It felt like spring for real! No blooms on hyacinths and daffs, but they're growing!
My cousin came home from the hospital after a surgery last week. It was a rough go for a couple of days after, made all the more difficult, I think, for the rest of us because of the no-visitor policy. But he's back home (vs. a rehab center -- they'll have home visits). I'm so grateful for his recovery and that he can be in his own safe space.
I was happy to get my springtime and Easter decorating finished at last. It was hard getting the motivation this year. But this pile is finally off the table!
And yes, baking. Baking is good for the soul. This is Paul Hollywood's soda bread -- no rising required. Buttermilk, soda, salt and flour. It makes very good toast!
Cooking is healing. I've done a batch of lemon bread, crostini and a tuna casserole for Rick's "take out" one evening. We're keeping a little more distance since he's been out in the real world more than I have (which basically means the grocery store, as that's the only place he's going besides bike rides) and we are being very cautious. I should have taken pix but by the time it came out of the oven, I was too hungry!
Last night we were lucky to score some chicken thighs. We decided since we are washing and sanitizing everything, he could eat with me so I made a wonderful curried chicken casserole. This one is a winner. I was out of curry so I used garam masala and it was a good substitution. I suspect you could use other spice flavors we well, like cumin, to flavor it. It's super easy and I hope you'll check it out. (She has photos.) If we run out of chicken again, I might just make the rice part!
The yard is very slowly waking up. In addition to my little white crocus, there is the first bloom of the mini-iris.
The hyacinths in my Peter Rabbit hosta garden are poking their heads up.
And I don't know what these tiny purple flowers are, but they are awfully pretty -- a sign of spring.
I leave you with a smiling face! (What? No make-up? Bad hair? Just wait till I'm confined for another month or so! It will be an entirely different color. Maybe purple.)
We may all look a little different when this is done.
Stay Well, my friends. Stay Sane. Stay Home.
I'm glad you are being cautious, even with Rick, because with your past lung issues, you don't want to take chances. I also am a chronic cougher and have had pneumonia more than once, so I do take this very seriously. You inspired me to take a picture of my little crocuses this morning as well! Easter decorating!! -Jenn
ReplyDeleteYay for the spring blooms. What a pretty photo of you Jeanie, you look happy and well. Love the cute Peter Rabbit and your decorations.
ReplyDeleteTake care! Wishing you a happy day!
Glad spring has sprung for you at last, perhaps your spring decorations got them in the right mood! Your chicken sounds very tasty, I just had spicy gyros, was good, too. I think we will all look, feel and act differently b the time 'Corrina' has left us! Stay safe, hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteMy scales begs to differ with you on the subject of baking good for you. I've been baking more than usually and my scales is saying, "STOP IT!" Homemade soda bread is the best.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you were able to eat together, Jeanie. I am sure that gave you both a mental lift. The garden is looking springlike, as is ours. I think that your mystery plant is Periwinkle, but a second opinion would be welcome! I chuckled at your comment about the colour of your hair. A friend of ours is mortified that her grey is showing through! Stay well.
ReplyDeleteThe no visitor policy is so difficult. I feel for my friends who have elderly parents they can’t visit as well.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! The first flowers of spring are surely the bravest. I hope you're keeping well and safe.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAnother happy post! I think we'll all be sporting the shaggy dog hair cuts, and very soon we'll find out what most peoples real hair colour is too! Irish Soda bread is one of my favourites. Quick, easy, and delicious. There are recipes out there on tinterweb that give many variations too, such as including mashed potato, or cheese, and even fruity varieties!
ReplyDelete~~~Deb in Wales
Spring has sprung in northern Michigan! I love spring bulbs and your garden is a sight for sore eyes. Stay well!
ReplyDeleteDelightful photos! You are making me wish I bought casserole things at the store. 😊
ReplyDeleteYou make me feel like a slacker. I'm not sure I want to do much for Easter. I may get motivated the day before (grin). Love your awakening garden and your smiling face, too. I hope YOU stay safe, too.
ReplyDeleteWow, you have so many blooms already, we aren't that far along here yet!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeletelook at all that spring growth! I am still getting snow and 17F last night!
