Significantly Distant Mother's Day

   Judy came over on Sunday with a Mother's Day treat - afternoon tea in a box. I just had to boil the kettle!

   An enterprising local tea shop came up with the idea as they are only allowed to operate take out. It was delicious! Of course, we had to eat on the front porch to conform to the current restrictions and it was a bit chilly. We were both in our winter coats, but at least there was no snow. It has been very cold here recently. Saturday overnight set a record of -4C!

Cards from the grandkids and tea in my French Press.

There were sandwiches, scones, shortbread cookies and fairy cakes.

The scones came with little dishes of clotted cream and jam.

The loose tea was "Mother's Day Blend" Delicious!

Polar Vortex

   It has been extremely cold (for May) here recently, the result of a polar vortex which has brought frigid arctic air down as far as the Great Lakes region. Today's temperature has barely budged above 0C and there have been flurries of snow pellets off and on all day. Last night has supposedly set a record for the coldest May 8 in a couple of decades. I will have to check the weather report in tomorrow's newspaper. 

   Just short walks for me the last couple of days due to the cold wind. I am just glad I haven't planted any flowers or vegetables yet. I did work in the garden yesterday but today was just too chilly! Everything that has come up so far seems to be surviving and it should be slightly warmer tomorrow. Now I'm off to cozy up close to the fire with my book!

Zooming Around

   Today I took part in my first Zoom meeting, and I found it rather underwhelming. It was arranged by the Big Bridge group (not to be confused with the small Bridge group which is just four of us) which meets on Tuesdays and has around 40 members. 12 took part so that was part of the underwhelming bit. I hardly spoke at all - just a bit shy, I guess - plus my picture was upside down so nobody recognized me! Maybe a smaller group would be more my style. Someone suggested that my laptop camera had been installed upside down. I will look into that.

   Still chilly but, thankfully, sunny with below seasonal temperatures. I did my usual routine - exercises before breakfast followed by some light housework in the morning, a stroll down to the post office in the drug store to check the PO box, a nap this afternoon after Zoom and a fairly good walk later on. Leftover lasagna from the freezer with a fresh salad and garlic bread for dinner. I might even have a piece of the sweet potato brownie from yesterday. It tasted much better when I spread it with cream cheese.

This may be my last puzzle unless someone will trade with me. It was an easy one, just 500 pieces and only took me a couple of days. 

Two Fails

   Not complete failures, just not up to my usually (low) standards. They were both the result of having time on my hands and some food item that needed using up.

   The first was a couple of jars of marmalade. In this instance I had an almost ready to expire lemon and some cranberries from the freezer. The resulting marmalade is tasty enough but has a very strange texture. I think I may have boiled it too long and the sugar began to crystallize. I don't think I like the combination of cranberries and lemon either. It was supposed to be grapefruit and lemon. The recipe came from my favourite preserving book, which I have written about before, "Preserves and Pickles" by Catherine Atkinson.

   The second attempt was prompted by a sweet potato lurking in the fridge. The recipe was for chocolate brownies - I have made them before but for some reason, the batter was just too thick. I added an egg and some milk and the resulting brownie is edible and probably quite healthy but, frankly, less than appetizing! I will eat it anyway - chocolate's chocolate after all! It had cocoa and chocolate chips in it.

   Yesterday was brilliant - sunny and well above the normal temperature - but today was much colder. Back to winter clothes. I cleaned the inside of the car of all the remnants of winter so that kept me warm while working outside. I even vacuumed and shampooed the carpets and wiped down the dashboard. It smells heavenly now!