There's No Time to Get Bored

.... With Plenty to Occupy Our Time With

March 30, 2020

April will be upon us in a couple of days and with that month comes all kinds of annual routines that we for the most part can still occupy ourselves with, from the annual spring cleaning, winnowing out things, to give away, window washing, washing curtains, in some cases, wall & ceiling washing too, or painting (if you already have the paint). 

Or if you're a home owner, considering planting a garden this year, on account of the news about how food prices might sky rocket because of lack of workers and ability to get them to their final destinations on time, April is the time to start planting the cold weather crops. Those are the ones that have the indication on the backs of the seed packets saying to plant in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. That's generally 10 straight days where it doesn't drop below 0C, after the snow has melted. Considering the Weather Network's forecast for the next 2 weeks in our region it looks like we'll be able to start planting those crops around the 13th of April. But, we'll have to follow the forecast closely to see if any more days with sub-zero temperatures suddenly finds their way into the forecast. But really all you need is for the planting depth of the seeds (generally no more than 1 inch into the soil) to be workable - and you can find that out easily enough simply by using a finger or stick to see if you can move soil to that depth around easily or not. For those new to growing their own food, here's a book that might help get you started, it's in epub format for epub readers, use the "longfiles" link to download it: The Grow Your Own Food Handbook

Or if you've been meaning to fix something around the house but never had the time to do it, or if you suddenly find yourself needing to fix something, but because of the quarantine can't get anyone to come do it for you, you can always do it yourself. There are a lot of tutorials about all sorts of things on YouTube.

Or maybe you'd rather have a book that explains how to do these things using the: The Everything Fix It Book   in PDF format. If you've been having problems with major appliances since the quarantine began perhaps this book will be of help to you: DIY Guide to Installing & Maintaining Your Major Appliances  also in PDF - for both books use the "longfiles" link to download. Doing all these things ourselves isn't only a good idea when we're under quarantine, but all the time. It helps save money in the long run and means we can fix as soon as the problem occurs without having to make appointments for hours or days later for the repairman to show up. By then the entire floor could be flooded or all the food thawed up, depending on what broke and needs to be fixed. If you have the tools and ability to fix it, all you need is the know how and that's what these books provide.

Perhaps we could all use the information for making our own hand sanitizer, masks & soaps ourselves, found in this book which is in epub format and can be downloaded using the "longfiles" link:  How to Make Hand Sanitizer, Face Masks & Soap At Home

If none of those situations applies to you, because you don't have to do any of that or you aren't able to, then perhaps you'd like to learn a new hobby - just to get your eyes and focus off the screens and the news for awhile and maybe wind up with some nice things you could use yourself, or give as gifts to others.  Perhaps you already have a hobby that you've taken up years ago, or a new one you've picked up recently, that you'd like to improve on, or learn new and different techniques for, then I suggest you visit the book sites I listed elsewhere on this blog - you can find out which page that is by viewing the labels on the right hand side and clicking on the appropriate blog post. Again there's also YouTube's site (link is above) where you can perhaps see demonstrations of the new techniques you'd like to learn in your craft or see new ideas to inspire you.

Maybe you'd prefer to learn a new craft instead but being secluded you don't have anyone to teach you enough to get you started in it. Perhaps these books - all downloadable using the "longfiles" link will help get you started in these crafts, or if you're a visual learner then maybe you can try YouTube (link above) to see if they have video tutorials on the subject of your interest:

How to Use a Sewing Machine - Beginner's Manual - epub
Loom Knitting For Children Made Easy - PDF
Knitting For Beginners A-Z Guide to Have You Knitting in 3 Days - epub
Watercolour Realistic Painting Learn to Paint Step by Step - epub
Classic Origami For Beginners -epub
Art Makers: Polymer Clay For Beginners - epub
Acyrlic Artist's Bible - epub
Botanical Illustration For Beginner's a Step by Step Guide - epub
Beginner's Guide to Crochet - epub
Module Magic Creative Projects to Knit 1 Block at a Time For Beginners - PDF

Now for those environmentally friendly crafters who'd rather reuse whatever they have, and repurpose it into something else, rather than throwing it out, here's a few books on Upcycle Crafting, that might interest you. Again they're all downloadable using the "longfiles" link:

DIY Wood Pallet Projects 35 Rustic Modern Ideas - epub
DIY Rustic Modern Metal Crafts With 35 Upcycling Projects - epub
Modern Upcycling A User Friendly Guide to Inspiring & Repurposed Handicrafts For a Trendy Home - epub

Woman's Day has a whole page with all sorts of projects and activities for kids from art projects, to activities to prevent cabin fever, and even lots of different holiday crafts - as Easter is fast approaching perhaps you can get the little ones to make some Easter decorations for the house. All of those crafts and activities can be accessed from:

Art Activies For Kids

And this site has a list of 70 things to do with bored kids stuck at home: 70 Things To Do With Kids Now That We're Stuck At Home

It's Saturday! Time For Fun, & Good Food!

March 28, 2020

As our gov'ts have pretty much grounded us and we're not allowed out even on weekends, I've spent the day in my jammies and wandering the net, finding all sorts of fun & interesting things, from free epub and pdf books to fun videos and interesting articles. Like anyone else in this situation, I'm starting to go a little stir crazy, because the weather is still not good enough for planting yet. In fact we still have some snow in our yard, so I have to wait for that to melt at least, before I can go out and survey the damage the winter left, and clean it up. So since, I'm needing things to keep me occupied until then, I've been browsing the net, doing some reading, playing games on my iPad that a friend gave me. My daughter-in-law downloaded a few games for it for me including Sims Free Play and I used to love the Sims on the computer when my daughter got me hooked on it. So I've been killing a lot of time that way. But, today I decided to do something a little different by just randomly browsing the net, here and there and came up with a lot of interesting sites, some of which I'll talk about here, so others can fritter away their more lonely and bored moments too, if they wish. In any case, it'll serve at least as a back up bookmark file for me.  😉

Having talked about planting in the paragraph above, I found a link to a gardening site that might be of interest at Seed Savers How to Plan a Garden
It's an American site and so a lot of the vegetables I listed on my page about growing vegetables in SW QC is missing. Cantalope, for one doesn't seem to be there, several herbs and some other veggies aren't there either. For the most part though it seems to be pretty good, at least the basic information for beginning gardeners is there.


