Showing posts with label Food Waste. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food Waste. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2020

In Memory of....

Darcy Our Daughter's Dog

June 10, 2020

No he didn't die from the coronavirus and in fact he had nothing to do with the coronavirus. I just wanted to make this posting in memory of him, since we had to put him down today due to his feeble condition. He was between 18 & 20 years old (people years), we're not entirely sure which because when our daughter came home to die in September 2012, she brought him with her and asked us to look after him after she was gone. I tried to find out his exact age from her (for health reasons - as vets usually ask how old the animal they're treating is, so it's usually best that you know for sure), but she said she wasn't sure (she couldn't remember when she got him) but somewhere between 10 & 12 years old then. So pretty near 8 years on, he should've been between 18 & 20 years old. 

He was a good old guy though, he was very protective of our baby dachshund we brought home a few years ago, he treated her like as if she was his own puppy, after the death of our other dachshund (who he was more or less civilized with - they were both non-neutered males) and very good when left alone or with the other dogs in the house. Though he was very deaf (you practically had to stand on top of him and scream for him to hear you), and very weak and feeble, who recently took a few tumbles down the stairs - so that couldn't have helped his fragile condition much. 

Anyhow we figured it was time for him to go give our daughter in heaven our love and to join her for companionship, because if he stuck around much longer he would fall off of something and seriously injure himself and (as per our life experiences, that usually happens when everything that would be of assistance is closed - like in the middle of the night or on holidays) he'd be spending several hours suffering in severe pain needlessly. So before that happened - as it was bound to, we decided the best thing to do would be to put him down before he wound up having to suffer something like that. It's only been 3 hours since he was put down, but I miss him already.....


Now on with the purpose of this blog.... COVID19 ....

God and the Pandemic  is an epub downloadable from the longfiles link.... Combining the themes of COVID and heaven to start....

There Is No Outside another epub downloadable from the longfiles link, related to COVID19 with dispatches from around the world detailing experiences and events and other information related to it.

New Scientist - May 30, 2020 a PDF Science magazine, with lots of COVID & lockdown content that might be of interest, downloadable at the longfiles link as well.

Coronavirus hospitalizations rise sharply in several states following Memorial Day So imagine what's ahead following the rallies and riots the world has experienced in the past couple of weeks, then.




More Food Shortages Loom With Outbreaks at 60 U.S Plants  There was a news story on TV tonight about potato farmers having a hard time and having to give a lot of their crops to food banks because they can't sell it, because restaurants used to buy the bulk of their crops and they're closed. I was sitting there thinking well why the F don't you lower the prices on the potatoes in the grocery stores? Because you'd think if they are having a hard time selling them that getting less money on them is better than getting no money on them (like they're doing if they plow them under or give them away). Because I know the potatoes in the stores around here are the same price they were before the pandemic started. In other words the prices didn't increase nor did they decrease. So usually if you want people to buy more of something you decrease the price and they might.  I know I'd buy more potatoes than I do, if they were cheaper, because we are big consumers of them. I make all kinds of different potato dishes for supper everything from plain old boiled to hasselbacks or poutine or even scalloped potatoes. So sometimes price has a lot to do with it too. Speaking of which for those who are having a hard time affording food and not wanting to waste any of it, I found this book that might interest you:  The No-Waste Vegetable Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Whole Plant Cooking it's a PDF downloadable at the longfiles link that provides recipes for using every bit of the vegetable so there's no waste and which means it provides for a larger quantity of food than you'd otherwise get if you used only the conventional bits of the plant, stretching the available food to make it go further.

Lawsuit Accuses Nation’s Top Meatpackers Of Conspiring To Boost The Price Of Beef  More causes of concern regarding food poverty. It's not enough that people have lost their jobs and can barely afford the regular food prices as they already are, they have to conspire to boost them even more? Nothing like greedy guts CEOs who have cushy salaries and can afford even the choicest most  expensive cut of meat anyday and everyday, conspiring to cause the unemployed to go without because they can't even afford the offal and soup bones that normally goes for next to nothing.  Things like this going on in the US might've contributed to that outpouring of rage en masse that we witnessed recently and just the whole scene from being couped up to job losses and all those related stresses to things like this where the rich are conspiring against the newly unemployed and soon to be poor to gouge them to death for basic things like food. It's a wonder there's any buildings left standing and they haven't all been razed to the ground. People can take only so much, before they start pushing back and I think we've pretty well witnessed just how much that is, but if companies continue like this and the gov't continues to let them operate like this, we might see more of that pent up rage released. 

While Coronavirus Case Rate Slows in Some Areas, Others Accelerate  Even in India the rate of transmission is uneven like here in North America.


Texas reports two consecutive days of record coronavirus hospitalizations weeks after reopening Probably has a lot to do with recent holidays and events going on there.


Masks to be compulsory in Spain until virus 'permanently' defeated: Health Minister And what happens if it's never permanently defeated? Because most masks are useless as per various studies. The only ones proven to be of any use are N95 and P100 masks. All the other masks are like placebos, they only make you think they're protecting you and others.

Orange County Health Officer Nichole Quick Resigns After Facing Threats For Issuing Face Mask Order  Here's one area of the world anyhow that doesn't like the order to wear face masks. Maybe other areas will pop up here and there and make it near impossible to mandate mandatory face masks. Or let's hope so anyhow, as it's just pure nonsense making someone wear something just to pretend they're protecting something or someone. It's not only super stupid to continue with that charade, but after awhile it'll get to be super expensive too considering the amount of masks that will have to be purchased over time. For those who are already struggling to make ends meet that just makes life that much more expensive and difficult for them.


