Monday, March 30, 2020

Weekend Review

Saturday Dinner

I stayed up, Friday night, until 5:30 a.m. on Saturday!  I laughed at myself because there was a time when 5:30 a.m. was when I had to wake up, in order to get my daughter ready for school (I had to take her to the school bus pick up point by 6:15 a.m.) and myself to work!

Needless to say, I spent Saturday morning sleeping and my morning cup of tea was actually drunk in the early afternoon!  I spent a relatively relaxed day, which was fine, as I felt I had done plenty of things on Friday.  I called several friends and a couple of cousins to check on them and later, emailed a friend and video chatted with my daughter.  I didn't watch any TV, including news, although I read a few news headlines and articles online.

Saturday would have been my father's birthday.  He died in 1963 when I was 7 years old.  I said a prayer for him as that is all I can do now.

I made more milk rice for brunch, as that seemed to be what I was wanting.  Comfort food, I suppose.  I had it with the last of the shrimp and tomato and onion curry.   For dinner, I made myself a salad, with lettuce, the last of the small cucumbers, a carrot, bottled salad dressing, and a handful of raw almonds that I cut up.  Later, I had some raisins as a snack. 

I was still up later than I should have, on Saturday night, but I was in bed by 3:00 a.m., although I didn't fall asleep until after 3:30 a.m., which was the last time I checked the clock.  Then, I woke up once, around 7:30 a.m., which was too early, so, I went back to sleep until 10:30 a.m. 

Sunday morning, I spent some time walking around the back yard.  I took a few photos, but will probably do another post with them.  But this was today's "harvest":

Sunday's Harvest: Lemons and Curry Leaves

For breakfast, I made French toast, because I still had some fresh milk and using the last four slices of white sandwich bread I had.  I ate two slices of French toast for breakfast and kept the other two slices for Monday's breakfast. 

In the afternoon, I did some cooking.  I made curried sauteed green beans, a beetroot curry with the three beetroots I had in the fridge, and a mackerel curry using canned mackerel, canned coconut milk, fresh onions and some frozen tomatoes.  And, I cooked a pot of rice:

Sunday Lunch
I took a serving of the curries and some coconut sambol that I had in the freezer over to friend R; she didn't want any rice because she said she had rice.  Just as I did on Friday, I put the containers of food in a bag in the trunk of my car and she took it from the trunk.  I stayed in the car and didn't get down, at all.  We waved at each other through the closed car window and I drove home.  She called me a few minutes after I got home and thanked me.  I was happy I could do this for her.  It's not the same as inviting her over to lunch, but, it was the next best thing.

On Sunday, neighbor T called and friend F, too.  Later, aunt C called.  It was she who informed me that the Federal social distancing guidelines had been extended till the end of April.  So, I turned on the TV and watched some news, had a cup of tea, and then, took Dancer's advice and took a short nap on the sofa!  LOL!

Later, I video chatted with daughter and I informed her about the extension of the social distancing guidelines.  Earlier, we had wondered if her office would reopen after the first week in April; now, we think that is highly unlikely.  I expect she will receive an official notification to work from home during the month of April, too. 

This weekend, I was grateful for:
- Being able to keep in touch with family and friends
- Being able to keep my own hours when it came to sleeping and waking
- My garden and what it produces
- Being able to share some of what I cooked with a friend, even if it meant dropping it off instead of having her over to lunch
- Afternoon naps as suggested by Dancer!

This weekend's joyful activities included chatting with my daughter, keeping in touch with family and friends, naps, and knitting!

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for the week ahead?

18 comments:

  1. Awful times but we are so lucky to be able to stay in contact with family and friends in so many different ways. I took some cake to my sons house which is just a couple of minutes away. He and his wife and the two girls stood in the doorway and I stood at the end of their path. We all waved at each other. On the way home I cried because I hadn't been able to hug them. My elder son and my daughter both live too far away to pop over, but I can video-chat with them.