I was killing myself laughing watching a few funny pet videos this afternoon. I'm not sure if it's because I was laughing so hard or if it's the sound of the barks, growls, howls, meows etc that attracted Sweetie (our dachshund) to want to come and sit with me and watch too, but she sat on my lap and snuggled against my shoulder while watching some of these right along with me:

Adorable dog moments  - not only Sweetie, but my husband watched this one with me and thought they were pretty funny too.

These next 4 links are to YouTube "Funniest Dogs & Cats" videos:

Funniest Dogs & Cats Video 1
Funniest Dogs & Cats Video 2
Funniest Dogs & Cats Video 3
Funniest Dogs & Cats Video 4

Now I know that I and a lot of others are wanting to learn how to do new things with the free time we all suddenly find ourselves with, from developing current hobbies to learning new ones and cooking or baking and just learning new stuff for the sake of it (like a history buff that I know who loves learning new things about history). Or religious people wanting some religion related material to further their studies with. Or just wanting to enjoy the old classical literature and fairytales. I found sites of interest there too.

As previously posted one of the largest and oldest libraries on the internet with books in several languages dating back to the antiquities of all genres is Project Gutenberg

This site claims to have 50,000 free books, but I don't know what sorts of books those are, because my previous foray into that site left me wanting. I was looking for cookbooks and all I could find were ancient cookbooks using obscure equipment, measurements and language (like old English for example), so I don't really know if the "free" books there are worth any more than that or not, but maybe for a future excursion there when I have more time to kill, I'll mosey on over to Many Books.

The following sites have several genres of books and magazines, including novels, science, medicine, cooking, do-it-yourself, computer related, crafts, religion, and more in pdf, epub, azw3, mobi, etc . You're sure to find something of interest at one of these sites.

Ebook3000
Ebookee
Free Bookspot

Dinner Time

Dinner tonight consists of Souvlaki on Pita, but it can be served on rice if no pita or tzatziki sauce is available. It can also be skewered and grilled on the BBQ as a kebab and then served on pita or rice. Either grilling or frying the meat is acceptable. It's one of the simplest and quickest meals possible. Perfect for a lazy day. All that's required is marinating the meat cubes a couple hours beforehand and the marinade is super simple:

1-2 lbs 1 inch pork cubes - depending on desired servings - should feed 2-4 people
1/2 cup oil
1 Tbsp greek seasoning or Souvlaki seasoning
juice of 1 lemon

Combine all marinade ingredients together and then pour over meat, making sure to coat as much of it as possible. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.

To make a souvlaki on pita, you simply spoon the cooked meat into the middle of a pita bread down the center, top with chopped onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce and fold pita together to form sandwich.  Otherwise just use it with rice or oven fried potatoes (with a squeeze of lemon juice on the potatoes and/or rice), with cooked spinach for a full course meal.

If you don't have tzatziki sauce you can make your own using this recipe: Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

If you're stuck at home as we all are, and need pita bread, you can use the recipe for Peppy's Pita Bread

If you're lacking the seasoning perhaps you can making your own mix using this recipe for Greek Seasoning Blend

Or if you would prefer to try to find another seasoning blend that you can make at home, all of their homemade spice blends can be found here: Homemade Spice Blends

A few more cooking related links to try to help you make the best of the food you have on hand to make delicious meals and stretch it as far as possible, since we don't know what's happening from one minute to the next these days and how soon it'll be before we're all locked down and no one can go anywhere, and having to stretch our food we have on hand for as long as possible.

All Recipes
Delish - Recipes Party Food & How Tos
Life Made Delicious
Canadian Living Food Section
SAQ's Cocktails Recipes
Crosby's Molasses - lots of recipe booklets & recipes
Schneider's Recipes
Saputo Recipes

All the Canadian sites listed from Life Made Delicious on down, probably have a French option as well. So for French speakers who'd prefer the recipes in French, you can probably get them in French by clicking on the Fr/French option.  All Recipes and Delish are both based in the US so I don't know if they have other language options, but I'm pretty sure the others do have at least an English & French option.

Here's hoping your Saturday was just as interesting if not more than mine was! Talk to you again soon.



 

It's Crazy Out There

March 27, 2020

Oh man, I don't know if any of seniors that have visited my blog, have ventured out there into the real world lately or not, but if you have I'm sure you've remarked on how things have changed too. I haven't been out since before the pandemic was issued, because we don't normally go anywhere unless there's something we need, or some place we need to go, so that being said, this is our first day out in quite a while and what a shock!

My first stop was to the bank, to pay important bills that require tellers stamps on them, but I was unable to pay them, because the bank was shuttered - you know those metal security curtains they drop when certain areas of the bank are off limits to customers, or when there's a robbery. The tellers and manager and everyone was still there, because I was calling out from foyer area, where the ATMs are, hoping to be allowed to pay my bills (as the bank was technically supposed to be still open - in other words it wasn't closing time yet). First the manager came to the other side of the security curtain and asked what I needed and so I told her so she said a teller would be with me momentarily. She was, but on the other side of the security curtain and told me that bank would be closed like that at least until the 14th of April if not longer and for me to go to another branch, several kilometers away, except at that point there wasn't time for us to get there before that other branch closed because it was just too far away to be able to do that. So oh well....

Then our next stop was a Pharmaprix that has a post office inside because I wanted to mail some post dated cheques for bill payments and get some stamps, along with Robitussin and some 3x glasses for my husband. I went into the store wearing the disposable plastic gloves that medical people wear, and the girl there made me take them off and wash my hands in the cold water sink they had there. Then I was told I could go to the post office and pick up the medicine and glasses that I wanted, but that I couldn't touch anything at all, unless it's what  I was going to buy. So I went to the post office, and mailed the letters and got some stamps and then wandered around the store looking for the Robitussin but they didn't have any in stock and as for the glasses, they had a large selection of them but no prices on them. The price tags were all on the backsides of them, but having been told not to touch anything unless I am going to buy it, I couldn't look, but one man nearby heard me musing to myself about the prices on them, so he started looking in the back of them to tell me the prices. Yikes! $35 for a pair of glasses I could get in the dollar store if it's open (not sure if it is or not, but I think it should be as they sell food and some "hardware"), but we didn't have time to go there.