Coronavirus daily death toll may fall to zero by July, say scientists That's in the UK. I wouldn't get my hopes up, thinking it's here in Canada too or world wide, because I doubt it is.


Canada-U.S. border closure to be extended beyond June 21, sources say Good! The Canadian border shouldn't only be closed to the US beyond June 21 though, the Canadian border should be closed to all international travellers beyond June 21.



Canadian Paediatric Society calls on education ministries to allow graduations  Hopefully, they'll be better thought out and planned and much nicer than the stupid sidewalk graduation they had on the south shore of Montreal the other day. When I saw that, I almost wanted to cry, thinking to myself what a stupid sham to try to foist off on the kids that worked so hard and looked forward to this for the longest time and to try to even pretend that was a ceremony was the height of idiocy and stupidity if I ever saw it. Poor kids, I'm sure they all expected at least a little bit more than that.  I mean gawd what's wrong with those lazy imbeciles that pass for teachers and principals now-a-days anyhow? 

All schools have large fields that they use for their athletics and sports teams and it is summer time. So why oh why couldn't the lazy idiots that masquerades as "caring" teachers have carried some of those auditorium grey folding chairs out onto the field and spaced them 6 feet apart from each other and put a podium with a mic out in front of the chairs with a cloth spread on the ground in front of it, where the diplomas & awards are laid out in alphabetical fashion, that the grad receiving them could walk in front of and bend down and pick theirs up off the cloth without touching anyone else's? And still had a proper ceremony except for that? I mean gawd almighty has this disease eaten everyone's brain cells too? Okay the prom might be a bit much to pull off, but the convocation ceremonies shouldn't be that freaking hard for anyone with a brain cell in their heads and a will to do something half way decent rather than the stupid sidewalk presentation.... It put me a mind of street walkers getting their walking papers from their pimps or something....  I mean.... what else can I say?


‘Days of Our Lives’ Star Judi Evans Hospitalized With COVID-19 I have no idea who she is, but I'm sure several people do, as that seems to be a long long long running TV show (I recognize the title from my youth when my mother & her friend used to be watching it when I came in from school). So for her fans, here's her COVID story.


Alberta leads Western Canada in using Ottawa's financial help, federal minister says  Considering the oil fields got a massive hit from all sides even prior to this pandemic and then the lockdown that caused everyone to stop driving which made the oil prices plummet and the tourist industry being shut down because of border closures and then the meat packing business being hit hard with COVID... They're batting 3 out of 3 since those are the 3 main industries they rely on for an economy, oil, tourist and meat/agriculture.  So it's little wonder they need the financial help. 

Quebec premier apologizes as province surpasses 5,000 COVID-19 deaths That's something I've yet to hear Tam or Haggydo do, is apologize for the mass genocide they caused.  At least Legault apologized for his part in it, but even still he & Doug Ford were the first & only people in any form of power in ALL of Canada to act to curtail this virus. If it were left up to Tam, Haggydo, Trudeau and all the other premiers in Canada our borders would probably still be wide open & we'd still only be told to wash our hands and we'll be fine, because they did absolutely nothing to prevent this disease from entering our country or to curtail it at all until Ford and Legault took action. If it weren't for those 2 we'd be in worse shape than we're in, that's for sure. So of all the politicians and people in power in this country Ford and Legault are the 2 that have the least to apologize for, while the ones who allowed this mass genocide to happen has yet to utter a word of contrition or ask for forgiveness or anything else of the sort.

Coronavirus outbreak: Does Trudeau plan to release a fiscal update before Labour Day? I can guarantee you that if he can possibly get away without doing it, he will. He doesn't ever plan on taking responsibility for anything that he or his government did or said during his reign.


What is herd immunity and could it work with COVID-19? This is precisely why antibody testing should be done on the entire population to see who has had it and what the percentage of the overall population is in the had it, has it and hasn't had it yet categories. Then we'd know what we're looking at and if we should stay in lockdown forever or if we've all basically already had it and have acquired immunity to it, as I think is probably the case.  Especially considering that now the timeline of this virus starting in China keeps getting pushed back earlier and earlier. The most recent article (which will be posted further down) implies that it's been around in China since August last year. Well if that's the case, we've all pretty much had it already. Probably mostly mild symptoms or asymptomatic, or with symptoms and needing hospitalization, but at the time the hospitals didn't know about the existance of this virus and just thought it was the flu they were dealing with and so weren't registering them as COVID19. That's what I think. I think the severe cases we're seeing now are from one of the mutated strains that's probably more virulent than the earlier strains were. So those of us who had it early on, didn't have it quite so rough as those getting it now. That's my thought on that but the only way to prove that to be actual fact, would be for those tests I talked about.

Widespread mask-wearing could prevent COVID-19 second waves: study  Yup, "could", "would", "should" are all operative words in news stories to get you to follow their agenda, but like I explained before "could", "would" and "should", doesn't mean they will, they're just words expressing possibilities. But as we've already seen in the articles about the studies on masks that I've posted here, they "probably won't" prevent anything, given that they're basically useless.


Family reeling as senior dies of malnutrition, not COVID-19, inside long-term care home The person/people responsible for letting this happen should be tried for gross negligence causing manslaughter. Stop letting these incidents slide.

For 12th straight day, no new cases of COVID-19 reported in N.L.  Good for them! I hope they keep it up from now on and eradicate it altogether!

