A few months we will never forget.

Before we begin our blog, I would like to say a huge thank you to those of you who sent their condolences to me upon the passing of my mom at the end of April. She was 90 years young, not enjoying the best of health but even then, with pneumonia, she managed to thwart the Covid-19 Virus. Rest in Peace mom. I am sure you are back together with Dad (RIP) once more.

May 19 arrived which to most of you will not be a familiar date, but for residents of BC, it was the day that the Government partially relaxed the rules as to how we must or should operate to keep this terrible virus out of our systems.

Some restaurants have reopened but no more than six people can dine together and only then, under strict rules of operation. For us, it's too much of a stretch, too soon in our view, to go out and risk it so we will stay home or walk and ride together. We would rather wait a while longer until we are reassured the curve has really flattened, and that the risk of infection is substantially diminished or gone.

We also believe it will be a long time before others, or the majority of people will be confident enough to visit restaurants. Even then, sadly, many establishments will not reopen. It's such a shame.

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Through all of this, we eventually got tempted and ordered take out or take away whichever term you use. Sometime's Chinese food and sometimes Pizza. We must say, It's nice to be able to give a tip to someone who is delivering the food, as one knows, every little helps someone along the way.

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We suspect none of us will ever see again, the way we used to operate prior to this terrible event. Without a doubt, it's the worse thing any of us has seen or experienced and likely may not be the last. Fingers crossed. 

It's going to be a tough go around for restaurant owners to pay for the leases and, for the owners or managers who lease these spaces out. Maybe the owners of these buildings will have to substantially reduce rents to enable businesses to reopen, because if these restaurants and businesses decide to close their doors, it could be a very long time before owners are able to lease the available spaces out to others once more. 

One huge plus and some very good news for Vancouver Islanders is that on Jun 5, 2020, the last person was released from hospital who had contracted COVID and so it was reported as of that day, there were zero cases of COVID on the Island, which with a population of 870,297 as of 2019, that is really good news. Hopefully, that will encourage some to begin the trudge towards normality in order to help some of these businesses survive.

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My friend and I decided to take his boat out a few days ago. We put in, at Comox Harbour and set sights on a couple of places to fish for Salmon. Unfortunately, until July 15, it's strictly non-retention or catch-and-release for Salmon but nevertheless, we thought it would be a nice day out. The waters were calm and the sun shone down on the Strait of Georgia.

We reached our intended destination and set up our rods and no sooner I had put mine in the water, I got a hit and reeled in a five or six-pound salmon, then another almost immediately after.

This one was a struggle to get into the boat but persistence paid off in the end but we had to put it back.

Overall, the day was fun. I managed to hook seven Salmon, two of which were around the 15-pound mark but we let them go per the non-retention rules.

In all, my friend Wayne caught two or three and I managed to bring four to the boat. I lost another three as out here, we aren't allowed to fish for Salmon with barbed hooks. Still, it was a fun day and allowed us to get out and enjoy ourselves.

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Donna and I are waiting for Las Vegas to open up again. We see that the Hotel parts are opening now, so once the Casino's are back up and running, we might take a trip south in November to celebrate Donna's birthday - I once saw in a store window the words "70 isn't old if you're a rock". I won't even go there.

Having said we may go south, the riots in the US might make us seriously rethink if we want to go south. If these riots continue after the senseless killing of George Floyd and the resulting riots and looting that seem on the first appearance to have been done under the guise of anger but which upon further reflection seems to have been acts of sheer greed and wanton violence with looters running out of burning stores with huge smiles on their faces.  

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November will be an interesting month for sure, especially for our American friends because there's a lot on the line with Mr. Trump seeking a second term and Mr. Biden having to face the constant sexual molestation accusations that will just not go away. The subject is bound to rear its ugly head during the debates. It will make for some interesting debate time between the two of them, but whatever happens, it's going to be a busy time down south.

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I suppose the thing that worries most of us is how Canadians are going to get out from under this huge debt load the country has incurred due to this virus. I can see our kids and their kids, inheriting the downside of this for many years to come. 

What a shame. Maybe our Prime Minister will give the go-ahead for the oil producers to begin the work of earning trillions of dollars in order to pump back into the economy and government coffers, the monies needed to free Canadians from this immense debt load they will surely inherit after the dust settles on COVID if nothing is done. Who knows?