We left there and went to Rona to buy a new propane tank and get it filled, since BBQ season is fast approaching and we wanted to have some propane and weren't sure if the way things are going we'll even be able to get it later on if we don't get it now. We entered Rona and again there we had to wash our hands, my husband who was wearing the same surgical gloves I previously had on, asked the girl if he could keep them on and wash the gloves and she said yes, but because the girl in Pharmaprix made me remove mine, I wrecked mine trying to get them back on and so didn't have any at this point. So we washed our hands just to get in there and go to the cashier to ask for the filled new propane tank - for which she gave us a slip and told us to go around outside somewhere to get it. It took longer to wash our hands then the amount of time we spent in the store.

We were then going to go to Maxi's (it's the Loblaw's economy store in QC), but when we saw the line up of people outside waiting to get in we decided against that and went to Metro instead. Again we were told to wash our hands before going inside, which we did and when we finally got inside we bought everything there that we were going to buy at Maxi's (albeit at higher prices than at Maxis for sure) plus what we wanted from Metro itself.

On the way home we stopped at the mailbox and got our mail - mostly junk mail, so it shows the mailman at least is still working. So the entire economy hasn't collapsed yet, I guess.

But what a weird world out there now. Everything's so regimented and everyone's so paranoid that you're going to touch something or breath on something that you shouldn't, it's just unreal. So to you seniors who aren't allowed out (if you're in seniors residences now), count your lucky stars. It's not the way you'd remember it being even a couple of weeks ago. So I'm sure you wouldn't like it.

Since I don't plan on going back out until I have to pay those bills on Monday, I think that I'll take some time during the weekend to update the links sections and maybe add another page or two that you might find of interest. Or at least I hope.

In the meantime, don't be shy, leave a comment on here detailing your experiences, or comments of other interests, like if you found a new site you think would be of interest here, or a new recipe you want to share, or whatever suits your fancy. I'd love to hear from you, as I'm sure other visitors would too.

Getting Through This Without Going Crazy

March 23, 2020

My husband and I are getting through this by keeping busy with things that interest us and watching shows and movies of interest. He likes Mysteries of Oak Island and so we watch that and the Digging Deeper episodes as well. I like all sorts of things from cooking shows to Ancient Aliens. Plus we like watching the odd movie every now and then, too.

But from very young, even before we knew each other we each learnt as young kids to make our own amusements and entertainment and so we've just naturally done that all our lives without relying so much on TV as I made it sound above. Yes, we liked watching certain shows and movies together as a family over the years, but we also enjoyed other activities as well. I love reading and have a huge collection of books here, but I also have an iPad that a friend gave me and an ereader that my husband gave me. So besides my books I also have a largish collection of epub and pdf books for the iPad and ereader, that I've downloaded off the internet. If you have a tablet or ereader that accepts micro SD chips, you can dump a lot of books, photos, & music to those chips to use on your devices.

I also like cooking and working with food, as I mentioned previously in another post, and there are lots of sites on the internet devoted to recipes.  Just do a quick search for "recipes" and you'll be presented with enough sites to keep you busy for plenty of time to come.

I also like to make things - of all kinds, using all sorts of crafting methods and materials and learning new ones too.

I also have a vegetable garden as well, that I use to supplement our groceries with. Whatever I get out of the garden either gets consumed immediately or if not, I blanche most vegetables to freeze for later use, or preserve by making my own jams, jellies, pickles, salsas, relishes, chutneys, spreads, etc...

My husband likes to fix things - anything from broken door knobs, to computers, stoves, cars, lawn mowers and snowblowers and anything else that has a wire, a knob or an engine to it. So he's constantly finding something to work on - lately it's been trying to cobble together parts from 3 different computers to make one as mine conked out just as the crackdown on going out because of the virus happened. So he can't go to stores to find the parts he needs so he's trying to cannibalize components from 3 computers to make one for me.

But we've always been doing things like this, sometimes out of necessity - just to get by as we couldn't always afford to buy new things when the old ones broke down, or even pay for servicemen to fix them.

When our kids were living at home with us, we were even squeezed tighter for money, so a lot of what we had we made, or fixed ourselves and we stayed home as we couldn't afford to go out anywhere really. So we taught our kids to make the most of the situation, by contenting themselves with the things we had here. We taught them to cook basic meals, mend their clothes (hems and buttons and holes), take care of their rooms, help with the chores. Taught them not to waste anything and not to throw anything away that was still good. So they learnt to eat leftovers from supper the night before, for lunch today and to find a way to use the bunch of bananas that were turning black before they were no good. Or to repurpose old jeans that don't fit anymore into a chic shoulder bag and things like that. Things that perhaps will be of some interest to those stuck at home and unable to go shopping on a whim, like they used to but needs a new shoulder bag and has some old jeans lying around, that they could use. Or maybe make their own COVID19 masks: Downloadable PDF From CTV News

The thing is that the way we lived pretty much our whole lives is the way people will have to learn to live now. To not waste anything - meaning it may be awhile before you can get out to buy food or other items, so make the most of whatever food you do have and not waste it. Start by using your fresh food first, before it goes bad and find a use for it even if it's a lot (like a bunch of bananas or a litre of peaches, or a couple heads of broccoli). Well if it's things like broccoli and other vegetables (or most vegetables anyhow) to keep those from going bad, all you have to do is blanche them and then package them in portions that will be used for one meal (judge how much your family consumes in one meal and package that much in a freezer bag) and freeze. Then the next time you want broccoli for dinner just pull one bag out and use it the way you would any other frozen broccoli you'd buy in a store. Use the internet as much as you need to find recipes and information on cooking methods, so that you can make good meals with the food you have. It may take a little time and effort, but considering you can't go anywhere you have all the time in the world now. Maybe you can also involve your kids in learning to cook right along with you.

