Mother

 

When I open my Mother’s cook book, I smell L’Air du Temps, stale cigarette smoke and regrets.

When my Father left, it destroyed her.

She drank to forget and drank some more to forget

She was drinking. 

I asked help from her family and they told me to be a good Christian 

And forgive. 

Therapy helped me realize that I should let it go. 

I did such a good job of this that I don’t exactly remember 

What year she passed. I know it was December...the 15th? 2011 or 2012? 

When I think about this I smell L’Air du Temps, stale cigarette smoke and regrets.

The time Pyrex saved me

  I might as well share

 when I heard that I lost my job...I was alone in the house...and I started to hyperventilate....and God knows what else....I was super scared I was going to have a heart attack...but I managed to calm down...by pacing in my house and opening  the front door...and then openeing the back door and taking DEEP breaths....

And I needed to find a happy place....

And I did! I had to look at my Pyrex hoard.....and I had to dig out some Turquoise Snowflake pieces and make a quick display. 

And that made me feel so much better. 

Have a great evening

Thursday February 4th 2021

 Normal start of the day...wake up at 6:30 am...drink coffee...have pleasant chitchat with my inner circle....

Go down to the basement at 7:30 am ....start doing the morning reports....8:30 am I get a call from my boss...and I get fired! 

Wham bam fuck you mam! By 10:30 am I did not exist anymore at big company .....

I knew I was on the fence for a while...because my new boss informed me in late November 2020...that I was on Quality review because I had not met quality goals for the last 2 years...and that was the first time I heard about it. 

When big company bought medium company in 2015...they ignored medium company for about 2 years...then they had the idea to offer packages and 80% of medium cie employees left. 

That was when I changed boss...she was nice but basically ignored me. Not to far after that I got a new leader...and she worked extra hard to ignore me. Even after I flagged that I was alone doing 8 people’s jobs...and not very well! 

In 2020 I got my present ex-leader in June....and she never said anything until late November. i did my very best...but obviously I failed.

Now I say good riddance to an awful stressful job....my work stress is now their work stress. Big company now deal with all your gaps and failures! 

I will be on vacation...plotting my comeback ! 

Off to a good start

 Continuing on the positive sides of 2020. 

I tried a lot of recipes in 2020.

Some my family did not like at all...like Hawaiian chicken, the breakfast crescent bake all of Youtube is raving about...not here I tell you! Hahahahaha

Yes that is the one! Ew !!!

Others were winners...like the breakfast burritos...super easy and you can freeze them. And the cowboy lasagna. Of course I had to tweak it...remove the corn add green and red peppers....and a lot less cheese. 

Today I bought a 13 pound brisket at the grocery store, portioned it wrapped and froze it. I plan to make a cola brisket and a corned brisket....I have no idea what that will end up as...because this is a super rare occurrence in Quebec super markets! I am thinking that since so many restaurants are closed, bulk distributors need to get rid of some specialty items. 

Cowboy Lasagna, 

Hoppin’ John to bring luck to 2021! 

Okay sweet folks, have a great evening, say warm and stay safe! 

Wear your mask! 

I just lost a filing and other 2020 fun happenings

 So this is Wednesday night...December 30th 2020 (the super year of fun! ) ....and I just realized...I lost a filling! 

Just how fun is that? It is never fun...but in 2020 it is super frightening and death defying! 

Right now it is 10:15 pm and way to late to call any dentist...so stay tuned for more fun! Weeeeeeee

Let’s focus on the positive!

I will not mince my words.... 2020 was a total shit show.

But through it all I learned a lot of things. I watched some (a lot) of Youtube. i watched a lot of ladies cook, bake, clean and rock some fancy kitchen gadgets! 

With their virtual help, I built a 3 month pantry, started meal planning and tried multiple recipes....

Some were fails , some winners.....

And early next year, I will learn how to use the instant pot! I am stocked about that one! 

So I want to give many thanks to the following channels for keeping me entertained, teaching me valuable 

Tricks and tips and letting me visit in your homes! 

Moss Family TV

A Country Life

Large Family table

Large Family Love

Amy Maryon

Flo Lum

Frugal Fit Mom

Mandy in the making

SomersInAlaska

Seeyou in 2021

What I have been up to

 Well as you know...confinement is what it is...we enjoyed a couple of months of freedom and then the second wave hit. 

I miss the freedom...Going to the office, in the big city all by myself....ordering a bagel for breakfast...

Walking in the underground city..a maze of malls, tunnels, shops and restaurants. I miss the delicious ramen at Marusan with black garlic oil. 

My eyes miss seeing the buildings and colors of downtown Montreal. The office tower is closed. I could go in and work all alone...but my better half doesn’t like it...because I suffer from asthma. 

I used to work 3 days a week at the office, which means 9 meals out (bad girl) . But it kept me sane. 

Covid has forced me to cook a lot more and at the same time gave me the opportunity to make more time

Consuming recipes like perogies from scratch....these are so good! 

And who doesn’t love a good upside down pineapple cake? 

I haven’t made one of these in more than 5 years! 

Very good! 

And of course I am overloading in YouTube videos...lots of great recipe ideas...lots of different lifestyles...and I love learning things! 

Old family recipe stuffed peppers from Jehanne Benoit a Quebec classic.

This is a new one ...Swedish meatball..headed for the freezer

I I bought a spelt cranberry apple bread and it was so full of holes I decide to make french toast...delicious and I froze extras for other breakfasts.

Last but not least...this is zucchini, cheddar beer bread..

Smelled great but way less tasty than I expected!

So in a nutshell..I watch a lot of youtube ...homemaking videos with lots of recipes...which I try when they sound good.

I am definitely very lucky. I can work from home, can pay my bills and feel oh so very blessed. 

Do you feel blessed? If so please share!