Some humour for readers...

Amazon had lots of cheap Kindle books today...$2.99. Can't lose I think. I love reading from my Kindle.

Peanut butter cookies

These were Don's favourites and Donna and  I both made them on Monday.  I sent her the recipe.

My first batch...

She made half the recipe.  Donna's are looking quite golden...it must be the lighting in her kitchen:)

Peanut Butter Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 F 

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup soft margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 test baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

Directions

Cream marge, pb, both sugars together

Add eggs one at a time beating well

Add baking soda, powder and vanilla

Stir in flour

Roll into balls, roll in white sugar.  Flatten cookies in criss cross pattern using a fork.

Bake on uncreased cookie sheet for 13 - 15 minutes. or adjust to suit your oven and size of cookies.

This file survived....amazing!

Paris: for the first time

This is the website for the hotel I mentioned:

http://www.hoteljardindecluny.com/

The standard rooms and beds tend to be rather small so best to ask for a twin. The deluxe rooms aren’t exactly big either but they do have queen beds and spacious bathrooms.
A guide I always recommend is Eyewitness Top 10 Paris...small and easy to carry around and I mostly agree with their choices. For a limited period of time and if the weather is good...it's hard to beat just walking around. Also, the metro is good but taxis are quite cheap so don't hesitate to take them just to save time and figuring out where to go. (Just don't order one from your hotel as they begin to charge from when they're called and sometimes they get stuck in traffic so you begin with a big fee....there are taxi stands very close by the hotel)

I wouldn't bother waiting in line to go up the Eiffel Tower. Go to Les Invalides metro stop or take a taxi and walk up that great boulevard to the Eiffel tower...great way to see it the first time. Then you're not really far to walk across the Seine to Place Alma to get the "Bateaux Mouches"...those glass top and open boats that take you on about an hour tour on the Seine. A super intro to Paris. A must really and you’ll get a great view of Notre Dame.

I can never go to Paris without going to Notre Dame (very close to your hotel) and after head to Ile St. Louis for wandering and some Bertillon ice cream. Wander those little streets like Rue S. Jacques...very close to your hotel.

I would go to the Musee d'Orsay rather than the Louvre if you want one gallery. Also, I believe you can buy advance tickets which is a good idea as lines can be long. The restaurant there is neat to go to as well. Again...go just before noon as it can get big lines. Walk around the Louvre even if you don't go in and the Tuileries gardens which aren't far. Of course, you will want to do the Champs-Elysees.The Marais district is quite neat if you have time. 

Sacre Coeur is great if you have time but Montmartre is quite tacky these days so you could give this area a miss.
George Pompidou Centre used to be worth it for the free view but now they charge to go up the escalators..probably worth a miss.
Galleries Lafayettes has a great view and is free.
We really enjoyed doing an evening tour of all the lights of Paris so might give this a try.

And speking of Paris...

I looked up my 2005 blog Feb - May to find some photos of us and the Curlings in Paris and also in Carqueiranne and other parts of France but the photos don't show up for some reason. Glad I printed up some photos from this time. 

These are "photos of photos"....ah, remember eating in restaurants.

This was our last night in Paris and when we asked the server to take a photo of all of us, a couple from Australia jumped up to bein the photo...never had that happen. We hadn't been talking to them.

Ah...Notre Dame, mon amour.

And a fabulous meal at Les Pins Penchés.

My (Part Time) Paris Life....

I read her blog every day now. She has a theme for every day of the week. Yesterday it was "Stroll-with-me Sunday".  I love these little videos she takes Sunday. When people asked me what to do in Paris, I always really emphasized that no matter how little time you had, you just had to spend some time wandering about aimlessly exploring little alley ways, etc. Now I can do this again!

https://vimeo.com/412083772

Bread...

Fern is a real baker of all things including bread and I'm surprised that this is her first loaf of sourdough. Looks fabulous but I won't be able to taste it since she lives in Victoria. Grace is a long time expert in sourdough and I'm now making a formal request for a loaf the first time we can all get together again.