Same as learning to make and repair things. If something is broken or needs hemming, if you don't know how to do it, find out how via the internet and do it yourself - and again involve the kids so they can learn too. If you want to make something whether that's a beaded necklace, a quilt, a sweater, a computer, a chair, or whatever it is, if you don't know how to do it, look it up and learn and perhaps get the kids involved in that too, so they can learn it as well. YouTube has video tutorials on all sorts of things, so I can almost guarantee you'll find a tutorial for whatever it is you want to know how to do there.

This will be a great time to teach your kids some life skills like I've been talking about and even for you to learn a few more.

If it's getting time for haircuts and the salons have been ordered closed, find a book or video on the net, that shows how to cut hair and well, give it a shot. It's not as though you're going to any fashion shows any time soon, so if you botch it up the first time, it'll grow back and maybe the next time, you'll do a better job at it. Here's a site that shows you via video tutorials 10 ways to cut your own hair - for women: 10 Ways To Cut Your Own Hair

Don't forget to treat yourselves well. Enjoy your nice warm bubble baths, intimate time with your partner. Make a special date night dinner once a week and do something romantic together while giving the kids their own night of whatever they like - whether that's pizza and movies or video games or whatever. Then also have a family night where everyone gets together and does something everyone enjoys doing - whether that's playing cards or board games 17 Board Games For Adults or watching movies and munching on popcorn or whatever. It doesn't mean because you're couped up at home and can't go anywhere that you can't still have fun together as a couple and a family.

The thing is that all of us will have to be mostly self-sufficient and self-reliant and try our best to get by with what we already have on hand or that we can make, or grow, or repair, as we won't be able to go out to buy parts, or new anythings until this is over with. So if your lives are anything like ours, you won't have time to lose your minds as you'll be too busy with other things going on around you.

Cooking Up a Storm

My Lasagna

March 21, 2020

Today we broke the rules and had our son & his wife over for dinner. I know, I know, we weren't supposed to do that. But, I also know that life is short and anyone of us can go at anytime whether it's this virus that gets us, a bolt of lightening or we get hit by a bus crossing the street and we wanted to see our son, just because. Because we care about him and his wife and we love them and because our daughter who we also loved (and still do) is no longer with us and in these days of COVID 19 we just never know, so I'd rather "live dangerously" (if seeing your son & his wife is considered living dangerously), or not at all. We've been confined to the house pretty much the entire time since Legault issued directives for the seniors to stay home, except one day when I had to get prescriptions filled and some food. Otherwise we haven't even gone to our mailbox to see what bills await us there yet. So, I made a lasagna, with things we had on hand. Mostly canned goods used in the sauce, 3 cheeses and noodles. Since it uses mostly canned goods and boxed lasagna noodles, it may be of benefit to those who wish to stretch their fresh vegetables and use some of the canned goods now, rather than getting stuck eating only canned goods later on.

Sauce Ingredients:

2 lbs fried ground beef (and drained)

1 onion coarsely chopped

1 green pepper coarsely chopped

1 can of mushrooms (drained)

3 cloves of garlic finely minced

1 large can whole tomatoes (drained)

1 large can chopped tomatoes (drained)

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1 Tbs dried oregano

1/2 Tbs powdered garlic

For Assembly

1 kg. grated mozzarella

1 500 mg container cottage cheese

Parmesan cheese

12-13 lasagna noodles

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a large dutch oven on high heat and stir to prevent sticking, until it starts to gently boil, then turn it down to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and burning, for 1.5 hours to 2 hours. Meanwhile in another large dutch oven fill 2/3rds full with water and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling add noodles one at a time and stir constantly until the water comes back to boiling again, then turn it down to medium high and continue cooking for 20 minutes or until the noodles are done (they'll turn white when they're done). Remove the noodles from the heat and immediately drain into a collender, and run cold water over them. Put them back into the dutch oven with cold water to keep them from drying out and sticking together. When the sauce is cooked remove that from the heat and start assembling the lasagna in a lasagna pan, by slathering the bottom of the pan with sauce and then lay a layer of noodles (to completely cover the pan) followed by spreading some of the cottage cheese on the noodles (use judiciously as the cottage cheese probably won't be enough to completely cover the noodles on all the layers, so a little on the noodles on the bottom layer, a little on the middle layer which will leave you with a little for the top layer). Followed by mozzarella - be as generous as you like, because 2 kgs of shredded mozzarella is a lot so you should have enough and still have left overs, and then sprinkle some parmesan cheese over the layer. Repeat starting with the sauce, followed by the noodles and then the cheeses, until you either run out of pan space or ingredients. Then bake for 45 minutes at 350 in the oven.  When done remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Adding a 1/2 cup heavy cooking cream & 1 Tbsp butter to every 2 cups of this sauce makes a deliciously smooth and creamy pasta sauce suitable for use on everything from ravioli to spaghetti.

I'm sorry I don't know the exact measurements of the cans used in this because once I opened them I tossed them in the blue box. But I'm sure most Canadians who's ever been in a grocery store in Canada will know what size I'm talking about as they'll have seen them many a time on shelves in the stores themselves.

Because I love cooking and working with food, just for the fun of it, after our son left tonight I went to Allrecipes.com and I was going to look for Asian Food recipes but when I got there I was stunned to find a section just for Quarantine cooking. They have recipes on how to make your own (like basic goods like bisquick, and other ingredients you may need but don't have on hand), recipes made entirely from canned goods, or frozen vegetables and the like.  For more quarantine cooking help and recipes (oh yeah talking about help - they also show how to do various cooking techniques etc as well so that if you've never really spent a lot of time in the kitchen before now, you'll at least get an idea on how to do certain things). Anyhow, this is the link to that page of that site: All Recipes Quarantine Cooking Page

Vegetable Gardening in SW Quebec - & Agricultural Zones 5 & 5A

A list of crops that can endure until autumn in SW QC  - As per a request from a friend.

