Tuscan Basil Bites

I don't know why, but I call these Tuscan Basil Bites. Or Bagel Bites. To be honest, there are no bagels involved, and I don't know why they are "bites" because they are not bite sized at all.

It's olive bread, with a bit of cream cheese, then thin sliced tomato, a bit of salt and pepper, chopped fresh basil, and slices of camembert cheese. Placed in the toaster oven on high for a few minutes, then on broil for a few more minutes. Sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, and olive oil, and served while still warm. YUM!! They taste like summer! I've been making them for a number of years now, and I always wait until the summer time, so I can use fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. 

And then things changed...

And then the rain came, and the skies cleared, and everyone (especially me) was happy again...

See that little happy face? Yup, that's me!

Air Quality

We've had an air quality advisory in effect since Sept 8th. Although, it really didn't seem to be all that bad until last weekend. And since then, we've had horrible smokey air! I've stayed inside for the most part. I don't go outside or keep the doors and windows open like I usually do. We have an air purifier running pretty much 24/7, but I'm still feeling like the house is very stuffy!

Things are supposed to get better tomorrow, with some rain moving in later in the day. I can't wait for the weekend, as it's supposed to rain and clear out all this smoke by Saturday!

Really???

 I've been working from home for how long? 27 weeks!?!?!
And guess what I just found out?
Our old, thought I couldn't use it because it had the wrong adapter thingy on it monitor - actually had a HDMI port on the back of it. Unplug old DVI cable. Plug in HDMI cable (yes, I had an extra one lying around) and viola!! I have a huge monitor to work from now. And to think I could have been using if for the last 4 months! 

UPDATE: Turns out it wasn't such a great thing after all. The HDMI port thinks you want to use a different system for the monitor and the sound, so it cuts out the sound on my laptop. Not so good when I want to use it for my internet phone. I have a call into IT, but I'm not sure they can help.

Tea Update

Day 56 of isolating at home.
The start of week 9 of working from home. Hubby is starting week 8.
And I'm actually using up a lot of my tea!
I am completely out of Murchie's Wedding Blend, and my signature "Miss Lady Grey" tea. I have 5 Earl Grey tea bags left, and maybe one or two cups each of Russian Earl Grey, and Earl's Picnic  -- all of which I'm saving for those special days like when I'm on vacation. There is 1/2 can of Creamy Earl Grey left, a little bit of English Breakfast, and a little bit of Murchie's Afternoon tea. I also have a few boxes of misc tea bags from Murchies. And a bunch of fruit flavoured teas used for making iced teas for the summer.

First, I can't believe I had so much. Second, I don't know whatever possessed me to buy "Coconut Cream Tea". And third, I've decided that I don't like Green and Black tea mixtures, teas with maple flavourings, or teas that have a "smokey" flavour to them.

Mourning the loss...

It died. Last night it died. I tried all morning to revive it, but to no avail. My cute little, got it in 2008, 2nd generation iPod Touch died last night. It went into "Recovery" mode, and I couldn't get it to turn on.

I tried to start it up again today, but I couldn't. The only thing I could do was to restore it to factory default. Which means I lost all my data, pictures, recordings, and contacts. No, I didn't have a backup. And yes, I'm upset and mad at myself for not. I was only using the iPod as a radio and for music for the last few years, so technically there wasn't a lot of important things on it. But it still hurts. I restored it, but have been unable to install any apps on it as the operating system is so old. So, I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for going forward.

Stats I'm not following

I wonder how many times Minister Adrian Dix has almost forgotten to say the Covid-19 update en francais?

Local Celeb

At the mall today, I saw Mike McCardell. He's a local news celeb...

... and he was interviewing a couple of older ladies who looked absolutely tickled at whatever he was talking to them about.

Polar Bear

One of my favourite winter time drinks is a Polar Bear...

Hot Chocolate, with Peppermint Schnapps, and Baileys. Yum!

Christmas Cactus

My Christmas Cactus is blooming...

It looks wonderful with all the blooms on it. But I'm afraid they won't stick around for Christmas.