Details on federal food buy-back program coming soon, Bibeau says How soon? When the pandemic has run it's course and it's over with? That soon? Or maybe sooner as in while the people need the help?

COVID-19 - Breakdown of the $100,000 donation - Priority to Food Security and Needy Families Well at least the mayor of Ville St. Laurent is doing something to help, while Bibeau from the feds diddles and dances around it.




Evictions expected to spike as states end moratoriums that offered relief during COVID-19 I'm pretty sure Canadians will be experiencing the same thing.


Are you immune?’ The new class system that could shape the Covid-19 world   Well as my dad would've said "that's the 64 thousand dollar question, isn't it?".


COVID CLIMBING Arizona, Arkansas, Utah, and the other 18 states where coronavirus is on the rise again 21 states that's half the country where it's rising again..... So much for flattening the curve and reopening society again.



The Looming Bank Collapse If the US banks collapse what will happen to Canadian banks? Will they collapse too? I mean everything is so intertwined these days it's hard to fathom things like this.



‘Absolutely Suffocating’: Hot Temperatures Complicate Coronavirus Face Mask Safety  That's another thing all those advocating wearing those useless masks can't seriously think that people are going to want to wear them on scorching hot days. 

The Waiting List for $1,000 Haircuts Is Ballooning in Manhattan I guess not everyone is hurting financially speaking despite the pandemic lockdowns. I guess it's true what my mother used to say about some people having more money than brains.


Coronavirus: UK economy could be among worst hit of leading nations, says OECD That's only slightly worse than their prediction for Canada. They predicted Canada's would slump by 10%.


Coronavirus came to UK 'on at least 1,300 separate occasions' Just wondering how many separate occasions it came to Canada? Must've been at least a few times considering the differences in how severe the cases were from the beginning until now. In the beginning they didn't quite so virulent and severe as they seem to have been a month or so ago and now they seem less severe than they were then. 

Fed warns US faces 'long road' to recovery  I guess the same can be said about all the insane countries that chose to crash their economies by imposing nationwide lockdowns instead of quarantining people the proper way. 



Here's where meat prices are headed As an earlier story mentioned there might be a conspiracy between meat producers to raise the cost of meat.


The illegal industry booming under lockdown in South Africa Well here in QC Legault declared the liquor stores, and weed outlets to be "essential services" that needed to stay open and most grocery stores sells cigarettes and grocery stores were deemed essential services too. So all the vices except gambling taken care of.



People are gargling bleach, misusing disinfectants. Are you using these products safely?  Gargling bleach??? I'm sorry.... Did I read that right? What bozo would gargle bleach? And doesn't it burn their mouth? That's just insane.

Dining out has changed: 6 mistakes to avoid at a reopened restaurant My son & I were talking about this today and the fact that most restaurants even ones you wouldn't think you'd need a reservation for will probably be booked for the next 3 months whenever we're allowed back into one again, because of so few customers being served at one time.

Coronavirus testing at home: What you need to know  Here's in Canada what you need to know is you probably won't be able to get one for love nor money until it's irrelevant because it seems like the government doesn't want us to have any. 

Coronavirus disrupts global fight to save endangered species Yet, another regrettable aspect to this pandemic. 



Starbucks takes $3 billion hit to revenue during pandemic I guess under lockdown it was pretty hard to go out for coffee, or to convince someone that that was an essential service.


Ethical dilemma: Who should get a COVID-19 vaccine first?  What's the dilemma? Isn't it the same as usual? Meaning those who are at the highest risk and have the highest exposure? Aka the elderly and medical personnel?  And then on down the line of highest risk - aka immune compromised, diabetics, ethnic minorities and then finally the general population at large? What's so problematic about that?

Bogus 'contact tracing' apps deployed to steal data: researchers  I would never sign up to agree to contact tracing to begin with because the potential for government over reach and invasion of privacy, nevermind the fact that these apps can be hijacked and hacked too. 



Satellite images of Wuhan may suggest coronavirus was spreading as early as August  So if that's the case, is it not feasible then that it made it's way around the world a few times before March? Especially since no one was the wiser and on the look out trying to stop it at their borders? Making it all the more possible that we had it here even back earlier than even the QC Pharmacists Association puts it, in their Christmas holidays 2019 date? That maybe even in late November or early December, it was here? And people who had it then either had mild forms of it, were asymptomatic, or were diagnosed as having the flu, because no one was aware of it?


Starbucks to close as many as 200 stores in Canada even after COVID-19  Last week on a particularly hot day I was at an outside mall doing shopping and other errands while my husband waited for me in the car. There is a Starbucks shop there, but he didn't go in, he just sat in the car waiting with the windows up and air conditioning running listening to the radio and this man came along and knocked on the window and when my husband put the window down, he offered him a cup of ice cold water in a starbucks plastic cup. I thought that was rather nice of them to offer people waiting in their cars on a hot day like that, cold water like that.  That's the first time I've seen any thing like that from any establishment in Canada. It might've been a one off promo put on by that particular store, then again, maybe they started doing things like that since the pandemic on super hot days like that day was, as good will gestures.  So I hope that Starbucks isn't one of the stores slated for closure.




Coronavirus: Ontario’s post-secondary schools set to reopen in July  I sure do pity those students having to resume classes at literally the hottest time of the year. I sure do hope those colleges and universities have air conditioned classrooms.