I am by no means a genius when it comes to gardening, and I'm a weak, old, pathetic woman that hates bending and heat and weeds and just a plain old lazy gardener, who does it more out of necessity than enjoyment.  Although I've persisted over the years, trying different vegetables and different methods of gardening.  I've finally settled on the laziest methods I could find that is using a weed block mat covering for my entire garden and trying to find perennials that will grow in our zone and our soil conditions. I haven't yet found enough perennials to even fill my garden let alone our freezer or pantry, so I'm still hunting for more.  So far the perennials that I've come up with that are supposed to grow here are:

Perennials:

• Raspberries
• Mint
• Blueberries
• Rhubarb
• Kale
• Certain kinds of lettuce (mostly the leaf lettuce which is harvested by leaf, and the plant itself is left there to go to seed).
• Asparagus
• Apples
• Mustard
• Various herbs like Parsley, Dill, Fennel
• Arugula
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Onions 
• Winter Spinach aka Morning Glory (used in Asian cooking) - grows as a weed here.
• Dandelions - I don't even have to try to grow those they just grow all over the place by themselves. Make sure no dogs leak on them though. Perhaps wash them a bit before use. - They make excellent wine, jelly & salads and are great diuretics. 

Cultivatable Crops in SW QC in Cold Temperatures - as per my own experience

If anyone in the region knows of other crops that grows well in this zone in cold temperatures, please let me know and I'll add them into the list here.  People in other areas of the country and agriculture zones please post in the comments the crops you're able to grow there under similar conditions. This is all in an effort to help everyone out who may be facing exorbitant prices for vegetables in the upcoming year, considering the actions being taken by the gov't to curb the spread of COVID-19. So we may well have to rely on ourselves in order to feed ourselves. So anyone anywhere in the country is allowed to post in the comments whatever information they can provide for people in their area and it will be welcome and added to the list for that particular area and agriculture zone. 

The first thing to know is that most crops rated for agriculture zones 5 & 5A through to 3 & 4 will probably grow in the region. Most seed packets list the agriculture zones they're good for. Second a lot of crops like tomatoes etc, require a longer growing season than we have here and if grown from seed will need to be started indoors several weeks before the last frost (usually around May 21st - Victoria Day or whatever they renamed that holiday here in QC - anyhow the long weekend near that date).  All seeds that says you can plant as soon as the soil can be worked (meaning when you've had at least 10 straight days & nights above 0C) can be planted then. Most of those crops are cold weather crops, meaning they'll survive mild frosts and even a light dusting of snow if it melts within a reasonable time. Thus, they will still be viable crops under the same conditions in autumn.  So  things like: 

Crops able to withstand frost & cold

• Carrots
• Beets
• Kale
• Mustard
• Swiss Chard
• Broccoli & Broccolini
• Cauliflower
• Turnip - Rutabaga
• Collard Greens
• Squashes of various kinds
• Pumpkin
• Apples
• Raspberries
• Cabbage
• Kohl Rabi
• Onions
• Potatoes 
• Parsnip
• Arugula

 Summer Crops

Most other vegetables like cucumbers, corn, spinach, beans, peas, zucchini (summer squash), tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, radishes, cantalope, etc have to be planted after the last frost date as noted above - May 21st holiday weekend and harvested before the first frost in autumn. I generally buy small tomato & pepper plants to plant in my garden as I have not had luck growing them from seed in the house.

Biding My Time

March 20, 2020

Now that the weatherman said the spring equinox occurred yesterday, I've been sitting here contemplating my garden.  Looking at the weather forecasts for the next 2 weeks on The Weather Network's site, trying to figure out when I'll be able to start planting my veggies that don't mind cold weather and even a bit of frost. Considering what some farmers have been telling news stations in the area, that if the border bans are in place too much longer they may not be able to get their temporary farm help, which may cause the cost of vegetables to rise by as much as 50 - 100%. So if that's the case, we'll need all the vegetables we can grow ourselves. We're lucky that we have our own yard in which to grow some. Other seniors who may not be so lucky, may be able to acquire a community plot nearby where you live in order to defray the costs of food, if what the local farmers said proves to be.

In the meantime until it's nice enough to go out and start planting, I'm trying to find other things to occupy my time with and as I like making things, all sorts of things, I was thinking of maybe taking up a new craft and visited Pinterest's site, and got sucked in there for longer than I wish to admit, wandering around the site looking at all the great ideas and links and then I wandered over FaveCrafts site, and found some ideas of interest there as well. As I've always been an avid reader I've had this bookmark to  Project Gutenberg's site, and so paid a visit to them as well, browsing the new books in their library to see if there was anything new & interesting there to read to kill time.

If anyone else knows of any sites of interest to teach us something, like new skills, or hobbies, or just to help pass the time, please feel free to inform the rest of us in the comments section below.

Links of Interest - A Back History on the Virus

Links of Interest:

On this page I hope to provide links that may be of interest to you, such as articles, videos, and editorials that may have some back history to this disease or other ideas about it. I'm not saying I believe or endorse them all or even any of them. But those that seem to be substantiated with documented proof and facts, I'll lend more credence to than those just generated out of thin air (which I will TRY my utmost to not post here). I like to verify and substantiate things as much as possible for my own edification. So, I'm posting some links here that as far as I've been able to research do have credence to them - enough so that the facts outweigh the falsities, in my opinion. If any visitors perusing this section knows of other such information please feel free to inform me of it or if you know of any verifiable information that would prove what I've believed to be fact, false then by all means let me know that too. After all I at least am on the hunt for the truth behind this virus. I do have several theories in mind, but as I don't know for sure, I can't post them. I can only post links to the information I've found on it and you can take it from there for yourselves:

US CDC Director Admits COVID-19 Deaths Misdiagnosed For Months -- I had what sounds very much like this virus back in January of this year, and I live in Quebec and have never left the province to go anywhere. If anyone else in Canada also had what sounds like the symptoms being described for this virus earlier than January 21st (when the Chinese gov't alerted the world to it) and also didn't travel outside the country, I'd love for you to leave a comment describing your ordeal and when exactly you experienced it, in the comments section.