Fern's first sourdough loaf

And there was quite an article in The Sun today about how France is getting back to bread during the pandemic. The loaves are larger so keep a little longer. When we first started going to France, people went out for bread twice a day... morning and for dinner. As "foreigners" we had to be careful they didn't give us bread from the morning. Bakeries baked twice a day. We got so we could kind of tell. And until 1986, the government regulated the price. I didn't know that but I do remember in 1972 the price for a baguette was the equivalent of 12 cents. Add a bottle of vin ordinarie and a round of camembert and you had lunch for a buck.

Brock House Bookclub via Zoom yesterday....

Missing going to Brock House for events, meals, and the view. We had our bookclub meeting today on Zoom and it went very well. We were discussing Tara Westover's "Educated". It was an excellent discussion and Donna got it all organised for us.  Thank you so much, Donna!

Hope we'll be back here soon.

Looking not too terrible on Zoom...

I emailed Liz complementing her on looking so photogenic on our bookclub Zoom meeting. I wasn't very successful at that.

I loved her response:

Well first of all the trick for looking one’s best on camera is to have the camera up higher, eg in a pile of books or something, and to keep the light subdued .
So it’s all trickery!

Ah, so sitting in my recliner with my laptop on a pillow doesn't quite do the trick.

A great idea for masks for dog lovers....

Now....maybe there would be a cocker spaniel one. I would wear it in honour of my old friend, Rusty.

Well, of course I should have reazlisd someone would have done this already.  Pretty much everybreed seems available.

And I suppose really clever people could take a photo of their dog;s face and make a matching mask. This one looks like it is from a photo.

Lockdown in a 256 sq ft apartment in Paris

I don't actually read a a lot of blogs but I have been enjoying this one. She has a neat video of her apartment in this one.

https://myparttimeparislife.com/2020/04/22/lockdown-in-paris-day-37/

Lots of fun seeing Gretel...

Richard and Grace have been posting lots of photos and videos of Gretel.  Looks like she enjoys an ocean and mountain view too!  She's looking pretty peaceful here but she is pretty lively.

Social distancing and socializing,,,wow!

My dear friend, Linda, is always up for everything and knowing how much we love C-Lovers for fish and chips, shrimp with cocktail sauce, onion rings and mushy peas, she invited us to a "social distancing" lunch at their place.

Cec and Linda and loads and loads of food she picked up from C-Lovers.

Donna joined us too and this is in their back yard. With everything going on I didn't get a lot of photos.

And to top it all off, Linda had a friend sewing masks so we all got one. We can't find masks any where so these were a wonderful gift.

It was tremendous fun and will be a highlight of these pandemic times.

Thanks, guys!

Bookclub meeting yesterday on Zoom

This was my first experience with Zoom and I liked it better than the Skype format. The person hosting knew the author and she was going to come to our face to face meeting but she joined us on Zoom and it was really great to hear her answers to our questions. She was delighted to be there as well and mentioned a number of times what a gift it was to get all these thoughtful reactions to her novel. It looks like she is going to do some more writing with some of the characters and we will all look forward to that.

Well, no food and this bookclub is really into their food. We did have some chat after and it was interesting to catch up on what people and their families are doing.  It seems the police in England don't have enough to do to the point of telling people they shouldn't be sitting on a bench.

The next book is going to be "Where the Crawdads" sing which I've read and it is also a future choice for my Brock House bookclub.  I have it on kindle so will read it again. It's worth two reads and two discussions. I decided to read it when all the current situation began as I felt I wanted something to really engage me and it certainly!

Skype and Jane Austen...

Today we had our Jane Austen Association meeting on Skype. Well, it certainly isn't like meeting face-to-face but good on Michelle to organise it. I wonder what Jane Austen would have had to say about it all.