COVID-19 cases are on the rise among young adults, but health experts aren’t sure why Could it be due to their own stupidity and frivolity, by sitting, standing and lying on top of each other at parks, beaches and in rallies and riots? Maybe that has something to do with it? 



Coronavirus updates, June 10: Quebec reports 52 more deaths; soldiers will stay at CHSLDs

Migrant worker says COVID-19 outbreak mishandled at Norfolk farm

Pierrefonds-Roxboro keeping public pools closed this summer due to COVID-19  I think that's just dumb. Especially during the hot summer months, people need places to cool off. And excuse me for pointing this out, but if it's a "public pool" that means that the "public are paying for it and it's upkeep" regardless if it's used or not. So if the public are paying for it, then the public should either be allowed to use it, or have that portion of their property taxes that covers those pools refunded no?
Seems only fair to me.

Pierrefonds-Roxboro day camps cancelled I'm glad I'm not a resident of theirs or I'd be picking a few bones of contention with them over their COVID policies especially since the gov't allowed the pools to open and also the day camps and in fact pediatricians are saying that kids should be allowed to get together with their peers and socialize and play together, since they run very little risk of contracting or spreading the virus anyhow.

Google Maps Will Alert You About Coronavirus Restrictions Before You Leave Home. I hope it's more accurate and up to date than their marked detours due to construction are, that's for sure. Otherwise it's basically useless.

Missing your presence Darcy! Wish you were still here with us! You were a good ole guy right up to the very end. Thank you for watching over my girls for me. You did a great job of that and they both loved you too.












Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Getting Back On Track...

With Continuing COVID19 News

May 26, 2020

As the Weather Network currently claims it's 32C or for those on the old farenheit scale 90F but feeling like 39C or 102F outside and not wanting to tempt fate with no air conditioners yet installed, but feeling fine as I am, I decided to work more on the blog and post some of the stories I've come across during my off-time over previous days but didn't have a chance to post prior to this. 

However, I will probably still have to take some time to help install an air conditioner or two and go buy one, if we can, so I may not have as much time over the next few days to work on this blog as I initially thought, but I'll do my best.  Anyhow I'll post as much as I can each day until I've run out of stuff to post (because my husband really wants his computer back soon, so am trying to get to the end of the stuff so I can give it back to him and go back on my now repaired computer).

After writing this we looked around online for a decent 5,000 BTU air conditioner at a decent price and found several at the Pincourt Canadian Tire for $149.99. When we checked there were apparently 72 in stock at the time, so we went and bought one. Apparently a couple other people did the same since, but there's still plenty left for those who need an affordable small air conditioner for a bedroom or sitting room.  That's at the Pincourt Canadian Tire. The one in Dorion-Vaudreuil (where we looked first) didn't seem to have any.  So if you're in the Dorion-Vaudreuil, Pincourt/Ile Perrot region looking for air conditioners to battle this heat, your best bet is in Pincourt.  Now on with the news....


MACE E PAI COVID 19 Analysis PDF File A downloadable file that seems to support the theory that the Wuhan lab was shut down in October maybe due to an accident at the lab.

1st known case of coronavirus traced back to November in China Making the timeline go back further than the official Chinese gov't's timing would put it.

Coronavirus: France's first known case 'was in December' The "known" cases are those that the health authorities knew about for some reason - probably because the patient was seeking medical attention for it. But that doesn't address the many "unknown" cases, like those who may have had it but in a mild form and so didn't seek medical treatment and just battled it out on their own. Or even those who would've tested positive, had they been tested, but showed no signs of the virus. So it's pretty much a given that this virus was around a lot longer than just in December. 

International Workshop of Biosafety Laboratory Management & Techniques  This was held in Wuhan China between the 3rd of November and the 9th of November 2019. Coincidence that the virus is said to have started spreading then? 

Wuhan Institute of Virology This is a page where they published their own research articles on COVID19 (not sure all are also in English but I am assuming the English ones are accessible from this page).

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China A Lancet Medical Journal article about patients infected with COVID19 in Wuhan China.


White House now predict swift economic recovery, despite warnings that major problems could persist Like everything else to do with this plandemic, it doesn't surprise me that there's all kinds of mixed signals coming from all diffrent directions on this and everything else to do with the plandemic. I think it's to keep us confused and off balance and not sure of what to think or do and so out precaution err on the side of presumed safety.

Weekly mortgage applications point to a remarkable recovery in homebuying This is a US report about mortgage applications there, but is it the same story here in Canada as well?


High Doses Of Vitamin D Cannot Prevent Nor Treat COVID-19, Study Warns So if you were thinking you'd either prevent it, or treat it yourself, by laying out  in the sun soaking up the vitamin D, while turning yourself into a crisy critter, it's probably not worth the skin cancer risk.



First Human Trial Of Possible COVID-19 Vaccine Triggers Rapid Immune Response, Few Side-Effects Well it looks like there might be some hope for a vaccine after all. 




Millions of Americans Skip Credit-Card and Car Payments This headlines is kind of at odds with the other economic/finance based headlines already posted above. So it kind of makes you wonder which one is right and if some aren't just painting rosier pictures than they ought to be doing right now.

Coronavirus Tattoos Are Here—Including Toilet Paper Ones There's all angles to this pandemic and this is just another one of those angles. 



Epidemiologists brace for 2nd wave of COVID-19 — and it may come in September As one doctor pointed out, we're not even through the 1st wave yet, so how can anyone predict when or if there'll be a 2nd one. 