Corona Virus & The Owellian State - YouTube Video - Provides some back histoy into what was going on in China shortly before the outbreak and most importantly the back history of Tedros the head of the WHO (one of the reasons I did not include a link to their site on front page).

Scientific Focus is currently reporting that the people with blood type A is more susceptible to the virus than those with blood type O.

Zerohedge is reporting that a legal analyst for MSNBC is advocating that Trump  be investigated for negligent homicide and manslaughter due to his handling of the corona virus situation. Personally I think Trudeau and his gang should also be investigated for the same things and reason.

Zerohedge is also querying whether the Fed in the US purposely tried to crash the stock market, in this article.

Event 201 A pandemic exercise in October 2019 hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with WEF, using a coronavirus as the virus in this "exercise". Leading me to wonder if this whole thing wasn't planned in advance by these 2 parties. Parties who have the most to gain by causing something like this globablly. Considering the Gates foundation wants to vaccinate everyone on the planet for everything and the WEF are made up of the elite of the elite who have a multitude of purposes, but mostly to control the economy and stock markets and said to have other nefarious goals.

CTV News is reporting on the Canadians stuck abroad and them begging the government to help them get back home.  Now, I don't know about anyone else out there, I hope they do help them free of charge, considering they had no problems importing several thousand Syrian refugees at $10,000 each and as far as I know they never made them pay the government back for that. So Canadian citizens should be treated equally and as fairly as that, in my estimation.

Updated April 2, 2020

F - In a Recent Simulation Coronavirus Killed 65 Million People This details the simulation run at Event 201 held by the Gates Foundation and the WEF in October 2019 (just a few weeks before COVID19 starting spreading).

CTV News Report about China exonerating the Chinese Doctor Reprimanded for Warning the World about the Coronavirus Outbreak in Wuhan.

Feds Miss Chance to Test Universal Basic Income For All Canadians This article's original title was: COVID-19 Crisis Is Opportunity To Test A Basic Income For All Canadians, but has since been renamed. Makes you wonder what was planned and why and why they changed their minds and scrapped it.

I'm a Doctor the U.S. Response to Coronavirus Has Been Nothing Short of Criminal I have to say I agree. I was a nurse and I think the whole echelon from the WHO right on down to not only the US, & several other countries, but Canada as well, has been nothing short of criminal in their handling of this pandemic. And if there are any survivors in the aftermath, I think Tedros, and all the country leaders that let this happen to their citizens should all be charged with and held on crimes against humanity because it's nothing short of negligent homicide and manslaughter (at the very least if not genocide).  And, if what is being said and thought about it being planned is true, those who planned and carried the plans out by releasing the virus, should also be rooted out and held. 

WHO Warns Health Systems Are Collapsing Under Coronavirus I find that rather hypocritical, considering it was the WHO's own weak warning is partially to blame for where we find ourselves and our health systems now. Their warnings in the beginning were no where near as strong or dire as they should've been. They just consistently said it was nothing to worry about and to wash your hands and you'll be alright, instead of saying, it's coming and you either better close your borders to all foreigners now, or prepare for it's arrival any way you can. Because after-all it is the WHO's job to alert the world to things like this.

Quantifying the Coming Recession This article is calling what is coming a "recession", though I would be surprised if that's all it is. Somehow, I do believe that whatever it will be called was planned, and this virus was a vehicle in which to usher that in, by forcing everyone into quarantine around the world. Ensuring people lost their jobs and businesses were forced to close and or go bankrupt.

Goldman sees unprecedented stop in economic activity, with 2nd quarter GDP contracting 24%
Forgive me, if I'm wrong, but aren't those  depression figures? I know my parents who lived through the depression told me that double digit contraction and unemployment figures signalled a depression and not merely a recession.

UK Plans to Buy Antibody Tests Which May Be a Game Changer that's for sure. In more ways than just the ways mentionned in the article here. Antibodies can be harvested from those who have them, via blood donations, to give to medical workers to provide immunity to them, and to patients who need a boost to help them fight it off.

Best & Worse Case Outcomes Projections of what the best and worse case scenarios might look like in the end. And....Why This Nobel Laureate Predicts a Quicker Recovery

Tylenol, soup and the internet can treat most symptoms of COVID-19 (whether you have it or not)  As I believe I already had it, back in early January of this year and as I felt like my lungs were filling with fluid, I took Robitussin along with the Tylenol to try to beat it and I was better within 3 days of falling ill. As I took the Robitussin as soon as I recognized the fluid in the lungs feeling (felt like they were filling with water like as if I was drowning), and the medicine started to work, the drowning feeling went away and I was left only with a vicious nasty cough, that felt like I was going to cough my lungs out onto the floor. Robitussin is an expectorant that relieves chest congestion, so that probably helped a lot since I took it as soon as it started. I'm not recommending that anyone rely solely on Robitussin and Tylenol if they've got this virus though. If you do try to self medicate using Robitussin and it doesn't work, don't wait for it to get worse, because it could be quite detrimental to the outcome, so seek medical help immediately. This aspect of it, is the reason it's so bad, as it can get quite bad, quite quickly and it's akin to drowning and that's exactly what will happen to you if you don't seek prompt medical attention. But back in early January when I got it, so far as I was aware it was just a flu, we didn't even know about this virus' existence. So I believe it was around much longer than the authorities are making out - especially considering the head director of the CDC testified to Congress in Mid March, that they've been covering COVID19 deaths up for months in the United States - which borders on Canada. So it's no stretch of the imagination to think that if was there for months it's been in Canada equally as long, given the amount of cross border traffic our countries share each day.

IMF outlines pros and cons of Central Bank Digital Currency  I'm wondering if what's been going on with the governments around the world trying to crash their own economies by forcing everyone to stay home, doesn't have something to do with this - as in forcing a new one world digital currency on us?  I know maybe it's just me and my suspicious nature, but I'm wondering why all of sudden they talk about it in the media now? Is it because they're hoping it'll go unnoticed because everyone's focus will be on the virus or what? Especially considering their other concern stating, IMF warns coronavirus recession could be worse than 2009.

