It’s day 66 of sheltering in place.

We had to look it up.

So far this quarantine has been a mixed bag. It’s hard  to track the days–with the pages on the calendar flipping faster than can be accounted for. I’ve mixed up Tuesdays with my Thursdays, and forget about weekends–it’s all one unending string. But 66. Yeah.

And we’re the lucky ones.

Healthy. Busy. Managing to keep one foot in front of the other. Wherever you are, I’m hoping you’re staying safe and sane. I’m trying—though the sanity part is a little iffy at times. I do what I can to distract myself.

With themes.

Today is a blue day.

The color–not the mood.

Blues I cherish

Floating through a summer sky.

Delphinium blooming on my deck.

My favorite linen shirt.

A Japanese teapot, cherry blossoms etched in blue across a field snowy porcelain.

The  shade of blue found in my daughter’s eyes.

It’s reflected in my own mirror. A gift from my mother, and my grandmother, and who knows how many others in the past. TheGirl has been my salvation during these 66 days. So has LatteBoy, but he’s working from one of the city’s emergency response centers so he stays nicely out from underfoot.

Most of the time.

He also takes requests and forages on his way home. A bread line here… an almond milk line there.

I’m living on oatmeal and fresh spinach, and roasted vegetables, and protein drinks. It’s just easier than thinking. Though I do go through bouts of cooking and baking just to prove a point (that I can). And I inadvertently discovered my family’s most favorite mac and cheese in the history of the world wasn’t mine. Apparently, I’ve been doing it wrong all this time. But I fixed it. By accident. And now they beg me for it. (I’ve lost all respect for them. But…family)

New recipe for world’s best mac & cheese:

• Make the same homemade cheese sauce (with extra sharp cheddar, Dijon mustard, and white wine);
• Clean out the fridge of the leftover roasted veg hanging around (cauliflower, carrot, pumpkin, and yam are big hits) chop roughly;
• Buy that pricey dry pasta shaped like a curly pig’s tail
• Cook it.
• Toss it together and ditch the part where I bake it. Because apparently that was a mistake. Sue me. (Oh, and can I please make fresh breadcrumbs and sauté in butter and herbs to still give it a crunchy top?)

 

Family.

I love them.

Guess what I’m making for Sunday?

Stay well my friends!