CMHC’s Evan Siddall Warns Canadian Homebuyers Face ‘Debt Cliff’ This Fall Isn't this what it was all about? To force everyone into such debt that they could never hope to pay it off, and that way everyone could get foreclosed upon and dragged through bankrupcy proceeding, so the stingy greedy 1%'ers who already own most of the world can have the rest of whatever it is they don't have already? In other words all your money, possessions and whatever else they can get off of you. They'll fleece you like a sheep in no time flat, then turn you out onto the streets without even so much as a pot to pee in, like my parents would've said.  Back in my grandparents time they had poor farms and work houses where people who were in debt and couldn't pay it off were sent to work it off. Giving the rich yet another way to exploit the poor after fleecing them for all they were worth to begin with. Wondering what the gimmick will be this time around as there's no way the economy will be able to absorb all those foreclosures and bankrupcies on the horizon. So I'm sure some evil genius will figure out a way to recoup all of that on the backs of the poor yet again.

'Bloody terrifying': COVID-19 will raise household debt levels and 'drag on GDP growth,' CMHC warns  Just to emphasize the above story even more the National Post put the "Bloody Terrifying" phrase in there as well. But this contrasts markedly with the positive economic stories posted near the top of this post. I hope they're more accurate than these latest economic/financial stories are. 

Smashing eggs, dumping milk: Farms forced to waste food in pandemic I'm sorry I don't see the logic in these practices and never could, especially when so many people are going hungry and would love some of that food being wasted on purpose. I know it's to maintain the prices and they'll do that at all costs. But what happens when the economy is so lousey that no one can afford those prices anymore? What then? Are you still going to keep going with those insane practices of wasting food to maintain prices?

Rex Murphy on the COVID-19 crisis: The opposition asks. The Liberals do not answer  Ahhhh Rex Murphy..... I've missed his sometimes sage, sometimes inane ramblings and bemusements, so when I saw this opinion piece by him I couldn't resist reading it. And I have to say I agree with him on this issue at least.

Trump’s Vaccine Czar Has Vast Ties to Drug Industry, Posing Possible Conflicts Don't they all have vast ties to the drug industry? Fauci did, as did the head of the CDC. In fact some of them have their own companies and organizations that wanted to make the drugs so they could be the sole beneficiaries of the profits. 

Florida knew a COVID-19 pandemic was likely; state leaders didn't warn the public  By February 15th, they were already tracking over 65 individuals with COVID19 that they knew about. So you have to wonder how many more were walking around with it showing no symptoms or had it and got over it on their own without seeking medical attention and how much earlier? 


Why are Africa's coronavirus successes being overlooked? Why? Because the WHO and all the idiots at the helm of all the countries that let the virus into their countries don't want to admit that they're stupider than the heads of African countries and African doctors who did the right things at the right times to KEEP THE VIRUS OUT OF THEIR COUNTRIES TO START WITH. That's why. There was a right way and a wrong way to go about this and all the western countries all collectively fell on their heads and developed amnesia and forgot the right ways and purposely went with the wrong ways. I guess, it was purposely done to crash the economies and as Africa for the most part, has either no economies or very shaky ones at best, felt their economies were already crashed enough and didn't need to take the moronic route the rest of the leaders in the world took.

Fearing for her child's health, woman puts her job on the line by refusing to work with COVID patients She shouldn't have to choose between her kid's health and her job. That's not right and anyone forcing her to do so, should be thrown out of their job.

Quarantine and a monitoring bracelet for Hong Kong returnees They look like the ankle bracelets given to criminals to make sure they stay home while under house arrest, only these are on their wrists.  I can tell you that being someone who likes to keep her hands busy, typing, knitting, cooking and doing other crafts and already suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome those bracelets look like they'd just cripple me if I had to wear one. I wouldn't be able to do any of the things I just mentionned if I had to wear one of those, I'm sure. So I'd find that cruel and inhumane punishment to say the least. It might look snazzy and like some kind of new funky tech jewellry to some but to me it looks like manacles that would impede me in anything I like or want to do even in the confines of my own house.

Riot police deployed as youths set cars ablaze in Paris suburbs This is no surprise that people are starting to actually violently rebel against the neverending lockdown. What is a surprise to me is that it took this long to start to manifest.

Chile virus cases soar as soldiers deploy following unrest Yet another one in another part of the world. Again the only surprise is that it took this long.

Study: Patients May Experience Delirium, PTSD From Battling Coronavirus I would imagine the delirium is caused by the fever and/or the drugs given to patients to alleviate pain and the PTSD is after recuperating from it, the memory of the whole ordeal. Yes medical procedures can be traumatizing that's for sure especially if the patient isn't put to sleep first and so they're awake all during the procedure.  So remembering what was done and the pain or discomfort it caused at the time can be traumatizing, which I guess now is called PTSD. 

Path To Normalcy: Cambridge Study Suggests Rolling ’50/30′ Day Lockdown Schedule  Yup 50 days was about the tops this time before people started getting antsy and even rebellious and demanding to be let out of captivity. I predicted what would happen before in this blog about this very thing and so those of you in the Montreal region (can't say about anywhere else), you'd better get everything you need, and have to do done (like car repairs, hair cuts, etc) before the end of June because that's about the time the 30 day expiration comes into effect and then you'll be in lock down until near time the kids go back to school (if they do) and you'll be let out again so you can buy them school supplies and clothes and maybe some things needed for autumn (like car tents that are normally set up near the middle of October). Because the next time you'll get out after that will be near the end of November just in time to go Christmas shopping and spend whatever money you don't have on gifts to give to those who you won't be able to see in person. And if you were alone during this lockdown and don't think you can make it through another equally long lockdown alone you'd better start scoping out your lockdown partner now. Whether you prefer the 4 legged furry kind or a room mate, or maybe a significant other, or maybe a sibling or other relative. Because there will be another lockdown and it'll last equally as long unless we all start getting antsy quicker than we did this time around. 

