Living the Lockdown Life

It's been a really long time since last we had to scurry to get out of the rain, yet I am happy to report that is just what happened on this Saturday morning in mid-April. Bruce convinced me to join him on the big lake in my kayak which has been sitting unused forever. After being out on the water for about an hour, Bruce said he felt rain so we headed back to shore, arriving just in time to hear our first crack of lightning. As I sit in the comfort of our dry home, the sky is both rumbling with thunder, and it is as dark as dusk at 11:00 in the morning. I began this post when we came in yesterday, and lo and behold, we got more than an inch of rain! Hallelujah!

It is easy to accomplish social distancing out on the water, as Bruce and our neighbor Mary, are doing.

Rain was predicted, as you can imagine with that dull sky, however, we thought it would hold off, but that was not to be. Nevertheless, we will embrace any amount of rain that falls.

I've got one eye on the computer and one on the lake, watching the otter popping up and down in the water. He's swimming in the area where yesterday afternoon I noticed another Wood Duck family, this time with ten ducklings!

Who knows how long they will survive? The Mallard ducks are much better at protecting their babies, well the mother is anyway. Dad has been AWOL. That said, after all these weeks, more than three I think, one of our Mallard ducklings is missing. Early this morning, they swam toward me on the shoreline and I counted nine. I wonder what went wrong as Mom never leaves their side? It all sounds so silly, I'm sure, but I do get attached.

Because of the rain we binge-watched the third season of Broadchurch and were not disappointed.  Oh my, they do know how to keep one guessing until the very end! We welcome recommendations for either Netflix, or Amazon Prime. Matt suggested we watch, Blinded by the Light; because HBO is offering some shows for free, we did so and it was fantastic. Very sweet and uplifting.

I am in dire need of a cut and color. I need my teeth cleaned. Who else is in the same boat? This morning I said to Bruce, if I had read a book with the plot we are living through, I would not have believed it for a minute. How about you?

Our days are all pretty much the same around here, however, some days I spend more time in the kitchen than others. Case in point-- two days ago I made bread. Yup, getting on that bandwagon.

Actually, I love thinking about so many people actually using their kitchens and being creative in the process. Using a recipe from a UK bread cookbook, a gift from Matt and Tom, it is an easy recipe that requires no kneading. Easy, that is, after you convert the grams to cups. I never did get the dough as smooth as I'd hoped, and adding to my difficulties, was the time in oven. With a digital stove, the temperature jumps by 25 degrees so, calling for 410 degrees, after converting from Celsius, I could not decide if I should go up to 425, or down to 400. In the end I went to 400, although it did not brown nearly as much as I'd hoped. Perhaps I should have used my pizza stone.

Nevertheless, it was tasty, had a pretty good crust, even though the crumb could have been better. I'm rusty, what can I say?

My Vancouver friend, Dale, includes loads of newspaper clippings with his letters. Seriously, he sends a packet of things. In the latest batch there was a recipe from a cookbook called Pucker. Can you guess what the main ingredient is? Yes sir, lemons, of which I had plenty after buying a bag of them from Clemons. Soft, chewy, and sugar coated, they are fantastic, although, here too, they weren't quite right. They were meant to fall and crackle more, yet it just was not happening. Science, I guess. Anyway, they taste great which is what matters. I tried giving some away, but I think folks are nervous about accepting food from someone. Then again, maybe they just don't like cookies?

One night I made a terrific Israeli Couscous salad recipe, using up an ingredient that has lurked in the back of my cupboard for far too long. What made it so outstanding is the dressing that, if you too, have more lemons than you know what to do with, I suggest you whip some up ASAP. HERE is the recipe. In addition, she was right when she said not to leave out the mint!

At the same time I was working on a food related jigsaw puzzle that was both easy, and hard. There were only 300 pieces, and the frame went together pretty easily, however, some of those doughnuts gave me a fit.

Passing it on to Susan, she was far more clever than I as she has it already completed. The remaining puzzle Ann gave me is a 750 piece one of an owl, right up my alley. It remains in the box for now as it looks anything but easy.

Following our binge yesterday afternoon, we walked down to the lake so Bruce could put my boat back on the rack. He is very good to me, as you well know.

The day had turned sunny and beautiful while we were holed up. As I was standing on the dock,an Anhinga was shaking dry.

It was a pretty cool experience even though they are not one of my favorite birds. I showed Bruce the photo, asking him what was stuck on the beak and he said it was an aquatic plant, in case you are wondering.

Before the actual sunset, the clouds were lovely.

Bruce moved the bird feeder recently, hoping to attract more birds. There are some, but we would love to have more.

So, you may notice my blooming orchids, one of the first things I check in the morning, waiting for new buds to open. It's the little things, folks! It was early, before full sunrise, and as I was standing next to the yellow one, I felt something JUMP onto my face!!! Oh my gosh, I was freaking out. Lasting only a moment, it is not something I want happening again any time soon! Of course you know what happened next, don't you? Indeed, honey...I need help. Getting up from reading his paper, he shook things around, checking all of my plants and noticing nothing.

Returning from a bike ride this morning, what should I find,

but a horrible Cuban Tree frog!!! And the sad news is that he is still on the loose, escaping as Bruce tried to remove him.

Shuddering here.

It is times like this that it is good to be a homebody. I pity folks who are always out and about as this time must be so terribly hard for them. As was to be expected, the unemployment numbers have skyrocketed while the Florida cases of Covid-19 have mostly inched up. No one is making light of the numbers, and of course they could change, but they are not nearly as bleak as was predicted, thank God. 

In the meantime, we are staying safe and sound as is all of our family for which we are grateful.

Are you cooking or baking up a storm? What's happening in your neck of the woods?

your friend,

Gail