Bubble

Tags

Atlantic Canada, Canada, covid19, life, PANDEMIC, PEI

If you only listened to the CBC from Toronto, you would believe that the whole country is doing poorly with the Covid pandemic. The problem being that CBC at the English Mother House in Toronto has the sad tendency to report all news in a Toronto Centric way, but Toronto is only one city in Canada and not the whole country. We have 6 time zones in an immense geographic area.

The Atlantic provinces New-Brunswick, Nova-Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador is almost never mentioned in the news, Quebec is only mentioned if something derogatory makes the news. In other words the news are skewed in Toronto’s favour. It was not always like that but in decentralizing, the Federal Government allowed the National Broadcaster to leave the Capital Ottawa, the English service went to Toronto and the French service to Montreal.

At the moment with the Pandemic, Ontario is definitely a NO GO area, with 4500 cases per day, the Provincial Government who is responsible for Health Care has made a terrible mess of things by putting the priority on businesses instead of public health, the result, the health service is collapsing and doctors have to decide who will live and who will die, not a good situation.

Here in Atlantic Canada, PEI has a handful of cases, all at home, Newfoundland and Labrador another handful, Nova Scotia a few, the problem is New Brunswick because of its border with Quebec. So the opening of inter-provincial borders expected for next week is not going to happen. The Premiers are playing it safe and prefer to wait until May 3 to see if we can re-open our border to visitors from other Atlantic provinces. We will definitely NOT re-open to any other Canadians from other provinces or the USA.

Either way Will and I are getting our vaccine next week, the Pfizer one.

In the local news yesterday on PEI, the head of the Nurses Union said that 250 nurses had either changed jobs or quit and we were very short staffed. That is a huge number for PEI. Many have gone to work for the Federal Government at the Dept of Veterans Affairs, better pay and better benefits and a lot less stress. The pandemic has created a scenario where nurses are expected to work 7 days a week, we do a lot of testing, sometimes 1000 per day or more and then the inoculation of the population is going great guns. So nursing staff is worked hard and many are tired.

Mental health also appears to be the flavour of the month, we only have 2 psychiatrists on the Island and we need a minimum of 10. Most of the work in this field is done by nurses who do a lot of counselling, but that is not the same thing as having a doctor see you. Also you can easily wait 3 weeks in an emergency situation.

The PEI Government talks a lot about reform but little is being done and it all hinges on salary and benefits which keeps a lot of doctors away.

Mark Rothko, no.12

Coming events

Tags

Ash Wednesday, covid19, Death, Harlequin, Lent, Quebec

Well in about 5 weeks I will become officially a senior citizen, a golden ager, entitled to all kinds of coupons and discounts and will be able to complain and accuse anyone not doing what I want of discrimination and playing the victim card. Sounds like fun to me. Making up excuses, like my hearing is not good, my health is shot, I can’t see clearly like Mr Magoo, appearing confused and muttering under my breath. A rich vein to be exploited.

I was thinking of a cake for my birthday, I discovered a recipe for Sicilian Orange Cake with a frosting of cream cheese with Grand Marnier, simple and delicious. Apparently the cake uses the whole orange, rind and al. I like the idea of Grand Marnier in the frosting. Certainly beats Betty Crocker chocolate cake, though I must confess as a child, my Mom use to make us such cakes and they were quite good, her secret recipe no doubt.

So tomorrow is Lent and usually in the old ways of observing it, you would give up meat and sweets. Fish was a substitute, lucky us in New Brunswick a local fellow has a Sturgeon fish farm and of course Caviar is the product. What a good substitute for meat, add a little Oysters and voilà, the perfect Lenten diet.

Lent today starting with Ash Wednesday is somewhat of a forgotten period of the year. It is not mentioned anywhere unless you attend religious services. The concept also of Ash Wednesday which I always thought was a good reminder that we must remain humble, you are ashes and will return to ashes, is not a popular message in a society where no one dies, you pass. The use of pass as a action verb is odd at best. People appear unable to say he died or she died. Passing is to me going into another room, or walking by.