As America Reopens, Trial Lawyers Salivate at Endless Coronavirus Lawsuit Possibilities I'm sure there'll be quite a few legal cases here in Canada as well, especially over the seniors residences and long term care facilities. Where it was admitted tonight on TV, that over 75% of the COVID19 deaths in Canada were in those aged 85 and over and mostly all in seniors homes and long term care facilities. I'm sure a lot of those deaths could've been avoided too especially in the homes where the seniors were just abandonned by the staff. Those staff members should not only have their licenses yanked but also be tried for criminal negligence. 

Scores of Physicians Want Americans to Know the Truth about Coronavirus: Continued Lockdown Dangerous, Even Deadly  FINALLY Doctors are finding their tongues and speaking out against the way this has been handled. Too bad none of them did this in the very beginning. Like say back in January before it got into our countries to start with!

Julia Roberts, Other Celebs Team up with Dr. Fauci and Health Experts to Promote Global Response to Chinese Coronavirus Doncha just love it when some organization fighting a cause or for one, recruits clueless celebrities? I mean why would anyone in their right mind listen to what Julia Roberts has to say about a medical pandemic? She has no medical knowledge let alone training and all she's doing is regurgitating whatever it is they want her to say and like a good actress she'll keep on repeating the lines until she has them down pat and thinks others believe her.  If you have a cause and you want people to listen to you, then recruit as many people in your field to further your cause rather than turning to clueless actors and other celebrities. I mean I would sit up and take notice more if all the doctors were coming out and saying the same thing here and not just a few backed up by a few clueless mouthpieces.

Nearly 39 million have lost jobs in US since virus took hold  Not good. Those numbers look kind of scary to me, for what we might be looking at down the road.

Mortgage delinquencies surge by 1.6M in April, the biggest monthly jump ever This clearly contradicts the headlines above about remarkable recovery and mortgage applications.



To be continued......











Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Food For Thought

Some Food For Thought & For Enjoying Life

Under Quarantine

May 12, 2020

Given the many stories we are seeing about food shortages on account of COVID19, and all the shut-downs, which basically deprive people of any pleasure in life. I for one was raised with the ethos of making my own fun, because for the first part of my life I was an only child. So I was taught to amuse myself and make my own fun. Something that has stood me in good stead over my lifetime, considering there were large periods where due to my disability, our income was rather limited and we needed to find ways to enjoy life with our kids despite that.

Coming from NS, where the maritime kitchen party is commonplace, that's basically what we used as a means for entertainment and enjoyment during our lean years. We used to have friends or family over for dinner and maybe a game of cards or a board game like monopoly or something, or maybe to watch a rented movie with us, with some popcorn (made with popcorn kernels and not the microwave stuff), and top it the way we liked, or with tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole and some soft drinks or beer (the beer was mostly for the men and the women & kids had the soft drinks). Their kids and ours would get together and play or watch movies while we adults played card or board games, or just run around outside together getting exercise & fresh air. But everyone enjoyed themselves for next to no cost and not having really to go anywhere to do it (other than come here or us going to their house for a change).

I realize that now the restrictions we're living under we can't even really do that as gatherings are forbidden. So it's up to us to entertain ourselves by ourselves the best way we know how, since a lot of the outside venues for entertainment & exercise have been mandated closed.  So I will post a lot of various means of doing that here today and over time. 

But I thought I'd start with food first because of the stories we're hearing about the impending food shortages and price hikes, making the food we do have that much more precious. Not to be wasted or taken for granted. What better way not to waste food, than to make it irresistable? So that we actually want to eat the left overs later and not toss them on the compost heap. To not waste any and learn how to use left overs in other meals as well. If you're missing out on your favourite restaurant or ethnic food, there will be sites and books that will help with that. All you'll have to do is make it following the instructions given in the recipes. 

If  you need to know the basics on how to cook using certain techniques there will be books for that. If you want to get your kids involved in cooking - I have some links for those  books  as well. But food is one thing that is essential to all of us and the one thing under these circumstances we shouldn't waste at all.

So the first things you need to know about not wasting food is how to make sure you don't to start with. If you live alone or are only 2 people, you can buy in as large quantities as you want so long as you are able to store it. By store it, I mean if it's perishable you can either freeze, can or otherwise preserve it so it doesn't go bad, if it's canned or jarred goods, a place to put store those.  If you buy say a head of cauliflower but you know you aren't going to eat the whole thing right away because it's just too much for you and you don't want to be eating cauliflower exclusively for the next few days, just cut off the parts you want to save for later and blanche them. 

Blanching entails putting a pot on the stove filled with water (with sufficient room to put the quantity of produce you want to blanche in the pot), to boil. While it's coming to a boil, wash & cut your cauliflower into either bite sized pieces or the size you wish. When the water is finally boiling, put the cauliflower in the water, and wait for it to come back to a boil again and time 3 minutes on a timer. When the 3 minutes are up, remove the cauliflower from the stove and drain the water immediately and dump cauliflower into a colander with running cold water running over it until it's totally cooled off. Let sit to drip dry for a few minutes and then judge how many servings per meal (a serving would consist of,  2 person individual servings if there's 2 of you, otherwise if you're the only 1 then it's only what you would eat in one meal, if there's more then judge how much would be required for the meal for everyone) and portion that out into freezer bags, that are marked with the contents and the date and freeze it immediately. Most other veggies can be treated the same. 

