On a Whim

What to do with the chicken this time?

So I started to build a ‘recipe’ 

Chicken thighs - I’ll cook them in the oven but want something different.

Salt and Pepper - that’s usual, but a sprinkle of oregano sounds like a nice addition.

Hmmmmm……..sour cream! I’ll coat them with sour cream. 

Good. All in the baking dish but they do look lonely.

I know! Potato slices - looks too, I don’t know, boring.

A few slices of onion should help - flavour will be good. Just a quarter of one though. I’m not a big onion fan except for the flavour.

It really does need some colour!

Oh well, in the oven at 350 F for an hour.

~~~~~

Now for the colour - frozen broccoli over it all with little

chunks of orange bell pepper. Back in the oven so they can thaw and cook. That’s better.

Afterthought: finely grated parmesan cheese. Yes, that seems just right.

Final taste test  (my supper)

It was delicious! The chicken was moist and flavourful. I would do something different with the sour cream though. It curdled and the look of the dish wasn’t up to snuff. 

**Note:  I am incredibly grateful to all the truckers that brought me the groceries for my supper. I do not know all the personal reasons for the convoys and protests that each trucker and individuals brought to the Legislature today. I am, however, annoyed - no, I am angry - that some have chosen to disregard the very real danger of the viral spread we are living with. That includes our politicians. If any of it has to do with just a whim, I am even more angry.

“Are you going to cater to the whims and prejudices of people 

who have no intelligent knowledge of what they condemn?”

~ Susan B Anthony Collection

It's all in the Signs

When trees are dressed in gauzy green and birds are building nests,

spring will blossom before our eyes.

When grass is green and the weather warms, generous gardens offer food for our tables ~ summer sweeps us all away!

When rabbits turn from brown to white and red-gold leaves carpet the earth, 

autumn begins its long snooze.

When marshmallowed snowbanks change

from clean to dirty and ice floes slide to puddles

winter days recede with great sighs of relief!

“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier 

state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”

~ George Santayana

All About Me

There’s absolutely no humility in this photo. In July of 2020, I turned my life upside down with a big move from B.C. to Saskatchewan. Since then, I’ve felt disorganized, sometimes falling apart and have had too much time living with me. Getting to know myself more than I ever have. Last winter, I was invited to go snowshoeing with friends. I was unable to at that time. That’s where the debilitation interfered. That is also when I set myself a goal to go snowshoeing this winter. Until I actually walked in the snow, following the trail set by my two new friends, I wasn’t sure that I could actually do it. With each step, I knew that I could. 

Recovering from anything means a lot of things. For me today, it was deep snow and funny flat things strapped to my feet, laughter with friends and a still, calm winter day.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”

~ Ernest Hemingway, The Wild Years

Author's note: June 2024 - I have had to give snowshoeing a pass! Further tries at snowshoeing were unsuccessful. A long story, just suffice it to say I loved the experience I did have and will forever 

cherish the memory.