Donna and I talked on Skype the other day just to try it. I know now that I need to "hang up" because there was this buzzing from my computer for about a half hour even though I turned it off and rebooted it.

It was pretty easy...just clicked on the link.

Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well and keeping safe. I've just completed a test run for an online video chat and have hope that we are ready for the real thing! 

I'd like to invite you to our new JA Day meeting on 

April 18, Saturday at 10:30am to 11:30am.

Location: online!

On the schedule will be Devoney Looser's presentation, "The Words and Wisdom of Northanger Abbey" (which you may recall was originally our March presentation). 

For our meeting we will be using Meet Now https://join.skype.com/GBMWnV6fPzak

When the time comes, return to this email to click on the link above to join the video conference. 

For more info about Skype Meet Now: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA34926/what-is-meet-now-and-how-do-i-use-it-in-skype

** if you DO NOT have skype, open the link on your laptop or computer (with webcam) and you don't need to download the app. The link will open on your computer in Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

if you have skype already, clicking the link will open up the app on your computer or smartphone. I can add you to the group if you tell me your skype ID. 

I encourage you to test the Meet Now link above in advance of the meeting. 

Speaker info

"The Words and Wisdom of Northanger Abbey" - Devoney Looser
Northanger Abbey was famously first titled Susan, but did you know it was labeled romance? Or that it and Persuasion were mistaken for one long work? Learn more about Austen’s genius by single word and witty sentence with this image-filled presentation, plus “nice” discussion of women, history, romance, and reading.

I hope to see you on April 18th!

Yours in Jane, 

Michelle

Things people found while quarantine cleaning...

From Bored Panda

Trading sunsets...

Richard and I are trading sunsets these days...sort of a hug.

From Richard...from their pocket park...

Interesting what is going on in Japan

View over Tokyo 

Well, these are certainly interesting times and quite fascinating to hear about how some other countries are doing things.

This from "My Part Time Paris Life" from her friend in Tokyo:

So, what’s lockdown like in Tokyo? “It’s interesting,” Matthew says. “The Japanese have a distaste for fascism after two world wars, so there’s no legal structure for the government to enforce a “lockdown” in the post-WW2 constitution.” They use the word “jishuku,” which means “self-restraint” to encourage the general population to honor quarantine, and they apply local business laws to restrict business hours for bars and restaurants.

“You can go to the park with friends, but the police might ask you to stand further apart from each other. They do not have the right to arrest or fine us.”

Despite the dense population of Japan, their numbers remain much lower than Europe or the U.S., and have only just recently adopted a nationwide quarantine. But the rules seem more lax than here in France. Matthew can go to a restaurant anytime before 8 p.m. and have a (seemingly) normal meal sitting at normal distances. And the metro can still be crowded during rush hour, though nothing like what it was on a normal day. Schools have been closed, and Matthew has been teaching from home for the past three weeks. His work keeps him busy, but for someone who is as social as Matthew is, used to entertaining regularly, lockdown is especially hard. “And with my family in another country, I feel quite isolated.”

https://myparttimeparislife.com/2020/04/14/lockdown-in-paris-day-29/

Life turned upside down....

From My Part Time Paris Life blog:

In a city where people live in tiny apartments, cafés serve as our living rooms, our offices, and our connection to the larger world. They are unpretentious and affordable, and anyone who can pay for the price of a cup of coffee has a rightful seat for as long as they want it.

We have many happy memories sitting in these typical Paris bistro chairs. The Huxley Symposium would have begun today in the south of France.

Thinking about the beaches of Mourrillon in Toulon and all the cafes there. Many wonderful lunches of moules/frites. Jim was determined to take a dip even though the Mediterraneam would have been pretty cool mid-April .

Different things to be excited about....

When I came in from shopping from Save-on,  Jim was really pleased with all the great stuff he's getting for various projects he's working on.

Now, I was excited to find TP and Kleenex and they were even on sale.  Swiffer liquid and dishwasher detergent...only one of each left so I bought them. And canned green beans which I haven't seen since this all began. There was even flour but I have some and the bag was a bit big. And paper towels but I have quite a few and I have seen them around.

