Showing posts with label Quarantine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quarantine. Show all posts

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Making bread with homemade yeast

My bread machine arrived a couple of days ago.

We had been nursing a starter (yeast) like a 2 day old baby. Very odd I agree, but it sure worked.

3/4C Flour and 1/2C Water in a jar, mixed so that no dry flour remains - wrap paper towel over jar opening with elastic and coddled in warmth (ie wrapped in a tea towel and cuddled over a movie) eventually creates bubbles in the yeast. You can cap it with a lid and refrigerate for up to a week before using half and re-feeding. Just warm it up to room temperature before using.

I have since learned to double this recipe as my bread recipe required all of this starter and your only meant to use half at a time and then 'feed' it another dose as above (ie 3/4C + 1/2C) to keep it going...

The new machine

First loaf kneading (dual action blades in this bad boy)

Rising...

No comment...

Upside down it came out pretty good, right?!

Right side up the top had fallen.. must have shut the door too hard not thinking....

Still fluffy and delicious though.

Tried it again yesterday and...

Nice one! Just made sure not to shut the RV door hard and it held - mostly.

For a hell of a good laugh I highly recommend David's video on YouTube here: Cruising the Cut recently posted of his bread making attempt -- which had me in hysterics this am.... perhaps its the typical british humour but I loved it. Anyway, I do hope you get a laugh from it as I did.


Friday, 10 April 2020

Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

We planted our garden today....

Time to transplant from these pots to the garden bed. 

Before - with Chief Superintendent Robbie

Bed full of weeds

Got the bed cleared of all the weeds

Right side

Left side

Planted everything in the ground - Right side

Center garden

Left Side of garden

Drew up the garden plan so that I can tell what is what since I'm not exactly a green thumb...
I can recognize most of it, but the garlic and green onions look the same from above ground.

Tomorrow is herb planting day... I didn't get to the second tier of the garden as my back was getting very tight.

All in all we spent 5 solid hours outside doing gardening today, in the sunshine and warmth. The longest we've spent outdoors puttering in months and months...

According to those who never get it right, we are expected to have full sun and double digit temperatures and I look forward to many more days sitting out amongst the dapples of garden sunshine.....


Saturday, 14 March 2020

Self-imposed Quarantine

Given the S*^#@! storm that has become our world today, everything being cancelled and/or closed... Disney... wow, you know it's bad when... even the cruise lines are shutting themselves down for 2 months... where is the leadership - it's so bad down in the US that there are just no words.

When businesses are voluntarily shutting down, but the leader (who is likely infected won't test and insists the world is rainbows and chocolate) - when Corporatocracy is regulating itself at a financial loss because the government just can't bring itself to the new reality... and is putting people at risk by refusing to test because he doesn't want to lose control of the economic profitability of his own businesses. It's time to worry.

So we have self-quarantined. According to those who haven't a clue, we do not have any cases on this island as yet but we know its coming and with a minimum 2 week incubation - is really likely already here, we decided to shut it down last night.

We also received a message from our house sit which was scheduled for today and they have cancelled their holiday because our Government (Canada) has advised all citizens against travel and is considering closing all borders and advising people (including RVers) to get home... so that is great, we were kind of hoping they would cancel - as much for them as us.

2 bags of potatoes planted

2 bags of re-growth carrots planted
1st pot

2nd pot, each bag has 5 although they are not all visible here-they are sticking out, I will add more soil as they grow.

So we have some food, etc stored and we are in isolation. Not much will really change for us except no running downtown for this or that. What we have is it -- so here's hoping its enough. We will still be out puttering around our site - maybe helping the landlord with this or that (at a distance, of course) and we are fortunate that we have a hiking trail not far from us that a very few people use so we can still get out and walk, exercise, etc. 

With the travel restrictions we are keeping our eye out for a good deal on a house rental we could slip in because-if there are no tourists, the rents will be cheap on this island... could be a good opportunity for us if we play our cards right.

People in Canada are fighting with each other in the stores - so that has made it across the border. You know things are bad when Canadians are turning on each other. Shelves are already empty, Costco and Walmart - people are hoarding and now selling Toilet paper for $3/roll and it's not the soft teddy bear kind... 

Brad just read online that a man was stabbed somewhere in the states over a case of Dasani water and taken away by ambulance. Scary times.

I have more stuff to plant but tonight and tomorrow night are going to be soooommmeeee cold so I will wait. What is planted will be put inside the shed and I will hope they hold on.