Lent also could in this time of Pandemic be a chance to reflect on our society and its values as a whole. A society who is in a constant search for excitement, where only the individual matters, the self is everything. Despite easy restrictions, many have displayed extreme selfishness, not caring for family or friends or community. Making up excuses for not following simple sanitary rules, at the moment its mental health, everyone suffers from some kind or other metal problem. One teacher said to me that she did not understand the extreme reactions of students who complain loudly of feeling anxious, about what exactly she wondered? They cannot learn online, they need tons of support, no self-discipline. In Canada, 21,000 people have died so far, of that total 50% live in the Province of Quebec, again widespread resistance to guidelines led to tragedy. Just off the coast of PEI are 2 sandbanks called the Magdalene Islands a nice tourist spot in the Summer, population 12,000, also part of Quebec. It is largely a windswept place in the middle of the Gulf of St-Lawrence. 60% of the population is sick with COVID19. A very sad situation. There has to be a sociological explanation and a psychological one for the type of Covidiots we have seen all around Canada.

This painting by Carl Spitzweg, in the Stuttgart Art gallery, entitled Ash Wednesday c.1860. Arlecchino reflecting on life in a monk’s cel. is a propos. Harlequin from the Commedia del’Arte is usually portrayed as a dim-wit, silly, simple person, always hungry, somehow corresponds to our society in this time of crisis, refusing facts or science and in quest of absolute and entertainment.

Busy week

Tags

Canada, Cookie, covid19, Scotch, Sesame street

This past week was busy with all manner of things. Friday night was great fun, we went to the Club to a Scotch tasting evening, had 3 Irish whiskeys and 3 single malts scotch, haggis of course, I love the stuff and some smoke salmon bagel and cream cheese ( lox, bagels with schmear as my father use to say). In the bar across the corridor they were serving pulled pork sandwiches with drinks. After the scotch tasting I had 2 flutes of prosecco to end the evening. For the Scotch tasting Will made a special dessert, it was a very big hit, a recipe he found on Glen and Friends on YouTube, Roast Bread Irish Whiskey Ice Cream, he used 12 year old Yellow Spot Irish Whiskey and it made an impression with the group.

The weather is still strange but apparently we are suppose to get a big storm on Tuesday, looks like snow and rain and winds of 68km per hour. In the five years we have been here, Winters are a mix of snow and rain and lots of wind. I will be sure to do the Island thing and get my Storm Chips, we like Miss Vickie’s chips. Some neighbours also like to get a roast chicken just in case of power outage, though that is not likely for us since we live in the centre of the Capital near government buildings. This will be our first snow storm on 2 February, late really in the Season.

Well the Prime Minister announced on Friday that Canadians cannot leave Canada, many had failed to listen to the advice not to travel outside Canada since 1 January and the rates of infections is still high in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta and the health system in those 3 provinces is collapsing with difficult decisions to be made on who will live and who will die. The Premiers of Ontario, the most incompetent Doug Ford and Francois Legault of Quebec demanded that the Prime Minister close the border. So as of Friday night all flights out of Canada especially those going South to Florida, Carribean and Mexico are stopped. People can come home but upon arrival will be tested for Covid 19 and immediately isolated in an hotel for 3 days at their own expense. Then if they are negative will be sent home and will face strict police surveillance to ensure they are respecting the 14 day quarantine. Those who test positive will be sent to a Federal facility, most probably an army base where they will stay until all clear. Draconian measures for sure but given the attitude of many who refuse to obey this has become necessary. Unfortunately in Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney who is a Trump wannabe, decided to re-open bars and restaurants because the economy. His province has the highest rate of infection in Canada per capita, total lunacy.

It is clear to me that we are going to be stuck in this pandemic for another year at least or even two, it may continue for years with variants appearing as they already have. So we will have to learn to live differently, it has been a year and life goes on.

On the funny side of life I learned at the Scotch tasting Friday that the Cookie Monster on Sesame Street has a first name. I watched Sesame street for years and I did not know that. His name is Sid. The things you learn when you drink scotch single malt.

St-Ambrose’s Day

Tags

Bernini, covid19, life, PANDEMIC, PEI, Popes, Salisbury

St-Ambrose is the Patron Saint of the City of Milan and traditionally this is the Opera Season Opening Day at the famed Teatro alla Scala since 1778. This is a very important gala event with the President of the Italian Republic present with his guest of honour who is another Head of State in the Royal Box. The tickets for such an event are hard to get, many go to the glitterati of Italian aristocracy, captains of industry and le beau monde. This will not happen this year given the second wave of Covid19.