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    1. We are, indeed, blessed to be able to keep in touch with family and friends. I'm glad you were able to take some cake to your son who lives nearby and can video chat with the others. My daughter and I video chat every night (she lives about 400 miles away). Hope all your children and their families are keeping well.

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  2. Your cooking looks delicious. I need to make french toast as I have too much bread. I'm sure your father heart your prayer. Beautiful lemons and curry leaves. Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. Bread pudding is another good way to use up extra bread. :)

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  3. I'm wanting comfort food at the moment as well. Your curries sound interesting, I wouldn't have thought of beetroot or green beans being curried. Do you cook them in a sauce base or just add spices to the veg (if you understand what I mean)?

    In yesterday's briefing, the government suggested that our social distancing/self isolation may need to go on longer than first thought but there is no timescale yet. I'm used to living alone so am probably finding it easier than some of my friends who are now confined in their homes with their families - it sounds like they are wanting their own space!

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    1. I add the spices to the vegetables, Eileen. To be honest, I have never used a bottled curry sauce, but, I suppose one could.

      For the green beans, I like to cut them at an angle, but, they don't have to be and one can use frozen or canned, too. I heat some oil in a saute pan, add sliced onions, curry leaves, the green beans and a heaping teaspoon (or two, depending on the amount of green beans) of what is known as dark roasted curry powder as I prefer that to regular curry powder. But, one can use regular curry powder, too. Saute the beans for several minutes and then, I like to add a little water to help soften the beans. I also add some dried fish bits (we call it Maldive fish) for added flavor, but, that's optional.

      The beets are cooked in a similar way, except, this time, I boiled the beets the night before and peeled them. But, you can start with raw beets, and then, add water to cook them, after sauteing them. To the beets, however, I added a little bit of coconut milk, towards the end of the cooking and cooked until the milk got absorbed. These are both "dry" curries; the mackerel curry had the gravy/sauce (made with canned coconut milk).

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  4. Your plates of dinner look so tasty ... and that fresh fruit is just mouth-watering! we certainly have ample supplies at hand, and there is access to more in the stores (those do involve quite a long trip though ... this is the true boondocks) but we seem to have been caught without fresh fruits and veggies-there is an answer to that thought ...I will have to get seeds into the ground and grow some (have the seeds, have LOTS of land, but the ground is like mush and more rain is headed this way for most of the week)-ah, hear me whine!
    Our governor has closed the border with Louisiana (I lack any idea about whether the virus recognizes geographical boundaries, so I hope this is a carefully considered plan)-Dana (Daughter #3) lives just across the border (and we are almost on the border on this side) so it is still another child I feel cut off from- for almost a month now, we have not made any trips back and forth, but now that we can't it seems even more distressing-
    Hope you have been able to sleep better- the news that your precious daughter is safe is great, but I know you would feel better if you could just be with her- thank goodness for technology that allows you face-to-face time-
    I must get myself motivated to actually accomplish something today-in my mind, I keep hearing those old sayings about 'idle hands ...etc' and I am sure those sayings have stuck around because they are true-
    Take care ... and as always, fondest thoughts-
    Barb

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    1. Thank you, Barb. I had sort of lost my appetite, these past couple of weeks, and then, suddenly, over the weekend, it returned with vengeance! LOL.

      You are right; the virus doesn't recognize geographical borders, but, they hitch a ride with people who cross those borders. Let's the hope that people on both sides of a border will abide by the border crossing restrictions and help minimize the spread. I'm sorry you won't get to visit Dana any time soon, though. Perhaps you can visit online?