ReplyDeleteat least we have returning birds letting us know it is spring.
i was thinking about all the people who dye their hair.... maybe people will be doing their own?
lovely spring to you Jeanie.
A lovely post, Jeanie! Spring has sprung here in the Pac NW ~ my mini iris' have already bloomed; my tall one's are about to. And my tulips will be blooming any day now. And we have buds on all our trees Yippee!!
ReplyDeleteHugs ~
Hi Jeanie! I made soda bread, too. It was a little dense, but it was super pretty. Soda makes me feel heartburn-y even though I love it so much. Pretty decorations!
ReplyDeleteYeah for spring! Your bread looks really good!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing more special than that first crocus is there, Jeanie?
ReplyDeleteThat's a grand picture of you.
Put the coffee on. I'll be right over for some lemon bread or soda bread. Whatever is handy:)
That crocus is lovely as is that tiny iris, and your daffodils will be in full bloom in no time. What a joy to see the spring flowers!
ReplyDeleteWe are also staying home, and I should take a page from your book and make some bread. I may try that chicken casserole. Stay Home, yes, that's my motto :)
The white crocuses remind me of little Easter eggs, cracked open, with new life inside.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could cook and bake more, but for various reasons, including maintaining my weight I do it very basically. Very healthy, but not gourmet. Everything tastes so much better since I no longer take food shopping for granted.
I am not going in anyone's house, nor anyone in mine, so eating alone has become the 100 percent routine...It's OK, I am judy so grateful to be in good health (for a gal my age...) Do you and Rick not need to do the 6 foot thing? Here I think our governor made it mandatory.
So happy for you that a new decorating season has come! Will look forward to your displays!
ReplyDeleteThankful that you are being cautious. I want my husband to be as well, but he says he must continue to work. He owns his own business and is just starting a new venture and says he can't stop at the moment. He is contact often with others and he has health issues, so it truly scares me. UGH!
ReplyDeleteYes ~ we all will look different and appreciate our nail salon and hairdresser that much more!! Beautiful spring photos and lot's of Easter surprises ~ thank you for the visual delights! Your bread looks yummy too ~ blessings
ReplyDeleteLovely to see your smiling face.
ReplyDeleteLovely too to see spring beginning to appear for you.
Glad you and Rick had dinner together. The chicken curry sounds yummy.
Crocuses are pretty exciting!! I don't have any of those... I wonder if it's because it doesn't get cold enough here, and they die out like tulips if you leave them in the ground.
ReplyDeleteYours is the second loaf of soda bread I've seen in Blogland in an hour - how interesting!
Glad things are going well. Your baking looks and sounds yummy. :-)
ReplyDeleteYour blue flowers are squill. :-)
No Spring flowers here yet. Enjoy looking at yours though. Hey thanks for the soda bread. Went and found the recipe and will be making some...as soon as I get wheat flour. Janice
ReplyDeleteThe first flowers are always the best. It is so exciting to see everything coming back to life, isn't it? And funny, I have been baking too. Bread, pizza dough, a lemon pound cake as well as some brownies. And eating well. Perhaps some of us will end up fat -ha-ha- after this is over. Or at least I shall speak for myself. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteYou look darling, Jeanie. I'm so glad you are finding joy in your home during this strange time in our world. The soda bread looks delicious! It's wonderful to see the earth awaken after winter. Have a safe weekend, my friend.
ReplyDeleteYay for Spring - and for your cousin being home!!! Oh, do I hate hospitals and stuff (who doesn´t!).
ReplyDeleteI looked up Paul Hollywood's soda bread - boy, does he sound British!!! LOL! A very nice man he is, and it sounds easy enough to do it, too, that bread!
Sad you and Rick have to take a distance, too.
When little Corinna (as we call Corona now due to a failed autocorrect) visited me I had long kissed Ingo anyways. He´s 7 1/2 years older than me and I really was afraid for us both. All good, luckily, I even resumed training!
And luckily we can still get fresh meat, too!