Some veggies don't fare so well when treated like that though and that's onions, mushrooms, lettuce, peppers, corn and tomatoes. Lettuce is the only one out of that list that I have no clue on how to preserve for later use, so you'll have to consume that as quickly as possible. 

Otherwise the rest can be used in preserves like salsas, pickles, chutneys, etc.... Or in the case of onions, dehydrated to be used in soups etc, same with mushrooms. Peppers can be chopped into the size and shape you wish to use them in your cooking and put in labelled freezer bags like that. Corn just needs to be stripped from the cob and put into labelled freezer bags. I found that generally speaking an ordinary sized corncob provides enough kernels to equal what you get in those cans of kernel corn. So basically packaging the kernels from 1 cob per bag will be sufficient for 2-3 people as a side dish.  

As for meat, you can buy meat in large chunks/quantities from grocery stores and butchers (if there's any left), and butcher it yourself into roasts, cubes, steaks, strips, and mince (you will need a meat grinder or moulinex type appliance for that though). My husband has done that ever since we've been together. But for those who don't know how, there will be a book link for one dealing with that subject here. Then of course you do the same with the meat - whether you bought it packaged or you butchered it yourself, - package it in freezer bags in quantities that will be used per meal. So in other words if you're one person but bought 10 lbs of ground beef because it was on special, that's fine, but don't freeze it like that or you'll still be stuck with the problem of what to do with that much meat all at once. So portion it out for the various things you intend to do with it. Like say you want a couple of hamburgers one night - make the patties & put parchment paper inbetween them to freeze them in a freezer bag. If you want to make a bolognese sauce or maybe tacos another night, portion out the amount of ground beef you think you want for those and write on the label what it is (ie: ground beef for tacos) along with the date and freeze it. Do that for all your various meats and cuts and you shouldn't have any waste. 

As for fruit, there's a ton of different things to do with that but if you have an excess of a certain kind perhaps you can can it, or freeze it, bake with it, make juice out of it, or if you have a dehydrator even dry it (depending on type of fruit).  

Anyhow with that said you will be provided with ample sites and books to enable you to make or do anything you wish with whatever food you have on hand.


Some of the stories about the latest shut-downs and deprivations will be posted below.  With all of these closures being listed from the Canada Day Celebrations on Parliament Hill, to the Stampede, now the Toronto Exhibition, and all the cancellations in Montreal for summer festivities like all the outside festivals, and concerts. It wouldn't surprise me any to hear LaRonde is also going to be closed all summer long. Now Ste. Anne de Bellevue - where the board walk is, wants to have more police there to ensure physical distancing and the boardwalk is shut down altogether. It seems they want the police there to "ensure physical distancing" because they want some of the money from the $1,500 fines being issued. I mean pretty soon it'll be illegal to get outside of your bedroom into the rest of the house. Too bad you need to eat and use the bathroom. That's your problem. If you try to breach the perimeter of your bedroom you'll be fined $1.500. That's basically what it's coming down to, I think. 

They just want us to exist or subsist but not live. Actually, I think what they really want is for as many people as possible to die, one way or the other. Either from heat stroke because they're not allowed to cool off by going swimming, or by boredom where they get so bored and see no point to life they wind up killing themselves, or something. I don't know. All I know is it feels like they've sucked the life out of the universe or at least the planet. So in my own humble way I'm going to find a way out of the gloom and doom and enjoy life despite them. I invite all of my visitors to join me in doing the same. Make a loud rowdy ruckus to show them that they haven't sucked the life out of us yet and they never will because we won't let them! Nor will the virus!

Now for the news stories relating to what I've been talking about here:

ANALYSIS-As U.S. meat workers fall sick and supplies dwindle, exports to China soar  Wondering how come they can't get the meat to their local grocers in the same country but they have no problems getting it to China? What's that all about anyhow?


Food inspectors could face sanctions if they refuse reassignment to COVID-19-infected meat plants, union told  Yes, that's the way to do it. Put the lives of the people who ensure food safety for the rest of us, in danger. 

Funds to fight COVID-19 in meat plants might not move for months, feds say Is this geared towards taking meat off the table and turning us into vegetarians and vegans? Is that the purpose of this?  Seems like it might be, with all the previous talk about cow farts causing climate change.


Coronavirus: Stonehenge summer solstice gathering cancelled Yet another outdoor activity cancelled.  What's wrong with allowing it, but enforcing social distancing?  I mean is everyone just supposed to roll over and die when they're not even allowed to go see a bunch of standing stones?



US grocery costs jump the most in 46 years, led by rising prices for meat and eggs Guaranteed, it's going to be the same thing happening here.


Old Home Week among 10 Island festivals and exhibitions cancelled due to COVID-19 I've never been to "Old Home Week", but it must've been something special, allowing kids to get away with blue murder maybe, because everytime I wanted something that I wasn't allowed to have, or do something that I wasn't allowed, or did something but was just on the razor's edge of crossing the line completely, my mother would exclaim in exasperation "What do you think this is, Old Home Week or something?" 

