a seemingly apocalyptic world pandemic going on right now.

The catchphrase of the day is "Social distancing." Everyone is saying it.

But are they doing it?

No, no they are not.

In fact from what I am experiencing, within my 4-walls of quarantine after an out-of-country trip, pretty much the exact opposite is happening. There is a social knitting together happening all over the world.

And it's good.

The world over, people have in a sense, been flattened to a level playing field. It doesn't matter how much money you have, the colour of your skin, your employment status, your gender, your age, your religion, your..... what have you...   We, as members of the human race, are in this together. Just as God intended from the beginning of time.

 In our Physical Distancing, we are experiencing a Social Connecting.

And I just know when it's all over (and it will eventually be over) life is going to look different. We are going to look at life different.

So, I will no longer refer to it as "Social Distancing," but rather, "Physical Distancing."  I've heard a number of people starting to use this term, including the Provincial Government officials during their daily press conference updates.

Yes, we need to do our due diligence and keep our physical distance from other humans. But let's keep our social connecting going.

That being said, most of us use social media to strengthen our human connections during this pandemic: Facebook. Instagram. FaceTime. WhatsApp. Zoom (Wish I woulda bought shares in the company last  month, instead of watching my current investments free-falling 😊  )

But we do need to be mindful of those who don't or can't socially meld in this way.  Not everyone is isolated with 3 other household members. It's a really scary time for the elderly - especially those whose spouses are living in care homes and they can no longer interact. Or those who are in fact living in care homes - there are some scary stats out there.

So my challenge to you today is to make it a priority each day to contact someone in your circle who might be a little more isolated than the rest of us. Use your vintage skills and pick up the phone and give someone you don't usually contact a call. It takes 3 minutes of your quarantined time. You'll feel better and you just might be the highlight of someone's day, week, month...

On the Hunt for the Ultimate Keto Bread Recipe.

Finding a decent keto bread recipe is always on my mind. Up until I started keto almost eleven months ago, I made most of my own bread. And I really miss it.   

Yeah, this is my original bread I USED TO make... you didn't think it was actually keto did you?!

A few weeks ago I was watching a video recipe of someone making a loaf of keto bread. I liked the shape of the loaf so I scratched down the recipe on a scrap of paper as I watched.  I was tidying up my desk a bit today and came across the scrawled out recipe and decided I'd give a whirl.  

The last line I wrote out said: 4 - 8" parchment-lined loaf pans.

I lined the loaf pans and mixed up the ingredients. The recipe calls for 7 eggs. I thought that sounded like quite a few, but then did the math and thought that's actually less than 2 eggs per loaf, so not too bad. 

I divided the dough into 4 equal parts and put it in the pans. Each pan had like, an inch of dough. I was trying to envision how it could possibly raise enough to make an actual loaf. I know eggs raise things, but there was only 1 tsp of baking powder in the recipe. 

Duh. Then it dawned on me.  The last line of the recipe meant ONE 4"x8" pan, not 4 pans.  Glad I figured that out before throwing all 4 into the oven. (Although, this blog would be much funnier had I actually cooked them like that.)  I scraped all the batter into one pan and tossed it in the oven and headed off to have a shower. 

I was hoping to emerge from the shower to the glorious smells of fresh baked bread.  But alas, it smelled like fried eggs.

When I dumped the loaf out of the pan, melted butter dripped through the cooling rack.  But I had a loaf of bread!

I decided it would be grilled cheese, made with brie, for supper.

The bread was so buttery, I didn't actually add butter before I fried it. It toasted up quite nicely.  

The taste? It was aiight.    

But it tastes pretty much exactly like 90-second bread with a hint of coconut... which takes 90 seconds to make, not 90 minutes.  

So yeah, still on the hunt for the ultimate keto loaf.  

I'll stick to my purple buns for now.  

I'm sure SOMEONE will ask for the recipe anyway, so here it is:

7 eggs - room temperature

1/2 c melted butter

2 TB coconut oil

2 c almond flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp xanthan gum 

1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs 1-2 minutes. 

Add butter and oil. Mix.  

Add dry ingredients. 

Beat till thick. It never did look thick to me so I added 1 TB almond flour  and a smidge of X gum. 

Pour dough into ONE  parchment lined 4"x8" loaf pan. 

Bake at 355* for 45 minutes. 

Occupied in Isolation.

My eldest grandchild has been diagnosed with autism. He is brilliant. He is vocal. His eleven-year-old vocabulary often puts me to shame - and I am a logophile, an author and usually considered somewhat intelligent. 

All that aside, sometime last year Mastermind Toys opened a location in my city. I signed up for their perks program.  

In early March I got an email informing me that since it was my eldest grandchild's bday this month, I could come pick up a free gift.   There were options, most of which were out of stock, so I opted for this fidget gadget.... 

About 2 or 3 years ago when "fidget toys" became a thing, Xander informed me, "Granny, I know it probably seems appropriate, but I just want to let you know that I DO.NOT.LIKE  fidget spinners.  I say this just in case you were thinking it might be an appropriate gift."   

Seriously. 

This is the mind of my now 11-yr-old, who was about 8 at the time.

I didn't inform him that I got a free gift from Mastermind Toys; I just put it on my desk beside the keyboard, in hopes that he'd opt to 'fidget' with the toy, rather than chew on my $400 Wacom tablet pen or nibble on the resident cup of multi-coloured pushpins that sits on my desk.

But alas, early in March, I went to Maui for a vacation and returned home to a Covid19  14-day quarantine so said child hasn't been around here. 

But oh my goodness. I love that thing. I fidget with it all.the.time. I even chew on it.  I try to see how small of a cluster I can turn it into, I snap one link apart and see how long I can stretch it out. I'm totally entertained by it. 

...umm, no, isolation isn't getting to me... why do you ask??! 

If Push Came to Shove...

Toilet Paper...

What did they use to wipe their butts 200 years ago? 2000 years ago?

I've been known to consider bizarre thoughts before. This is one of them.

I've thunk this thought before, but it was renewed today as I was checking out at Costco. I was purchasing a grand total of three things: heavy whipping cream, almond flour and a pair of yoga leggings.

The cream I was buying so I could make alfredo for supper tomorrow for my DIL's birthday dinner.

 The leggings were because I bought a pair last week in a different colour for $12.99 and loved them.

The almond flour was purchased even though I have an unopened bag in my pantry.

As I passed the display of almond flour at the end of an aisle (even though it wasn't actually on sale) I thought, "I'm going to Maui in 72 hours. What if some sort of Corona Virus crisis happens and I end up in insolation when I return. I want to be able to make bread and pizza dough and other assorted keto products while I live in isolation."

It was a rare occasion, but I had entered Costco without a cart. I generally know better. You cannot shop Costco and carry your purchases in your arms.

As I am standing in line with my 3 items in my arms, I noticed that I am the only one in line, out of all 12 lineups, without a cart. I am also the only one without a giant case of toilet  paper.

And me heart almost stops.

Oh, shit.

What if Corona puts me into isolation? I will not starve. I will be able to make lots of buns and pizza. I even have a few months supply of wine.  But I will need to wipe my butt! This is a complete oversight on my part here.

Then I remember the supply of flannelette I inherited from my mother seven years ago. I mentally calculate that I probably could make 6 months of toilet paper with squares of flannel. This could be an eternal supply if I'm willing to wash are reuse.

Yeah, I think I could do that if push came to shove.

(If you have wine and/or cheese to barter for flannel toilet paper... gimme a shout.)