Well we all knew this was coming, that our luck had to run out at some point, as of this morning PEI is under lock down or as it is called here Circuit breaker lock down. All restaurants and bars, gyms, casinos, meeting halls, are closed. It is forbidden to have any private gatherings, this means that you cannot have more than 2 people in your house and they must be part of your family or household. Anyone breaking those rules and anyone present is fined $1000. no exceptions. Retail shops can stay open but there are severe restrictions on how many customers can come in, security guards at the door maintaining order. Church services can proceed with no more than 10 people, no weddings no funerals. These measures are in force until 21 December but I believe this means no Christmas this year. Will and I will simply stay quiet at home and have a nice Christmas meal together. Just a few minutes ago the Chief Medical Officer announced 4 more cases all in their 20’s all connected to the other cases. Now people are encouraged to shop online, work from home and seniors home and hospital will not allow any visitors. Any young person much show proof that they had the Covid test before going to the dentist or being admitted into a medical office.

The good news is that we could start receiving the vaccine by the end of next week, in the meantime everyone must wear a mask at all times.

The latest episode started with one 15 yr old student at a high school in Charlottetown, he had never travelled outside of the Island, so the cause of his infection was a total mystery. Over 3000 people were tested over one weekend, all from his school and contacts, all were negative, so it was an even bigger mystery. Finally the Wendy’s restaurant near the school was linked to him, itL had 3 cases, all employees in their 20’s and a further 4 persons also all in their 20’s were their contacts. So the Government of PEI has decree that anyone in the age group 20 to 29 MUST be tested for Covid19. In PEI the second wave is hitting the under 30 group, a group that did not follow health directives for the most part.

In other news, I was reading this morning that today is the Birthday of artist, sculptor and architect, the man responsible for many stunning monuments in Rome who invented the Baroque style of architecture, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). He worked for many Popes and left masterpieces for all of us to appreciate.

It is also the 800 Anniversary of the Salisbury Cathedral, built in 1220 as a Roman Catholic Cathedral, since the reformation it’s an Anglican Cathedral. The Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall came for the thanksgiving service.

new rules

Tags

Canada, covid19, Health, life, mask, Nunavut, PANDEMIC, PEI

Yesterday the Premier of PEI announced at the recommendation of the Chief Medical Officer that everyone in PEI would have to wear a face mask in any indoor situation as of Thursday. We do not have any Covid 19 cases but the Medical authorities and the Government are worried that people have become complacent and are not really following simple guidelines like washing your hands, keeping 6 feet apart and wearing a face mask. Community spread is always a fear and Nunavut the far Northern Territory some 2200 Km north of us had no Covid 19 case in 2020 so far but in a matter of 72 hours suddenly they have 60 cases. The population of Nunavut which is a gigantic territory larger than all of Europe has a very small population of 38,000 people. If it can happen there it certainly can happen in PEI which is very small island with a population of 150k. Also yesterday one case of community spread happened in Darmouth, Nova Scotia. So the risk is there.

I have several masks and I always have one with me and so does Will and we wear them. I just feel more comfortable going inside a mall or shop wearing a mask. It is such a small thing. Yes it fogs up my glasses and I don’t like that but so what, health comes first.

The other problem is trying to make people understand that maybe they do not fell sick or have no symptoms but that does not mean they are not carrying the virus, many just don’t seem to understand that. I suspect they do understand but just can’t be bothered.

We have been lucky on PEI during this pandemic let’s keep it that way.

Thinking…

Tags

2020, climate change, covid19, disasters, New Year, thinking, virus

Late last night I was thinking,  as Will would say to me; what have I told you about thinking. This is our little inside joke we share. I was thinking that this Covid19 Pandemic has change fundamentally the way we live and it is unlikely we will return to the way things were before March 2020.

It has been 10 long weeks of staying at home and only going out for essentials. The word essential has become the key word in our life. Someone is essential or not, shopping is essential or not, businesses are essential or not. All Government directives are based on what is essential or not in terms of services etc.

These 10 weeks which upset our lives are lost forever, we followed the rules because this is what was required in order to stay healthy and not infect anyone if we happened to be Asymtomatic. I believe in Civic Duty and responsibility in such cases so we did it.

However this pandemic also revealed the ugly side of many people, the selfish, self-centred attitude, ME first is their mantra. That is very disturbing to see and hear. People who place the economy first and foremost and do not care how many will get sick and die. The economy is more important, really? Obviously such people do not know that you can’t take the money with you when you die. We have them here on PEI, and such people are a sad spectacle.