LOL. I have one Uncle who calls me "Kleine Iris", even these days.
Bad hair??? I wish I had hair like that! You look beautiful!
To safe(r) times!
Dear Jeane, happy to hear that you are all well. How lovely to see spring slowly come to life. We have been blessed with a lot of sunshine lately, which is quite unusual. That means that nature starts waking up and it is good to see during times like these.
ReplyDeleteI might also, for once, take out my spring decorations. Usually, we are traveling during this time, but since we are now at home, it will enlighten the flat. Keep safe and take care!
On my reading list today it said, "Our Anne Frank Moment" by you, but when I clicked on it, it said, "Page does not exist." Just to let you know. I just wrote about Anne Frank in my paper journal this morning...
ReplyDeleteGlad you're seeing signs that Spring has finally sprung where you are. Also, that's great news about your cousin.
ReplyDeleteGood food and spring growth - how encouraging!
ReplyDeleteHappy girl..:)Aren't we fortunate to have Marie:)?Through the years I have made more of her recipes than anyones:)
ReplyDeleteYou are way ahead of me for gardens...I may start seeds this week..who knows if we will have garden centres..
Indeed, it's really nice springy weather at your place! I'm glad that everything awakes after the Autumn and "Winter". And your lemon bread looks so tasty! I'm not really good at baking, unfortunately :(
ReplyDeleteI love all the cheerful photos! I can't wait until things start blooming again here ....
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanie, it's hard not to be able to visit our family and friends who've been sick or surgery and so glad yours is better. It is always fun to see those first little signs of spring poking their way through the good earth. Looks like you will have a lot of pretty spring blooms. The bread looks divine, I can almost smell the aroma after it came out of the oven. Love toast anytime too. Glad you and Rick are finding your groceries. My supermarket cleans out as soon as it's restocked. Take care.......
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're being careful about contact. Aren't you prone to lung/respiratory issues anyway? Stay safe!
ReplyDeleteYour crocus and mini iris are beautiful. I've tried, and failed, to have irises (I just don't have good luck with bulbs), so it's nice to see yours.
I need to check out the bread recipe. We have buttermilk right now, and that seems like a good way to use it. Do you have a recipe for the lemon bread? I love all things lemon!
Your smile is beautiful, makeup or no, and it's nice to see a happy face.
Jeanie, I know how happy you were to see the dear little crocus. They certainly brighten our hearts. As for your tiny little blue/purple flowers, they look like bluebells to me. Your bread looks delicious and I bet it does make wonderful toast. Love your smile, Jeanie and your 'bad hair.' Mine doesn't look that good on a good hair day. Enjoy your weekend and stay well.
ReplyDeleteVery nice post and love your beautiful smile.
ReplyDeleteYour white crocus remind me of eggs cracked open.
ReplyDeleteMike has gone out to do our shopping. We put it off as long as we could but today is the day.
I like the stay sane!
ReplyDeleteYou look lovely, no need for makeup.
And your hair looks great . . . mine is like a limp rag.
Like . . . very FLAT!
Like your flower pop ups.
I am slowly moving around the yard doing clean up
and in the process I am seeing many things popping up!
For sure, it is a cheer up!
Back to you, Stay Sane.
The beginning of a lovely garden!
ReplyDeleteLol, you are always gorgeous!
You look great! Can you get grocery delivery? I was able to get meat that way.
ReplyDeleteLove Cath
Jeanie, the crocus is a beautiful sign of spring up north where you live. There is just something amazing about those first signs. The soda bread looks so good, I should make some homemade bread, I do have time now. Food is a great comfort now, but I fear getting on the scales. I also dread seeing my real hair color, I am sure it is a mousey gray. Take care!
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful with or without makeup! I have only worn makeup one day since WFH. I wore it on a day that I had to deliver training to new employees on WebEx. Other than that, I am not making much effort! Lots of sweat pants and comfy clothes!
ReplyDeleteSpring is starting to spring here, too. I have seen some things blooming on our walks. This is our first spring in our house so it will be interesting to see what pops up around the house!!
Spring flowers are so welcome this year!
ReplyDelete