Monday Musings – Giants, Borders, and Hero’s
Happy Monday ladies. We had a fun chat about our upper arms yesterday. The different ways we approach the subject is as varied as we are and fun reading here. I often think the comment section is the best part of this blog:) Here are a few things on my mind this week:
Borders
My daughter has been isolated in her apartment in Vancouver, B.C. for way, way too long. Because she has dual citizenship, she was able to cross the closed border and drive home this weekend. I couldn’t be happier! These are scary and sad times and I really needed to hug her. Because the drive takes longer than one day, my son and I drove to meet her at the halfway mark. We shared adjoining rooms at a motel then I drove the rest of the way home in her car. She will have to quarantine when she crosses the Canadian border but we all felt it was worth it to be together. 
On the drive down we listened to “Just Mercy” which is mind-blowing. It’s been named the most influential book of the decade and is one of the most powerful true stories I’ve ever heard. Bryan Stevenson is an attorney, social justice activist, and hero who has dedicated three decades to helping the poor, incarcerated, and condemned.
Talbots
I finally got into my local Talbots on Friday, which felt like old home week. I was anxious to see new merchandise but the sales floor was still full of older merchandise. My favorite salesperson told me they’re in the process of opening boxes to get the new things on display so I’ll go back this week and try on some new things. Hopefully, I will able to do a dressing room diary.
Some new finds at Talbots
Land of the Giants
Do you remember that show? That’s what I am reminded every time I look at our new veggie boxes. I think know my husband went overboard planting things but we had no idea how robustly things would grow! What we have the most of right now is zucchini and Summer squash. I’m talking about 12” zucchini and a lot of them. Everyday!
I’ve ordered this spiralizer so we can start eating them as pasta but I need more ideas. I have no idea why I need 7 blades but I suppose it will make sense when it arrives. With things as they are, I can’t give them to neighbors and hate to have them go to waste! I’d love any recipes you can share.
When our tomato crop comes is I will have a much better idea what to do with it because we also have tons of basil:)
What’s keeping you busy these days?
Be well and remember to wear what makes you feel confident.
Ahhhh – LOVE that spiralizer! I love mine & have bought 2 more for gifts. We make “zoodles” all summer. Butter, chopped onion & garlic bits in medium hot fry pan. When translucent, fill pan with LOTS of spiralized zucchini. Stir around & Heat through til almost soft. Garlic salt & serve. We love this stuff!!! Have fun experimenting with it!!!
Zucchini bread & butter pickles are the best
So are zucchini pancakes: Savory with yogurt, minced garlic & chives Or sweet with yogurt & honey.
Interesting that you listened to Just Mercy. We watched the movie this weekend. So timely and eye opening! I highly recommend it. (I did have to cover my eyes in parts). Bryan Stevenson and his organization are doing amazing work.
I’m not sure I want to watch it. It’s so powerful I’m really enjoying the audible version.
Ohhh lucky you haha! Try bread and butter Pickles, it is a southern hemisphere recipe but absolutely delicious. By making your zucchini into pickles you can enjoy them long into the winter. Cheers Linda
Do I just pick them very small then pickle them?
https://globalnews.ca/news/7039072/coronavirus-canada-us-border-exception/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
No problem. Border open for families.
Yay!! I did see this. Thank you
So glad your daughter was able to come to see you. It means so much to be able to get together.
I haven’t seen my parents since Christmas. We all live in BC, but since they are in their 90s, we don’t want to risk going to see them (6 hours away) and bringing some infection to them. Luckily they live in their own apartment not in a care home! We are able to Skype with them and recently found out that Skype has a feature for subtitles that allows my mother, who has very little hearing left, to participate fully. They’re in great spirits and we have some great calls with them, as do my other siblings. I know that they’re bored and missing their friends, but they are able to see my nephew who does their grocery shopping for them, and my cousin who cuts their hair.
It is a true blessing to have the means and the technology to connect this way. We look forward to later in the summer when we hope to be able to meet them at a BC campground in wine country for a week. We’re hoping that my brother and his wife will also be able to meet us then.
Family is everything!
I didn’t know that about Skype! That’s terrific. Family is everything!
Stuffed zucchini. Hollow out one of the large ones and save the pulp. Mix that with cooked rice, an egg, tomato, onion, garlic, some Italian spices. Moz or parm cheese over the top and bake until the zucchini is tender. I sometimes add meat. I want to see my brother in Alberta, and I’m a dual citizen, but I don’t want to fly. So good you got to see your daughter.
