Letting it Go

It’s been a weird stretch, hasn’t it? Are we really at the end? The Magic 8 Ball says to "Ask Again Later." Maybe that silly ball is smarter than everyone? Spring is in the air, sort of, at least mouse is ready for it. There's been this district lethargy of late, we've all felt it since the end of the holidays. Maybe it's just been the pandemic wearing us down to a nub? Everything feels untidy and disorganized, even if technically it's not. In January mouse hit a wall where cooking was concerned. Everything felt like "this again?" We spent a week or two with simple meals or big meals that provided too many left overs, so the weeks cooking became a queue for the microwave. The breakfast/lunch table became a hub of things that needed putting away and the dining table became the place an overly ambitious project was started when our weather turned bad, but the poor weather didn't last long enough to complete it. Little by little when the weather is poor, or mouse finds herself with nothing else to do (which is incredibly rare) a bit is tackled and then abandoned. The thought was that even a little progress is progress however, that was simply a lie she told herself. 

Now, it's been weeks and mouse is tired of it, so after spending Sunday sorting through a lot of it, mouse put all away. At least, it's partially organized so it can easily be started again. At least now, the dining room table is cleared off and can be utilized again. So, where have been we been eating? Mostly on the fly, as mouse mentioned the queue forming for the microwave, everyone has been eating more of less on their own schedule. The next step was to clear off the breakfast table and other dumping grounds and then she devilishly set the table so it couldn't be re-cluttered up. 

The Little Things We Used To Do

Remember those things? One evening mouse began looking through the blog and recalling that she used to make scones, now to be sure it's been a while since mouse last made those. It was so easy, just make the dough and freeze it, defrost it overnight in the fridge and bake. Add a little homemade jam, and it's a wonderful thing. Yes, making homemade jam...is another of those things. Not the kind where you have a crate of fruit and spend hours canning (although you can) but this is just made as needed, couple cups of fresh berries (whatever look and taste good -- we like assorted berries. As they begin to cook down, add a little cinnamon, lemon (zest or juice or why not both?) and whatever else. Add the sugar (or honey) if you feel it needs it, this time of year the berries tend to be a bit tart. 

Pre-pandemic from around March until November, mouse would schlepp herself to the farmers market nearly every week for fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and cheese. Then when lockdown occurred, the market was shuttered and honestly mouse forgot all about it. Since the grocery store prices have been unbelievable lately, mouse decided to check out the farmers market scene again. Can't say that mouse was impressed with the prices there, maybe a little better on some items but far worse than others and quality in general better than the grocer, not so great that it justified the extra money. Food wise mouse has settled into a rut of pasta bakes, which aren't the most healthy things even if you try to healthy them up by using a wheat pasta...it's still pasta. There's been a lot of apathy and lack of interest in daily cooking. Adding to that the high prices and lack of inspiration it's been a huge struggle. Is that how we're going to divide our lives, pre and post pandemic? Like when Grandma used to talk about before the depression. Not sure if this that kind of life altering event, but it sure feels like it. 

Whatever it's time to shake off that apathetic mouse and return to a more cohesive business as usual. 

We'll see how that goes for us.