As I mentionned above, I believe I had this virus in early January and the CDC director admitted that they've been covering up coronavirus deaths for months, Italian scientists investigate possible earlier emergence of coronavirus as well.

Like I said, Blood from cured coronavirus patients could help treat infection. Which I think should be done as soon as possible to prevent more deaths from occurring. Test the entire population to see who's got the antibodies they're doing in this story Why coronavirus antibody testing in one Colorado town could provide a way forward and then ask them to donate blood for this purpose. The sooner we can get everyone to build an immunity against it, the sooner life can return to normal, because waiting 18 months for some people is just not an option.

8 strains of the coronavirus are circling the globe. Here's what clues they're giving scientists.

Dismantling democracy? Virus used as excuse to quell dissent. Is this one of the reasons everyone's being forced into their homes and told to stay there on pain of fine or imprisonment? Is that because the governments have something rather distasteful that they want to try to foist off on us in the near future and so they're making sure we're terrified of going outside - either we'll die from contracting the virus, get fined or wind up in prison? No seriously folks, this is no joke and no conspiracy theory either. But there has to be way way more going on than just a virus here.

Now it appears that a year before the outbreak occurred Suspected SARS virus and flu samples found in luggage: FBI report describes China's 'biosecurity risk'. So you seriously have to wonder now if it didn't start simultaneously in the US & China, with someone's help.

Opening Statements About This Blog & Links of Relevance

Introduction & Welcome to All

March 17, 2020

As a Canadian senior citizen, who's trying their best to cope with the new norms imposed on us by our gov'ts because of COVID-19, I decided to start a blog detailing my efforts at first finding and understanding the information I've come across, via various means. Posting relevant excerpts of the various articles here as a means of enlightening those who visit and as a means for me to keep track of all the various loop-de-loops posted by various factions of the gov't and scientific/health communities.

I also wish to have a running dialog with and between those who may visit, who may post about their own experiences, or information they've acquired. Various tips and tricks on all sorts of things, from how and where to find certain items at reasonable prices, maybe how to save on the cost of various foods by posting recipes to stretch food, or for favourite restaurant meals we may not be able to indulge in, and therefore miss, if we can't make our own, for the unforeseen future. Or how to repair or make things (out of necessity - or boredom - whichever strikes your fancy), or any ideas on how to make life more amenable and enjoyable for us shut-ins. Who may wind up being shut-in for an extended period. It's a blog for all Canadian seniors who are being told to stay home and stay in, to connect with each other, provide, information, solace, support and ideas to better our shut-in lives.  That is what I hope for this blog to do.

Anyone is welcome, and all are invited to share whatever ideas, information, support & solace to each other here. Just treat each other with the same respect you'd wish to be accorded, and watch your language. No spamming or phishing will be tolerated.

For now the place isn't very pretty with very much information or links on it, but as time goes by, I hope to improve on that, with your help too of course. If you have any links you think would be of interest to other senior Canadians,that might be of benefit to help them get through this trying time, like local organizations that will help them get groceries and medications & other necessities to them, or organizations that provide specialized help for shut-in seniors, or other that you think might be of interest to shut in seniors (even links to provide some levity, entertainment or how-tos, to lighten moods and pass the time) please post them in the comments section and I'll add them in under the following:

Links of Relevance:

Canadian Government's COVID-19 Page 


Alberta Government's COVID-19 Page 

British Columbia Government's COVID-19 Page 

Manitoba Government's COVID-19 Page 


Nova Scotia Government's COVID-19 Page 

Ontario Government's COVID-19 Page
 
Quebec Government's COVID-19 Site

Metis National Council`s Message On COVID19 

Articles of Relevance

The links listed in this section will probably remain of relevance to us for as long as this outbreak persists, as they are basically articles about facts relating to health, safety, laws, that we ought to be aware of: 

Psychology Works, Coping with & Preventing COVID - 19 

How People 65 & Over Can do More to Protect Themselves 

Corona Virus in Canada And How to Get Tested 

Can You Take Ibuprofen if You Have COVID 19?

Millenials at Higher Risk - for those of us with family members in that age group

Canadian Gov'ts $82 Billion Aid Package - sadly there's nothing in it for seniors who are to be confined the longest at home by gov't orders. 


Updated April 3, 2020

 
Coronavirus`Looming Psychological Crisis which is what I think we`re starting to see now.

A list of known scams related to COVID-19, from Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre this was published on March 19th, so I imagine there`s probably more scams than listed here. Just be very wary and cautious of deals and claims being made out there these days. 

How Long Will Coronavirus Live on Surfaces or in the Air Around You? There are many different figures floating around out there but the bottom line is, you can never be too safe, so use an abundance of caution (because if the authorities have proven anything since this virus started making the rounds is that they have no freaking clue about what they`re talking about as they`ve been wrong on just about everything to do with it). So if wiping things down with disinfectant eases your mind then by all means do it, if you won`t be sticking whatever you wiped down directly into your mouth afterwards. Using it on fresh food isn`t a good idea though. On the outside packaging yes, but not directly on the food itself.

Scientists identify 69 drugs to test against the coronavirus So there is some hope, along with using antibodies from those who`ve already had it, to help fight it, in the meantime. 

Coronavirus Traces Lingered in Vacated Cruise Cabins for 17 Days This is precisely what I meant when I said there are many different figures floating around and that no one seems to know for sure.

Experts weigh in on best handling of groceries during COVID-19 pandemic

These Common Household Products Can Destroy the Novel Coronavirus 
These are probably your best bet for disinfecting areas in your home. Thorough and frequent cleaning to keep the virus to a minimum (if someone in your home has the virus) is probably your best defense.

Experts weigh in on COVID-19 questions about groceries, food delivery, takeout as we all need to eat, we should heed the advice given here. Remember the authorities thus far have been rather lax on their advice given. So whatever is recommended here is probably the bare minimum that you should do.