Beach bummer: novel coronavirus can live in water, but is it infectious? The authorities need to just give it a rest and stop banning everything because "it's too dangerous". Everytime we cross the street - especially in Montreal "it's too dangerous" but yet if we need to get to the other side of it, that's what we have to do and no one is stopping us from doing that. In fact, I think crossing a street on foot in Montreal is way more imminently dangerous than any virus that takes days to kill us is. But then that's just me.  Being stressed out with no fun and no release with nothing but the virus in your face and top of mind all the time, is equally dangerous I think. Considering more than a few people are likely to blow more than a few fuses eventually and when they do it may not be pretty. Who knows maybe that's what caused that guy in NS to go bonkers and kill so many people?  We don't know because before anyone had a chance to speak to him to find out his motives, the cops killed him.

So now, to not only make the best of the food we have on hand and not waste it, but to actually enjoy it, so that we don't want to waste it, we need to get started on how to prepare it. From techniques involved to the actual preparation of the recipes. All of the books are downloadable at the longfiles link, and the ebook format will be indicated beside the name. So let's get started:

Getting Started in the Kitchen

Cooking With Kids

Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook epub                      Taste of Home Kid-Approved Cookbook epub

Desserts

Baking Cookbook, 2nd Edition PDF                        Chocolate Cakes: The 20 Best Recipes Ever!azw3
The Prairie Girl Cupcake Cookbook azw3               Fruit Recipes PDF
How to Make Ice Cream PDF                                  The 50 Best Pie Recipes epub
Cake Confidence epub                                              Joy of Cooking: All About Cookies PDF 
Homemade Doughnuts PDF                                     Simple Milkshake Cookbook epub
Cupcake Decorating Lab PDF                                  Ice Cream Sandwiches epub

Miscellaneous

Pasta Recipes  epub                                                      Morning Food azw3
Baked Potatoes Cookbook epub                                   Seriously Good Salads epub
Easy Weekend Cooking PDF                                        Let's Do Lunch! epub
Fantastic Ways to Use Your Noodles epub                   The 50 Best Bread Recipes epub                       
Super Easy Soups and Stews  epub                               The Bartender's Best Friend PDF
Classic Candy mobi                                                       The Ultimate Bar Book mobi
The Top-Class Pasta Recipe Book epub                        The Ultimate Homemade Sauces epub
Seafood : Ocean to the Plate  PDF                                 Sausage Making PDF
Simple Homebrewing  epub                                           Come get your Fudge epub

Preserves & Food Conservation Methods

Mini Farming Guide to Fermenting: Self-Sufficiency from Beer and Cheese to Wine and Vinegar - mobi                                                                         Canning and Preserving Recipes epub

Special Diets

The Gallstone-friendly Diet epub                              The Easy Anti Inflammatory Diet  mobi
The 50 Best Low-Salt Recipes epub                          Atkins Diet Plan 2020 epub
Gout Relief Recipes epub                                          The Complete Guide to Renal Diet epub
Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook PDF                    Diabetes Cookbook For Dummies PDF

Vegetarian & Vegan

Deliciously Ella azw3                                                 Vegan Meal Prep epub
15-Minute Vegetarian Recipes epub                           Vegan Frozen Treats  PDF

World, Regional & Ethnic Cuisines

How to Cook Like a Southerner PDF                        A Book of Mediterranean Food  mobi
The New Persian Kitchen azw3                                 My Japanese Table: A Lifetime of Cooking azw3
Jamaican Recipes Cookbook  epub                            Asian Delights epub
Japanese Home Cooking  epub                                   Segreto Italiano: Secret Italian Recipes epub
50 Favorite Haitian Recipes  azw3                             The Everything Chinese Cookbook PDF
Ainsley's Caribbean Kitchen  epub                             Easy Asian Takeout epub
The Country Cooking of France mobi                         The Best Selection of Nepal Recipes epub
The Best Greek Recipe Book epub                              Korean Homestyle Cooking epub
The Burmese Kitchen  epub                                         Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking PDF

Extra Cooking Knowledge


Online Recipe Sites

The following links are to recipe sites, that have a large variety of recipes for almost any kind of cuisine you can think of, or for a very special segment of the culinary world. You can search for particular recipes by name, there's even one or two that allows you search by ingredients, or just browse their offerings. In any case between these sites and those books along with all previously posted recipe/cooking related links you should have plenty recipes and information on cooking to turn you into a master chef by the time full quarantine is lifted and you can entertain friends and family at home again.  So enjoy.

Food Network                                                         Kitchn
Eating Well                                                             Epicurious
My Recipes                                                             Yummly
Saveur                                                                     Budget Bytes 
Simply Recipes                                                       Food.com 
Tasty Food Videos & Recipes                                 Fine Cooking 
Russian Recipes Archives                                       Vicky Pham Vietnamese Home Cooking 
Taste of Home                                                         Delish 
Just One Cookbook                                                 Japan Center Traditional Japanese Meals 
My Korean Kitchen                                                 Maangchi Korean Cooking 
Taste.com.au                                                            Olive Magazine 
African & Caribbean Recipes                                 Delicious 
Bon Appetit                                                             Mexico in My Kitchen
32 Middle Eastern Recipes                                     World Food Atlas 
Rachael Ray Magazine                                           Spanish Sabores 
Polish Your Kitchen                                                10 Traditional Native American Recipes 
Southern Living Food                                             Taste of Nova Scotia  
Early Modern Maritime Recipes                            Recipes From New Brunswick 
Great Canadian Cookbook                                     My Greek Dish