el invierno esta aqui (winter is here)

Yes, winter has arrived, and we are in the grip of cold spells but overall, it's not as bad as we expected once we had moved back to Alberta from BC. We have been down as low as -40°C this winter and some more snow will undoubtedly arrive as I compose this but that's Alberta. When you live at an altitude of almost 4000 ft above sea level, it's to be expected.

Our window coverings have been delivered and installed so our lives have changed to a more secluded setting rather than having people being able to look directly into the fishbowl effect we had for the first month or so. 

We are still waiting for our furniture to be manufactured and delivered so we can rid ourselves of the stuff we were kindly loaned when we ordered our furniture from them. 

We are noticing the sun climbing higher in the sky each day as we edge our way towards summer - good news for all us BBQers waiting to crank up the heat on those BBQs that have sat unused during the past months.

On a more positive note, it seems by the accounts of reporters on the TV and Radio that our COVID figures are improving. Thank goodness. The general feeling is that fewer people of all ages are being affected daily. Let's hope that continues. Certainly, when the authorities announce we can be vaccinated, we will be lined up to have it done.  

We have heard of one former work colleague who unfortunately passed away due to this terrible virus. She was 80 years of age but it was totally unexpected.      

We have now waited for three months and have received our Alberta Health Care cards so we no longer pay the higher prices we had to pay while still under BC Health.  Now, with the card, we stand a chance at obtaining the Vaccine although, that will probably not be until mid-summer. We are patient. We realize that other people need to be vaccinated before us. 

Although we are still confined to our homes, more of us seem to be getting accustomed to it.  With the cold temperatures, if we want to exercise in the warmth, we jump in the KIA and head to Southcentre's Indoor Shopping Mall where we can walk and take in the stores that all seem to be open.  

We noticed that most have discounts on all sorts of items to encourage buyers into their stores. Some as much as 70% off marked prices but it doesn't help when we see a limit of 5 or 10 people allowed into the store at any one time. We totally understand why it is done but we are pretty sure it's hurting the stores financially. We did notice, that Lulu Lemon, always has a lineup to get into their store when most of the other stores seem virtually empty.  

By the same token, we feel for the tens if not hundreds of thousands of people who have been laid off from all types of employment because of this COVID virus. The saving grace is as of last week, pubs, restaurants, hairdressing salons, barber-shops etc., are now allowed to open as long as they adhere to the strict rules they must operate under. 

Rediscovering What's New in Town Since We Left.

This photo was obviously taken during the summer of Sarcee Trail.

To occupy some time, Donna and I took a drive out to the South West of the city to view the newly constructed ring-road bypass system that has been worked on for about ten years.  We had not seen that stretch of the roadway which has been constructed since we left Alberta six years ago. We were surprised how quickly one can get from A to B on the new highway which is not that far from completion.

Being Creative During This Period Of Isolation

We have kept ourselves occupied by creating home-made foods we found while cruising the internet. We have baked soft dinner rolls, French Loaves, English Muffins, Pizzas, Pasties, Sourdough and Wholewheat Bread, Cheesecake, Wor Wonton Soups, Italian Vegetable Soup, Danish Frikadelle and lots more, much of which we have frozen and saved. In the process, we feel we have saved ourselves a substantial amount of money on groceries. Some of our food is displayed below:

 

Beef Curry with Saffron Rice

Our French Bread

Our Foccacia Bread with Tomato, Jalapenos and Black Olives

Our first attempt at Sourdough Bread

Sourdough, the finished product fresh out of the oven.

Italian Canolli.
This was fun to make but you have to buy the Canolli shell forms from Amazon as we did. They are about $25 for ten I think we paid.

Our first attempt at English Muffins. They were delicious

Danish Frikadelle - Great with Red Cabbage cooked in Apples and White Vinegar

If anyone would like any of the recipes we have been making (and there are literally hundreds, let us know. We have the recipes all formatted in the same way for ease of viewing.

Downtime. 

Lately, we have been watching a fair amount of TV. We have four TV programs to recommend if you are at a loss what to watch and are looking for some programs or series.

The First is on Prime Video (anyone who has a Prime account with Amazon gets their Prime free).  The name of the series is 

Once you begin this series you won't be able to put it down. It takes place in Montana. The series is probably not ideal for younger kids but great for adults. As we know, all good things come to an end. This is no exception. It's rather like Downton Abbey - one must tough it out until the next season comes along and that's the same here.

The next series is on Netflix and is called "Ratched" - a superb series based on a nurse in an asylum. Don't be fooled, this is not for the squeamish. If you remember the movie "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest" starring Jack Nicholson. It's a take-off of nurse Ratched out of that movie. It's a little dark but very well done and definitely worth watching all of the ways through. In fact, I had never seen the movie so we rented it the other night. I thought Nicholson did a great job in the movie.

The third recommendation is a detective series based out of the South West of England. It is extremely well done and has twists and turns in every part of the series. It's called "Broadchurch". You won't be sorry you watched it. It's also on Netflix.

It's Valentine's

Well, it's Valentine's Day today as I type this out, so Donna and I are going out to buy a steak and a lobster to share for supper this evening. We haven't had that type of food for a while.

We sincerely hope you are all keeping well and surviving this awful event. It would be so nice to have people over for supper or even just for a visit. We look forward to getting back to normal, whatever normal will mean in the long run. We often wonder if we will ever return to the way it was before. I suppose we all have to be patient and wait to see what happens later on, but the UK and South African variants make it a whole lot worse. 

We know we put out a blog only a month ago, but with us all confined, we thought it would be a nice gesture to catch up with you all, even though we cannot get together. This also applies to all our friends across the miles and oceans as this blog will go to the UK, Norway, Germany, Australia, the USA and too many more places.

Best wishes to you all, wherever you may be on this Valentine's Day.

Ken and Donna.

And to leave you with a wonderful Valentine's thought.

Always good for a laugh! but NOT taken on Valentine's Day