How to protect yourself and others from infection as COVID-19 cases increase. This is just a rehash of everything they`ve been saying about how to self-isolate and how to protect yourself - you know the useless ``wash your hands`` mantra that they`ve been chanting forever, which is utterly ridiculous considering it`s a respiratory disease and not a hand disease. The thing with respiratory diseases you usually catch them by breathing droplets in the air in, from the aerosol spray of them in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. Yes, they`ll eventually settle and land on some surface that you may touch, but you`re more apt to breath them in directly than touch them. So hand washing won`t protect nearly as much as wearing a mask will, which is what you should`ve been doing since the beginning of this outbreak.

Canada Post is changing its services: Six things you need to know. If you`re still ordering things online, and relying on Canada Post for delivery of those items, or doing like me and paying bills by sending cheques in the mail (because the banks have made it so damned inconvenient and hard to use), then perhaps you should be aware of these changes.

Considerations in the use of homemade masks to protect against COVID-19. While what they are saying here, may be true, if I had nothing to protect myself with, I would still rather take my chances with a homemade mask rather than nothing, while knowing that it may not be 100% secure. But nor are the N95 masks either. They`re only 95% effective. If you want one that`s 100% effective you can get P100 masks at places like Rona, or other hardware stores. One set of filters (that comes with the mask) is good for 40 hours, after that you should have replacement filters - also available at Rona and other similar type hardware stores. The mask and 1 set of filters will probably run you about $60 plus tax.  But it`s good for as long as you can keep buying filter replacements.   But if you`re wearing nothing you know without a doubt that you`ll be exposed to 100% of whatever is in the air. So even with a homemade mask that even only protects by 50% or even say 10% it`s still that much less exposure I would have to airborne viruses than if I had nothing at all.

Canada Free Press A legitimate source of information, that the mainstream media wishes you didn`t know about. They currently have many many eye-opening articles about COVID19 in there, worth your read.

Emergency benefits: What each province is offering during the COVID-19 pandemic

8 strains of the coronavirus are circling the globe. Here's what clues they're giving scientists. This was actually a very interesting article.

Coronavirus could travel 27 feet, stay in air for hours: MIT researcher This is precisely why masks are so important, no matter their protection values, even a little protection is better than none at all.

Diabetes, lung and heart disease common in U.S. coronavirus patients -CDC, so those people, no matter their age, needs to take extra precautions to protect themselves.

AI tool predicts which coronavirus patients get deadly 'wet lung', now this ``wet lung`` term jolted me upright when I saw it, because even as a nurse I never saw this term used before, but it is very appropriate to describe what I had back at the beginning of January. I thought I would drown in bed in my sleep if I didn`t get up and get an expectorant or something to relieve the congestion on my lungs, because it felt like fluid was accumulating in them. I`ve had a lot of illnesses with a lot of different symptoms in my life, but never anything like that before where I felt I`d drown on dry land in a dry bed. Since that seems to be a telltale marker for that virus, I can say with certainty now, that I already had this in the first week of January, and I never went anywhere near Wuhan China. In fact I live in a rural area of Quebec and haven`t left the province for more than 2 years and when I did it was to go to other parts of Canada, but still nowhere near China.

COVID-19 in Canada: This is a very, very long article, which is basically a running chronology of all the cases in Canada from the beginning up to the current moment, with all the pronouncements made by the government in that time frame as well. So essentially an itemized history of the progression of the disease and whatever attempts and measures the government has taken to try to stop it (or help it spread more - that`s what I think but then again, I can be rather cynical at times).

Coronavirus can spread one to three days before symptoms appear: CDC study Okay it`s normal that a person can spread a disease before symptoms appear, that`s during the incubation period, so this isn`t unusual. What is unusual is the short time that it does before symptoms appear. Normally if the incubation period (from the time of exposure to the disease until symptoms appear) is 7-10 days the person is contagious for that amount of time too and during the time they`re symptomatic - in most contagious viral infections. What seems to be weird for this virus is that the patient is still contagious after they recover, because in most other viral contagions they`re not.

Links to Local Organizations & Charities Who Are Willing to Provide Help to Seniors During this Crisis:

 I am listing a couple links to organizations that I know about who are providing help in their local areas, to seniors, here. I do not know of any other such organizations for the moment, but as soon as I'm aware of them, or if visitors know of any, please feel free to leave a comment with their contact info and I will gladly post it in this section. 

Caremongering PEI - Facebook Page

How Can I Help COVID 19 Toronto FaceBook Page

For those suffering anxiety, stress, depression, or other difficulties dealing with this crisis, in the Montreal region you may contact Tel Aide at 514-935-1101 or on their website at: Tel Aide

For shut-ins who would rather deal with anxiety, stress, and physical inactivity issues via yoga, there's a bilingual (French & English) woman who has COVID19 Yoga classes online at YouTube at: Veronique Pierre COVID19 Yoga Classes 

For seniors raising grandchildren who are currently out of school at the moment, the English School Board of Montreal has opened an online educational portal here: EMSB School Portal
The Quebec gov't has also opened one in both English & French and it's accessible here: Quebec Gov'ts Open School Portal

Coping with COVID-19: Managing Stress and Anxiety Some very very good information and advice for seniors trying to manage their COVID19 related stress and anxiety from HealthinAging.org


Vintage Fitness For Ages 50+ based in Toronto, that has an in home personal trainer service - which is on hiatus during the COVID19 pandemic, but they do have free online fitness courses, that you can avail yourself of at their site.

Bounce Back Ontario Offers a free skill building program online to help you learn coping techniques to deal with stress and anxiety and other mental health issues.

Links to Information of Other Types

Top 5 Immunity Boosters - Foods and herbs that provides a boost to our immune systems.

How to Get a Full Body Workout at Home Without Hitting the Gym

Natural House Cleaning Complete with 6 useful recipes, which may come in handy if we`re quarantined so long we run out of the commercial products we bought pre quarantine era. Or you might just like to use them because of them being non-toxic and better for the environment.