But my thinking was more about how our lives had changed, we went in just 24 hours on 11 March from having lots of social activities with friends to nothing, zero, zilch to do. Could not meet anyone, ok will do zoom instead, well it’s not the same. Also having nothing to do plays on your mind. We did try to keep busy and that lasted all of one week. I started to forget what day of the week it was and had to look at the calendar and my iPhone for confirmation. It all looked the same, nothing had any order, time became irrelevant. Streets around us were deserted, no one anywhere, we took the dogs out for walks but it was eerie, no one anywhere, the silence. We have two large parks by the house and the Hillsborough river in front but seeing the snow melt and then the grass grow, the City employees were not coming, garbage collection was cut back, all businesses closed including the bank branch. All of it was very strange and unsettling. The only distraction was going to the gas station to fill up and going to the grocery stores but we were told only once every 2 weeks. Lucky us, we never really had any shortages, though on 13 March we had the great toilet paper caper, that was silly and we all laughed at it, within two weeks that was resolved.

Now since 1 June we are in phase 3 and businesses have re-open and so has restaurants, but we are not going. We will do take out but that is it. Our Club is also re-opening but no we are not going there either. Because of the frustration of being limited in what we could do, far to many people are now behaving thoughtlessly, not observing social distancing, no masks or gloves.

I miss seeing our friends, good conversation, cocktails, birthdays or having dinner parties. I joked in March that this would last 8 months, looks like I was right about that one, it may be longer. What we have now is fear, the fear of getting sick. The fear that something may go terribly wrong. Fear for the future, fear for the economy, though so far nothing major has happened. Yes there is a lot of unemployed, in PEI it’s 20% but it is not apparent so far. Our tourism Season will not happen and fishers are complaining of no markets. People are fearful but what can we do. Everyone is hoping that life will return to some kind of normality, even if this means a new normal. I can see it with the Dentists and Doctors, procedures for patients is very different now. Wearing a mask is not mandatory but strongly recommended. Everything is done through a plexiglass window and there is lots of cleaning going on. It really feels like a twilight zone, a bad dream.

Climate change has not gone away and we see signs of it with strange weather no one remembers ever happening before. We have to reconcile ourselves to the fact that we may have this pandemic for a long time, it may not go away and coupled with worsening effect of Climate change, quite the combination.

So on New Year’s Eve I thought to myself what will 2020 bring, I thought well for sure there will be some disaster or incident, something to make us pay attention. Well we had our load of disasters for the year in the first 3 months, from the downing of a commercial airliner over Tehran by the Iranian guards with all those Canadians on board, the month long railway blockades by native groups across Canada over a pipeline in British Columbia, the price of Oil in Alberta dropping to almost zero, the crisis with China over Meng of Huawei and her possible extradition to the USA and then Covid 19.  Now our border was closed with the USA in March and will remain so for the time being and all our seaports are also closed until 31 October. Maybe it is a good thing we cannot see what the future holds. I do hope to see our friends this Summer, I miss them and I hope that we will remain safe and healthy.

 

Remembering

Tags

Charlottetown, covid19, film, isolation, PEI, Rome, the past

With the crazy state of the world at the moment and being mostly confined to home due to the so called lock down it gives us a lot of time to think and reflect on the past and on where we are now. You hear a piece of music or an image and you are send back to another time in your life. Today we learned of the death of an old work colleague of W. and given her age it got us to think that W had retired some 22 years ago. I retired 7 years ago. We have been in PEI 4 years now. We left my last post Rome some 9 years ago. I graduated from University some 41 years ago. Amazing how time flies by quickly and it always seem like it was just yesterday. We have not really seen anyone in 7 weeks and not likely to see anyone for another 4 weeks, if there is no second wave.

This week in the mail was 2 documents from the Government of Canada, I thought someone is keeping watch, it was a reminder that in 11 months I should apply for my Canada Pension Plan commonly known as CPP, as Canadian taxpayer, I like everyone else have to pay into it and when you reach a certain age you can apply to get it back in monthly sums. Then the next day it was another letter and documents to apply for my OAS which is the Old Age Security and there is a third pension program for persons who are poor under a certain income level. This last program does not apply to me. The OAS I can wait I don’t have to apply for that one for another 5 years if I so choose. In terms of social programs who support you in life, Canadians are damn lucky since 1965 when most of those programs we take for granted including Health Care came into being. It is all about maintaining a social net. The amounts of money are a support to avoid you ending up in the street with nothing. They are also indexed to the cost of living yearly.

