I wasn’t going to write today but after a provincial announcement yesterday, I’m livid and heartbroken. We’re entering into another “lockdown” so to speak. But not really. The rules are murky at best. People are confused. There’s a lot of panic going around today about getting vaccine passports and such. All I want to say is… I’m just tired of it all. I want life to go back to “normal” whatever that might look like.

I’m resigned to the fact that I may not be able to see my dad over the next while. The rules again aren’t clear here. But for me as a single person, I’m only allowed to visit with “two close contacts” for indoor visits. The weather has turned bitterly cold already and sitting outside with that wind is not ideal.

So today, I got up early – finally pain free with energy – I’m showered, dressed and will be heading out soon to get my xray and second shot. I can’t unfortunately do my bloodwork tomorrow but I can get that done next week. It’s hard to do much when you’re in a flareup and I’ve been in a hypermobility flareup for nearly two weeks.

I ordered a new slow cooker and it’s pretty!

Today however, is a good day. I feel good. I got some sleep last night. I had a shower. And I have a slow cooker on the way from Amazon. It’s teal and really pretty. My last one cracked right in half two years ago and so I’ve been without one. I’ve missed it. The Zest Pot just does not cook meat the same way a slow cooker does.

And no, I didn’t order the slow cooker based on the color alone. I did a lot of research and found a decent budget model in my budget range $60 CDN – the teal color that matches my kitchen is an added bonus.

The Zest Pot is terrific for rice and pasta dishes. Sometimes even soup. But a perfectly slow cooked beef stew? There’s nothing quite like it. It was on sale for $80 and was the lighter version of the instant pot. I’ve said it before – I’m not a fan of pressure cooking. It’s not the same as slow cooking.

Fitness challenge – I see progress!

Tomorrow I’ll stock up on healthy food again with my biweekly grocery order. I used up most of the fresh vegetables in my fridge. I made the perfect roasted chicken the other night and ate the leftovers last night. It was even better reheated in the microwave. I paired it with the most perfect side of roasted vegetables – mushrooms, mini potatoes and broccoli. With a tad of olive oil, and seasoning. Cooked at 400F for about 40 minutes is the key here.

I even got out the apple oatmeal loaf that was terrible. I reheated it last night, added some butter and a few chocolate chips and it was delicious. I think I just need to tweak the recipe a little bit next time. Or maybe the apple was too bitter. I don’t know. But yesterday was a good eating day.

I stepped on the scale this morning and I’m down a few pounds. I used the tape measure and the inflammation is finally down because I’ve dropped a couple of inches. That means that I’m almost down another dress size – and that feels amazing. I think the inflammation from the arthritis and hormones are a killer and that’s been holding me back.

And so, that’s where we are this Thursday morning. It’s chilly outside. Like 2 degrees Celsius chilly. It’s been way too cold to sit outside at night. I think I’ll have to sit outside before the sun goes down now which happens at like 7 pm. They’re calling for a brutally cold winter and I’m not okay with that. I’m just grateful for my fireplace (it’s really just a heater) that keeps me warm. I still haven’t turned on the heat and don’t plan on it until October.

Recipe project – more coming soon!

Well, that’s it in a nutshell. I have plans to work on my recipes and food page for you. I’m looking at innovative ways to make recipe cards that won’t take a lot of work. I may go back to older recipes and re-write them totally. I need to remove some instagram links. I also want to get into recording cooking videos. I finally have a tripod for my phone, and I ordered a new mic stand and filter for my youtube channels.

Let me know how you are surviving this never ending pandemic. I’m so tired of it.