      Yes, I would like it better if my daughter was home with me during this time. But, we're both OK. She's starting to run a bit low on some supplies and we were debating the pros and cons of her venturing out to get some groceries now as opposed to later, or ordering a delivery. I think we are leaning more towards a delivery, even if it might cost more, just from a minimizing her risk of exposure (yes, she's young, but, she does have asthma, which is one of the existing conditions that puts her at a higher risk). I guess we are all muddling through this as best we can. Hope all is still well with you and yours. (((HUGS)))

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  5. Those lemons just look perfect! I like your other photos and I am wondering why I can't find tinned mackerel in our stores. Perhaps there might be some in the city. In England we used to be able to buy canned pilchards, too, years ago when I lived there. How kind of you to take lunch to your friend again, and a sensible way to get it to her without contact between you. One day you will be able to get together other than the phone and a wave through a car window!
    I woke up around 3.30 am for a bathroom visit and then couldn't get to sleep and eventually I got up and found it was 7 am anyway so I stayed up. I might have to take Dancer's advice and have a nap in the sun!

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. Maybe there isn't a big demand for tinned mackerel in your area? Every now and then, I buy the tinned sardines in tomato sauce to make sardines on toast - a favorite from my childhood! I was happy I could take some lunch to my friend. When this is all over, we'll go out to lunch, together. :)

      Ooh, you were up early! Yes, an afternoon nap might be a good idea! Enjoy. :)

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  6. It was a great weekend for afternoon naps. My day was Saturday. Friday night was late and I awoke too early on Saturday morning. I usually sleep well at night, so I felt "off" all of Saturday until I went back to bed.

    I see that you are still making good use of your vegetables from the fridge, before you dive into your frozen and canned foods. I also find that I am spending more time in the kitchen these days planning and preparing meals. All of this is necessary to make the best use of what we have. We will stay the course.

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    1. Good to see that you were able to get in a nap over the weekend, Susan.

      Yes, I am trying to use the vegetables in the fridge before they spoil. It's been two weeks since I last grocery shopped, and I am not planning to grocery shop in the near future! I am going to do a fridge inventory, today, and will take it from there!

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  7. It is so good you are able to sleep late and or nap when you have one of your extra late nights.

    How was the traffic for your drive to take R some of your food? I think the other day you said traffic was normal - not particularly light.

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    1. Yes, but, I really should make an effort to get back to a more "regular" sleep pattern!

      The traffic on Sunday early evening (around 5:00 p.m.) was a lot less than it was on Friday afternoon around 2:30-3:00 p.m. Maybe more people were staying home. I have noticed that there are fewer cars driving past my house, but, more delivery trucks as my neighbors order stuff online!

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  8. Those lemons look lovely. I think this situation is upsetting sleep cycles.

    I understand the reason for the extension but I'm still grumpy about it. We were supposed to go to visit daughter the last week of April so I suppose that will not be happening. I'm not sure when we will be able to get over there to see her. Makes me sad.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. They are Meyer lemons and have a thinner peel and less acidity. Well, my sleep cycles were a bit off to begin with, but, I think this situation has been contributing to it, lately.

      Oh, Sharon, I am so sorry your visit to see your daughter will be postponed. I don't know when I'll be seeing my daughter, next, either. She was planning to come down for the annual anime exposition in early July, but, who knows if that will happen? The anime expo is usually held at the L.A. Convention Center which is currently being converted into a hospital for recuperating corona virus patients. We can only take it one day at a time and see how things develop.

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  9. Hello Bless, I used to follow you ages ago and got lured away from blog reading and blogging with instagram. But somehow it not as satisfying as blogs. We have went into lockdown here in NZ last Wednesday its day 6 now. I am well prepared with well stocked cupboards and a productive garden. Wonders of wonders I have started to blog again but a different blog from when I followed you before. My aim is to make it a diary of the lockdown (4 weeks initially)
    I love the photos especially of the lemon and curry leaves. Funnily enough I was watching a cooking programme - Great Britain's best home cook, and one of the contestants made beetroot curry. I got some beetroot in the garden so might give it a go.

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    1. Hello Sharon! It's lovely to hear from you, again. I wonder when readers stop commenting, whether they tired of my blog or if something happened. But, it's good to know that you've started blogging again and I'll be by to take a look at your new blog. I'm glad to hear that you are well prepared for the lockdown with stocked cupboards and a productive garden. I'm in my second week and have started getting low on fresh produce! Hope you enjoy the beetroot curry!

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