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While hunkered down at home, we have been practising our cooking skills - trying new stuff we have never eaten before. Overall the results have been good. With the loaves of bread, we have no bread machine. We make all our bread and doughs from scratch and by hand.

We have made Focaccia Bread with Tomatoes and Jalapenos - Great to serve alongside pasta dishes.

French Bread

Our Home Made French Bread Turned Out Wonderful Again

Baguettes

This was our second go at Baguettes which tasted great.

Good Old Fashioned Wholewheat Bread

Wholewheat Bread. We finally managed to master the production of this bread.

Candied Jalapenos - Fantastic when placed into a food processor and then mixed with Philadelphia Cream Cheese and eaten with crackers.

We made our second batch of Cowboy Candy. Jalapenos cooked in Sugar and they are not hot.

Sicilian Cannoli - A decadent dessert if there ever was one. The problem is, eating all of these and trying to maintain a reasonable weight.

Sicilian Cannoli stuffed with Ricotta and Mascarpone cheese and chocolate chips.

 We served the Canolli and Baguettes as accompaniments to our first dinner party after the COVID rules were relaxed. Everything was a hit.

I would be happy to send to anyone who would like, a copy or copies of our recipes. They are all tried and tested. I have been baking bread now for well over 20 years.

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It's that time of year again.

Our back yard. Not all the flowers are out in this photo.
In fact, there are many more flowers and plants to bloom since this photo was taken.

As the season heads towards the Summer Solstice, we are seeing a long-awaited transformation in our yard. The yellow Iris's are in bloom now. The five or six Hydrangea bushes all have lots of flowers on them, the Clematis has come and largely gone now, the Pearl Island Rose is 15 ft high and has many blossoms on it. The Canada Day Rose which is a Rose that produces red and white roses off of the same stock (we call it the Amy Rose because granddaughter Amy was born on Canada Day) has begun to bloom.

The Crocosmia is 3 ft high. Our Palm tree actually has fruit on it. The tomatoes are getting big in the pots on the front patio. The Dogwood blossoms on our tree have come and gone but the Japanese Maple is out in full gorgeous red leaves.  

There are lots happening in the yard which is keeping both of us very busy. The grass is growing and upon us like regiments of soldiers advancing towards their target. It just keeps on coming whatever you throw at it. We have to mow at least twice a week to keep it at a manageable level. We have however managed to get rid of all the clover and buttercups in the lawn by using "Weedman" and it looks really nice now.

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Comox Harbour.

To stave off any boredom and to get some exercise and fresh air during these times, we love to take the 5-minute drive to Comox Harbour and surrounding areas. When we do, we walk the pier housed in the Marina and watch many of the fine boats chugging in and out of the Marina. It's very relaxing.

There are many people who have a lot of money tied up in these good looking boats. They come in all shapes and sizes, some as large as trawlers and some as small as 17 feet.  I envy the owners nevertheless, but my envy turns milder as I recall the saying, "a boat, is a hole in the water into which you pour money" - It's true, I watch as my friend who moved here from Cochrane, Alberta endlessly doles out money in order to maintain, store and shrinkwrap his boats over the winter. 



Meanwhile, down at the Marina, we are seeing the return of the food trucks in and around the area, with lineups now forming to grab a quick bite so they can sit and enjoy some of the wonderful creations coming out of these trucks while the consumers sit on the benches or grassy areas while enjoying the taste of the food combined with the freshly scented aromas given off by the sea breeze. You want fries, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, Indian food - No problem, it's all here.

In order not to make this too long, We will sign off now. All we can say is that happily, we have not heard of one of our friends who has contracted the COVID virus and of course, for that we are incredibly happy about. 

Obviously, you are keeping your social distancing as a high priority. None of us can afford to let our guard down, so in finishing this blog, wherever our friends and family are scattered across the world, in Calgary, the USA, England, Scotland, Wales, Saskatchewan, Norway, Australia, British Columbia, Ontario and in many other places too numerous to mention, we say keep up the good work and keep your social distancing where you can. 

And finally, a huge happy birthday to Donna's cousin Barbara Gray. Barbara lives in Parksville on the Island. Barb. is celebrating her 84th birthday today. God bless you Barbie. I know we chatted today but we will see you on Wednesday.

Stay Safe. Everyone. We wish you all well.

Ken and Donna