I don’t normally post lengthy articles about cooking but yesterday I was quite delighted by the way the waffles turned out. In the current state of the world , politically and with a global pandemic still raging a year later, enjoying small victories is very important.

For years I’ve kept a ‘gratitude’ journal. I bought that “Inspire, Dream…” hard covered notebook during a trip to Vancouver to visit my son and his family way back in 2011. I’ve been making entries, somewhat erratically, ever since. I find I’m often far more creative when I write with a fountain pen in a beautiful notebook than when my fingers are tapping on a keyboard.
A couple of years ago I mentioned to David how much I LOVED good fountain pens and that the ones I had were very old, decrepit and the ink (along with my ideas) no longer flowed smoothly. We went shopping in a specialty pen store where he bought that beautiful jade-colour writing instrument for me as a gift. It’s had a lot of use since then and will last a very long time.
Last night we had a substantial snowfall. Joel spent two hours outside this morning clearing the piles from the deck, walkway, driveway and a part of the yard that serves as a feeding station for the birds and a separate piddle zone for the dog. The chores never end.
Meanwhile, I needed a subject (in addition to the ink photo above) for a photo that represented the letter I. A quick check of the freezer led me to the half full container of my favourite French Vanilla ice cream. Since I had to take it out for the photos, I couldn’t put the scoop full back, could I? I made the sacrifice of eating it because I certainly couldn’t let it go to waste. It probably will, however, go to my waist.


Such is life during a pandemic, trapped at home. At least I have my camera to play with and endless subjects!