And I was really thrilled to get Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit mix.  I don't think I've ever seen
that before!

And this was our lamb dinner from Stephos the other day. There was so much lamb we not only both had a big helping for dinner but had leftovers for lunch.  This must be the best deal going....roast lamb dinner for $17.95. We only need one!

Linda was really happy with what she got from White Spot the other day. I think we'll try their halibut and chips soon. After cooking constantly, I think we will start to do more pick up and delivery.

Great sunset tonight

Very red and orange on this side...

And very mauve just to the left...

Introducing Gretel

This is the cat that Richard and Grace are fostering at the moment. She's about a year old and really lively and sweet! It would be great if someone adopted her.

Spring is springing....

At Benjamin's in Palm Springs...

At Susan and Alan's in Yorkshire...

And the University Golf Course in Vancouver where we've been taking our walks lately...no problem keeping a safe distance. They're really keeping up the fairway and greens even though no one can play at the moment.

Lock down in Paris....day 27

* I've been reading this blog regularly and find it quite interesting to read about how things are working out in Paris for people.  I thought I would share her blog from yesterday with you.

For those celebrating Easter and Passover, this post is for you. I’m thinking especially of those who have lost someone recently. We all feel some of that weight today. It’s a lonely Easter Sunday for a lot of people, like me, confined and unable to be with family. The longing is palpable.

I do love Easter, almost more than Christmas, maybe because of the idea of rebirth, of resurrection. Starting anew. I told myself I would not be sad today, and took a walk out in the sun and spring. My local church, Saint-Jean-Bosco, a glorious Art Deco cathedral, did not have mass today, but I sat on the steps for a moment, in the sun, and said a prayer anyway.   

Link for the rest:

https://myparttimeparislife.com/2020/04/12/lockdown-in-paris-day-27/

The local church she attends. Saint-Jean Bosco is quite an amazing example of Art Deco architecture.
https://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-culture/eglise-saint-jean-bosco

And in case you missed it...Andrea Bocelli: Music for Hope
Live from Duomo di Milano

On Easter Sunday (April 12, 2020), by invitation of the City and of the Duomo cathedral of Milan, Italian global music icon Andrea Bocelli gave a solo performance representing a message of love, healing and hope to Italy and the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTUOek4LgU&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3aAXSUltbBCQCXGw552dLHt1p6u-PHVXprAVol3-f-ElZ57GGQj6khYQQ

This was in the New York Times yesterday...

I love that she was criticized in basic training in the Navy for not yelling loud enough!
From Behind the Scenes to the Forefront: Canada’s Public Health Officers

by Catherine Porter

This week I had the opportunity to speak to Dr. Bonnie Henry. Before coronavirus and Covid-19 had entered my vocabulary, I had never heard of British Columbia’s provincial health officer.

Now, it feels like she has become one of the most famous and beloved people in Canada.

She has inspired fan clubs, musical tributes, T-shirts and street art. Musician and lawyer Phil Dwyer wrote a ballad about her that his friends and son helped him record and mix remotely. Two days after it was uploaded to SoundCloud, the song had been listened to 20,000 times.

“We all share this person who comes and talks to us every day. The interesting thing is she is delivering, for the most part, really awful news: more people sick, more people dead, more people going to die. But somehow, the way she does it and the level of empathy she shows, it just seems like she is the right person for us at this time,” Mr. Dwyer, who lives on Vancouver Island, told me. “She is who we needed.”

Dr. Henry is not alone. Public health officials across Canada have become veritable folk heroes. In Quebec, Dr. Horacio Arruda’s animated face has appeared on loaves of bread, coffee cups, coloring books, windows and tattoo designs. After he announced he planned to spend the weekend inside, baking Portuguese tarts, his local fan club hosted two Facebook live session on “how to bake natas.”