Same with the Pandemic now, everyday the Government of Canada and some Provincial Governments have announced financial support for individual Canadians, from students with no Summer Jobs can get between $1200 to $1750. There is rent relief for individuals, salary relief covering up to 75% of employee salaries so employers do not lay people off. Commercial rent relief for small businesses, Income for Canadians who are unemployed, more income support for seniors, etc… and the list goes on. It is costing so far about $285 Billion dollars to the Government of Canada. Still people complain it’s not enough, sheesh some people really. We have nothing to complain about. But I never thought we would ever find ourselves in this world situation. War, nuclear annihilation, climate change disaster yes of course that I expected, I grew up during the Cold War but not this. So I have now a very strong desire or feeling to go back to 1989 or before, though not perfect we were I think in a better place relatively speaking. I am also appalled at the selfishness of people, grasping for easy solutions. Constant whining about nothing.

This bring me back to remembering better days and better times. People who are gone or distant friends. I also wonder what the world will be like after all this has pass, if it passes. I am not confident that we are or will be out of it, to say nothing of climate change. I remember the world prior to September 11, 2001 and we have not gone back, it will be the same this time. I can see how travelling will be more difficult and complicated and not nearly as affordable as before.

This little clip of La Grande Bellezza (ROME) a movie I have seen many times and love. Reminds me of our time 10 years ago in a city I know so well. The main character Jep is played by a very good Italian actor Toni Servillo. The film won many awards in 2013. You can actually see the city this way either early in the morning before 8am or at dusk around 7pm, the streets can be so peaceful or in August when everyone is away on vacation. I wish I could return but that has to stay as a memory.

Today 2 May is our first day of relaxed restrictions, the main point is you can meet with up to 5 people outside but everyone must keep 6 feet apart from each other. I also got news today that a favourite restaurant is re-opening on 8 May, doing only take-out of course. In house dining will come later probably in July if all goes well.

If this issue does not resolve itself, we will have to re-invent life because no one can go on living in isolation forever.

On the First of May

Tags

Canada., covid19, cuisine, Food, PEI, restrictions

When May comes I always think of this ditty my Mom use to sign about May, the virgin Mary, rain and a famous department store in Montreal called Dupuis et Frères which lasted in business for more than 120 years but due to changing trends disappeared in 1978. The funny thing about Dupuis was that it marketed itself as the store of the People and of the housewife. In direct competition with other big department stores on Sainte Catherine street like Morgan’s, Simpson’s and Eaton’s seen as the department stores of the English speaking Montrealer who lived West of Saint-Laurent Blvd. which runs North-South across the Island of Montreal.

It was a silly song and always made us laugh as kids, I never forgot it, it was part of the lore of French culture in Montreal. In fact I am not sure that maybe Dupuis et Frères started this little song in order to publicize their store and sell umbrellas and other rain gear, May being known apparently as a rainy month. The tune was taken from a religious hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary sung in French Catholic Parishes in Montreal.

So we have now been in this so called lock down for 44 days, it should be called Stay at Home movement because you can still go out but it is not encouraged. As of tomorrow the Government of PEI and of all the other Canadian Provinces will start to relax the restrictions. Now depending where you live in Canada each Province has its own schedule for relaxing the rules. However if anything goes wrong or if anyone is doing something foolish which would cause a second wave of Covid 19 to appear, we will go straight back into full lockdown. Unlike our neighbour to the South, we have been told sternly many times, we are not going back to the way things where before March 11 when the Pandemic hit us. Meaning that life will not be the same and businesses will have to change the way they operate. The Premier of PEI, Dennis King like all the other Provincial Premiers always start by emphasizing that measures taken including the 3 phases now being introduced on three separate dates to relax restrictions are done following the advice of the Chief Medical Officers of the Province. So it’s not a political thing, it’s a Public Health thing. It’s a go slow approach. Currently PEI has 3 cases recuperating at home and no new ones for the last 14 days, no deaths and no hospitalization. All of our 27 Covid 19 cases where due to foreign travel.

We are maintaining the State of Emergency until end of May for the time being.  This means that NO one who is not a resident of PEI can come here, the borders remain closed. So all the people who live elsewhere but come here in the Summer to their Cottage are forbidden from coming and will be turned away either at the bridge or ports or at the airport which is closed anyway.