We used to laugh and say only one of us in the community needed to grow zucchini and we would all have enough! I like the styles at Talbots but most of their colours are cool so they don’t work for me.
Zucchini pickles and relishes are good on pork sandwiches. A friend gave me a jar of bread and butter zucchini pickles. First time I had those. I just love yellow squash fresh and cooked with onion in butter but left a little crispy. Not to crazy about any frozen or canned squash. Looking forward to new clothes post.
BTW you have the best photos in blogging. Those are beautiful!
Hi Cathy,
So thrilled your daughter is home with you all. Mine is home for a week recovering from city turmoil and strife which was endless last week, of police helicopters right overhead their apartment, violent protests just streets from their place and sirens and looters. Very very difficult week as a mother. Last night she said to me “its is so peaceful at night here I will be able to sleep…” and I could see her body start to relax….and her face start to smile.
Enjoy family time Cathy. It’s such a gift 🙂
Zucchini grows like that here too, though our gardens are just beginning to peek through the ground and it will be some time before we’re harvesting anything. I like to shred zucchini and freeze it in one cup packages. Throughout the winter, I add them to soups, chili, etc. Because zucchini has such a mild taste, it adds vegetable content without changing the flavour of whatever I add it to.
Shredded and frozen would also work in smoothies. I like for my smoothies to have more 3 veggies like carrots, spinach, zucchini, squash, etc. and 2 small servings of fruit like banana and berries or mango. I go easy on the fruit and more on the veggies. During the heat, a nice cold smoothie is perfect.
What a great idea, Pat! I often make fruit smoothies for breakfast that include low fat yogurt, skim milk, and protein powder, but I never thought of adding zucchini. I will definitely be trying that.
Besides writing the great book, Just Mercy, Brian Stevenson has a charity working to provide assistance for those who are treated unfairly in our law system, among other good works. It is called EJI, Equal Justice Initiative and it has a A+ on charity watch for the way it spends it’s money. If others are like me and trying to think of ways to help while living my own privileged life they might give it a look.
Glad you got to see your daughter. I haven’t got to see my son in person since Christmas. We are all in Canada but crossing provincial borders is a challenge. He is in Montreal which has been very hard hit, he prefers me to stay away and he really can’t leave. Thanks for the book recommendation! Here some stores have change rooms open. They are steaming the clothes before putting them back on the floor. I will be interested to hear what is happening when you and others are able to get back into stores.
It has been an unusually cold start to the gardening season. Torrential rains have been keeping everything wet, too. The only thing growing is garlic planted last year, which is a small miracle in itself, because often garlic winter kills. Most of a row survived! I’ve learned that zucchini takes up too much precious space in our short-season garden, so I grow root crops that we really enjoy, like carrots. Nothing beats home-grown carrots. Now the wait begins to see if the seeds washed away or rotted in the cold, and if we’ll be replanting. Gardening certainly doesn’t pay for itself here. It’s a hobby. Anything that grows is worthy of a celebration. In the meantime, the early tulips finally put on a show. They came up after the late tulips. This hobby has mysterious ways.
Looking forward to your Dressing Room Diaries post – here in GA, I haven’t found a store that will allow you in the dressing room yet! Good luck!
Hi, Jennifer–
I am happy and envious that you’ve been able to arrange some time with your daughter. I follow your blog faithfully, and you’ve led me to many wardrobe-savers. Accordingly, I’ve clicked on the links, which in turn I hope is helpful in keeping this blog “on the air.” I want to express a bit of dissatisfaction with the ad placement in today’s blog, which I’ve not noticed before, and which I found confusing and troublesome. As I scrolled down, ads appeared on the right (fine) for “NewChic” and then in the Middle as a photo the SAME SIZE as your content immediately above where you indicated to click a link for “Some New Finds at Talbot”–which are pictured BELOW the intrusive “NewChic” ad insert. At first, I thought those two NewChic things were the Talbots items. There is nothing about your Talbots finds to make them stand out as the actual content, even your little “Favorite” hearts aren’t really noticeable. I understand the need for the ads for blog viability. But is there something you could do to make your content stand out to distinguish it from the ads? What I did was spend some time hovering over the pics to see where the window would take me: googleservices or api.shopstyle in order to know for sure. But that was sortof a hassle, and my eyes glazed over. As I said, I do understand the rationale for the ads. I just don’t want them to obscure the content to the point where I click on nothing.
Thank you for telling me! I’ll email my Ad company and see what I can do.