In Calgary, clothing designers hooked up with a local artist to make 1,100 T-shirts featuring the face of Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, and three other newly famous female health officers. They quickly sold out. “She’s someone we trust, because there is no political layer,” said Emma May, a designer on the project who normally makes women’s business attire. “She has no agenda. Her agenda is science.”

The public health doctor as hero phenomenon is not unique to Canada but it’s certainly pronounced here. It’s a particular contrast to the polarized reception Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced across the border. There, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease has garnered devout fans but also so many public enemies he’s had to beef up his personal security.

I called a few people to get their take on why this was happening.

Josh Greenberg, a professor of communication who focuses on public health at Carleton University in Ottawa, said that Canada’s public health doctors were filling a void created by “preening” celebrities.

“Ordinary people don’t have time for celebrity peacocks when the world is burning,” he said. “There is a void created because there is so much mistrust in politicians, mistrust in traditional institutions like journalism, that we go to these figures who were largely up until now backstage players and we are putting them onstage by making them celebrities,” he said.

Jeremy Frimer is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Winnipeg who studies moral heroes. He told me that whether consciously done or not, the creation of moral heroes during times like these is an “advantageous social strategy.” They lead by example, convincing rule breakers to fall in line.

“They mobilize the masses to do their part,” he told me. “That’s the difference between social distancing and washing our hands and not.”

There is something both intimate and collective about the role they play right now, speaking directly to each of us from the television or livestream.

They are also very relatable. This week, Dr. Henry admitted during her regular update that she had been forced to cut her hair herself.

Dr. Henry told me the surge of adulation has been “scary, embarrassing almost” and “really, really touching.”

“I’m an introvert — it’s not my nature to be the face of things,” she said from her office in Victoria where she’s received flowers, home-baked cookies and cards.

“In doing our jobs as best we can most of the time, you don’t see us, because there aren’t major outbreaks,” she said, adding: “We are doing things like putting in no smoking bylaws.”

She told me that she came by her calm delivery — lauded by many as anxiety reducing — naturally. Her first job as a physician was in the Navy, where she worked on a ship in Esquimalt. “I remember basic training,” she said, “I was criticized because I don’t yell loud enough.”

She has deep experience working in epidemics, from contact tracing ebola patients in Uganda in the early 2000s to helping quarterback Toronto’s response to SARS in 2003. “I’ve been working in outbreaks around world for 30 years,” said Dr. Henry, 54. “I never ever thought we’d be in pandemic like this.”

The day she decided schools would have to close, she said she was in shock.

“It felt like a bad dream, like the movie ‘Contagion.’ It wasn’t real.”

Daily briefings by public health officers across the country have turned them into celebrities and prompted songs, T-shirts, street art and fan clubs.

A new reading project

It was fun to read some "Anne" but I think I need something more adult.  Jim suggested (although he hasn't read it himself) "Remembrance of Things Past" by Marcel Proust. So I started that and will see how it goes. This is the first volume of seven.

 I haven't read much but can certainly see his influence on Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. I just might read Joyce's Dubliners again.  And as much as I have really liked Woolf, I realise I haven't read her first novel, "The Voyage Out". Jim thought it was really quite good so I may read that if this doesn't appeal.

Now this is a bit of serendipity:

The novels portray the world in which Proust grew up. His father was one of the most successful doctors in France, honoured for his work. He invented the "cordon sanitaire" - the quarantined ring around an infected area - that helped prevent the spread of cholera, a curse in all European cities in the late 19th century. He was a prominent pathologist and epidemiologist, studying cholera in Europe and Asia. He wrote numerous articles and books on medicine and hygiene.

In 1869, Adrien Proust (father of novelist Marcel Proust) proposed the use of an international cordon sanitaire to control the spread of cholera, which had emerged from India and was threatening Europe and Africa. Proust proposed that all ships bound for Europe from India and Southeast Asia be quarantined at Suez, however his ideas were not generally embraced.