So tomorrow we will be allowed to meet with friends up to a total of 5 persons in the drive way of your home but a 6 feet spacing must be maintained at all times to avoid the fine of $1000 dollars. The weather is really nice now and getting warmer so it is going to be difficult for people, but its a start. The Setting date for the Lobster Season is 18 May and private recreational fishing starts also around 11 May, many got their fishing licences this week and everyone kept the 6 feet apart in the line up at the Government Office. I was at the Liquor Store today and you have to wait outside in line 6 feet apart. People are really good about it and everyone is reasonable. Same at the Grocery store, though there is a lot of confusion because you have to follow the arrows on the floor. Golf Clubs will re-open but not the Club House.

We have also been told that we must eat more French Fries, lots more. Who knew the new diet lots and lots of French Fries, there is a surplus of potatoes something like 200 million pounds of potatoes in Canada. PEI produces some 25% of all potatoes eaten in Canada. It’s good for you, so enjoy!!! You must do your duty for the Country and to help Farmers. PEI being an agricultural Island, we get the message.

Phase Two is when it gets more interesting. We will have to wait until Friday 22 May to get a haircut or have your dog groomed or be allowed to congregate with 10 friends staying 6 feet apart (social distancing) is a big thing now. So I called my barber made an appointment and the dog groomer for Nicky and Nora and also my garage to have my Summer tires installed and get my Annual Safety check done on the car. We also have until 1 June to put in our Income Tax report, the Federal Government gave all a 30 day reprieve this year. If you are 65 yrs old and over, you have until 1 September to pay any owed Income Tax, usually there is no such thing.

Businesses can also start re-opening but again people are strongly encouraged to work from Home until the Pandemic passes, which could be around Christmas time. Restaurants and bars still cannot open for in room dining, only pick-up at the curb is allowed. However after 22 May, manicure, pedicure, elective surgery and other simple procedures will be allowed. But it will have to be regulated to avoid any relapse. This is what everyone is afraid of, the second wave. We had a few business types cry on the radio about how difficult it is for them, but they got little to no sympathy from the public.

The big thing the Confederation Centre of the Arts is closed for the Summer, this mean no Summer Festival, no theatre and no Anne of Green Gables, a first in the 55 years the show has been running. But without the tourist, who would go see it?

Schools will also remain closed until September, meaning kids have been at home since March 13. Parents have gained a new appreciation for the hard work of teachers and many have written thank you notes to teachers. The little darlings are not so sweet when you are stuck with them at home 24/7. Many parents work now from home and must also teach their kids, many parents are not prepared for this and it has caused a lot of stress.

In the meantime we keep busy. My brother who lives in Florida and is now retired, is making masks and he sent us some.

 

We are also trying new recipes and old ones, like this typically Italian dessert of pears in red wine.

 

Will also makes dough for our pizza dinner and we keep the ingredients to 3 topping maximum.

Here we have as toppings mushrooms which have been sautéed prior to baking the pizza, a tomato sauce and prosciutto which is added last just before serving. This pizza is very light to eat and the dough is really good.

Life goes one and let’s make the best of it.

 

 

Preparations

Tags

Canada., covid19, Easter, Food, lamb, Passover, traditions

In this atmosphere of suspended animation in which we live in since March 12, almost one month ago now, life goes on. So we continue our activities at home and nowhere else since everything is closed. Imagine for a moment what would life be like if we did not have any social media or internet and other electronic gadgets. We would have books, we could take walks, though that is discouraged and for those who do take a short walk just around the block, if you should meet someone immediately there is a tension to walk past but far away, cross the street to the other side, make sure there is that distance. It is very unnatural but necessary. At the grocery store the only place still open to shop, as of today 9 April we must now line up outside the store and be let in one by one. Inside there is a tension and people are watchful of each other, many try to maintain a distance as required and then others simply ignore all and do as they please. This applies to both men and women and if it can be said that some men are clueless about it, women are often trying to prove a point. You would like to say something but better not, such people are looking for an excuse to make a scene.

I did all my shopping ahead of time to avoid Thursday’s rush, the grocery stores are closed Friday, open on Saturday, it will be a zoo and closed again on Sunday. If they open on Monday there will be nothing to shop for given the rush of Saturday and the next delivery trucks will not come before Wednesday next week.

Today the news was grim, the Media in general have been pushing and pressuring the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments to say what are the hypothetical numbers in the statistical model of sick and dead in the coming months. The numbers are not a known fact, they are based on a projection of what could or might happen if people do not change their behaviour to help flatten the curve. The Media ran with it predicting the end of the world and listening to radio news the reader took on a dramatic voice with much inflection to make it sound as terrible as it possibly could. Then you are told this is news you can trust, really? The Prime Minister made it clear that this crisis could easily extend to December with all the restrictions in place. Still a lot of people are flaunting the rules in self-destructive and selfish behaviour.

On the other hand a recent poll shows the Prime Minister JT is getting 97% approval rating for what he is doing in response to the crisis. The opposition Conservative is at 29% not surprising given their highly negative unhelpful tone. You know you are in Canada when the Premier of Quebec says this Easter weekend is not the time to go to Church or participate in religious service given the high possibility of infections in such gatherings. The churches are closed anyway. We are told you can pray at home! Quebec also has the terrible distinction of having 12,000 cases, I cannot understand how that happened. Ontario with a population of 14 million people, twice that of Quebec has 6000 cases. Here in little PEI we have 25 cases and holding, our senior retirement homes are all safe with no cases, a blessing.

 

Marzipan Lamb of God for your table,  an old Italian tradition.

We have done a lot of baking for Easter, Will made from scratch Hot cross Buns for Good Friday. It took most of the day to make them. I made a German Easter Bread and because it is so big, half of it will be turned into a bread pudding for our Easter day meal. It is only the two of us this year, a first. Will also made little puff pastry meat pies. On Easter Sunday it will be lamb for lunch and we decided to dress up and have a Face Time drinks with our neighbours.

Hope you are all having a good Easter or Passover as the case may be. Best Wishes!

Shopping

Tags

chowder, covid19, liquor, Montague, PEI, shopping

This Friday morning I had a list of items I needed so off to the grocery store I go. I have a mask and surgical gloves. The store is in Stratford formerly known as SouthPort across the river from us, a short 5 minute ride away. I stopped at the gas station to fill up and saw the new low price of 0.71 cents just 7 days ago it was $1.14 a litre so I filled up, putting on my gloves first so as not to touch the pump and it cost me only $14. I cannot remember when was the last time I paid so little, maybe 1982. The grocery store is a Sobey Extra which is a giant store with a drugstore and a liquor store (closed at the moment) next door. I like this store, it is clean and well managed, the carts are clean, the parking lot was a quarter full this morning around 10:30am. The shelves were well stocked, the only 2 items you cannot find is Lysol wipes and Hydrogen Peroxide, otherwise it’s all on the shelves, lots of meats and fresh fruits and vegetables. I was looking for lamb because Easter is coming but I think ham is more popular, there was an awful lot of ham of all kinds. I did get the Lamb for our Easter lunch which will be a small affair this year, only the two of us. Saw my favourite cashier chatted briefly across the plexiglass divide. The only problem with wearing a mask and glasses, your glasses fog up. I noticed that almost all shoppers had gloves on, with the exception of a few under 35 yr old people and everyone was very good at keeping 6 feet away from others including at the Cash register. All the aisles are one way so you must follow the arrows pointing the direction of an aisle, again people were careful to do so.

The new procedure is when you go to check out, you must wait on the designated spot on the floor until the cashier motions you to come forward. The cashier will motion to you to put your items on the conveyer belt after it has been disinfected with bleach, this must be done after each client, you also bag your own now. The music playing in the store was Whitney Houston, which I always liked and it reminded me of Cairo, but this is another story.

Here in PEI our liquor stores are closed with the exception of 4 in total still open on shorten hours. This is creating some problems for Islanders, however you can buy beer from private brewery and we have quite a few craft brewers on the Island. I do not drink beer so this is no help to me. Given that the only store in Charlottetown had 2 city block waiting lines to get in and a maximum on purchase is $100 has been impose, given the price of booze that means 2 to 3  bottles of liquor and 6 bottles of wine. I am starting to think that the Methodist and the Presbyterians have mounted a conspiracy to dry up the Island, an evil plot I tell you. We cannot go to the mainland to shop for liquor in New Brunswick because the bridge is closed. So the only other solution is to drive to Montague which is East of us about 30 minutes on the road and go to the liquor store there. We will visit friends also, this means because of Covid 19, honking your horn in front of their house and screaming and waving as you drive by.

We continue to clean the house and today we dismantle and cleaned the guest bedroom and put it back together. Then Will made some chowder Manhattan style with lots of fish, scallops and shrimps, it was very good. I am just happy that the weather is better and it is Spring.