Mary's Garden

My favorite organic farm market in South Surrey opened last week.  I went yesterday for the first time this season.  I was concerned about social distancing as it's small inside.  It was raining when I got there and it wasn't busy at all and it was mid day Saturday!   They have senior shopping hour early, but I wasn't that organized.

There was a place to line up but there was no line.  The sign said 10 people at a time in the store.  There were only two other people in the store.  It was well marked with arrows, and they'd roped it off so you couldn't cheat and go down the up aisle!  So nice to see it well organized.  I get frustrated at Save On Foods when people go up the down aisle.  

Their soil is very black and they never use pesticides

A wheel barrel full of romaine, grown right outside!

The selection is awesome and it's been family run since 1966

I bought Mary's own romaine and radishes.  They are carrying local organic nugget potatoes from Heppell's Farm that's a few miles away.   The other produce is mostly from BC hot house, except for the lemon and bananas that were imported.   The potatoes will be delicious with the mint from my herb garden!

I'll have to try Heppell's Farm produce when I'm out and about.

Meridian Farm Market

Now I know what to take!

Let's hope today is better than yesterday

Yesterday, I watched as a CNN news crew was arrested.  I watched major destruction in Minneapolis and unrest in many US cities.  

I have never been so happy to be a Canadian.  

So, let's change the subject.  This is very interesting and may be in our future.   

Enjoy!

Some practical information

Finally something practical and honest from the Head of the Infectious Disease Clinic, University of Maryland, USA.  I thought this was more practical than other lists I've read.  Take from it what you want.

1. We may have to live with C19 for months or years. Let's not deny it or panic. Let's not make our lives useless. Let's learn to live with this fact.

2. You can't destroy C19 viruses that have penetrated cell walls, drinking gallons of hot water - you'll just go to the bathroom more often.

3. Washing hands and maintaining a two-metre physical distance is the best method for your protection.

4. If you don't have a C19 patient at home, there's no need to disinfect the surfaces at your house.

5. Packaged cargo, gas pumps, shopping carts and ATMs do not cause infection.
   If you Wash your hands, live your life as usual.

6. C19 is not a food infection. It is associated with drops of infection like the ‘flu. There is no demonstrated risk that C19 is transmitted by food.

7. You can lose your sense of smell with a lot of allergies and viral infections. This is only a non-specific symptom of C19.

8. Once at home, you don't need to change your clothes urgently and go shower!
    Purity is a virtue, paranoia is not!

9. The C19 virus doesn't hang in the air for long. This is a respiratory droplet infection that requires close contact.

10. The air is clean, you can walk through the gardens (just keeping your physical protection distance), through parks.

11. It is sufficient to use normal soap against C19, not antibacterial soap. This is a virus, not a bacteria.

12. You don't have to worry about your food orders. But you can heat it all up in the microwave, if you wish.

13. The chances of bringing C19 home with your shoes is like being struck by lightning twice in a day. I've been working against viruses for 20 years
      - drop infections don't spread like that!

14. You can't be protected from the virus by taking vinegar, sugarcane juice and ginger! These are for immunity not a cure.

15. Wearing a mask for long periods interferes with your breathing and oxygen levels. Wear it only in crowd.

16. Wearing gloves is also a bad idea; the virus can accumulate into the glove and be easily transmitted if you touch your face. Better just to wash your hands           

regularly.

Immunity is greatly weakened by always staying in a sterile environment.  Even if you eat immunity boosting foods, please go out of your house regularly to any park/beach.

Immunity is increased by EXPOSURE TO PATHOGENS,  not by sitting at home and consuming fried/spicy/sugary food and aerated drinks.

Bananas!!! Who knew this?

'' BANANAS...''
Very interesting FACTS
(as long as we are not “going bananas”) Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!...

This is interesting. After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

DEPRESSION:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:
Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

ANEMIA:
High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

BLOOD PRESSURE:
This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

BRAIN POWER:
200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

CONSTIPATION:
High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

HANGOVERS:
One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

HEARTBURN:
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

MORNING SICKNESS:
Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

MOSQUITO BITES:
Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

NERVES:
Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system..

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

ULCERS:
The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL:
Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has FOUR TIMES the protein, TWICE the carbohydrate, THREE TIMES the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A BANANA a day keeps the doctor away!'

The beauty of nature

It's time for some beautiful pictures:

A Lone Pine flourishing in the crushed volcanic rock of Panum Crater
(~25 miles from Mammoth Mountain)

1 A Place Of Enchantment #2 This Palm Tree Fell Over And Curved Right Back Up   #3 This Tree Fell Over And Cloned Four More Trees!     #4 The Only Tree That Survived The Tsunami In Japan Now Protected And Restored.         #5 Tree Of Life - Olympic National Park, Washington     #6 A Tree's Root Spill Over The Sidewalk     #7 An amazing tree grows out of a rock!   #8 This Tree is Growing Through Speed Limit Sign     #9 This Tree Refuses To Die     #10 This Tree Still Has Its Leaves Because Of The Light Shining On It       #11 Life Finds A Way     #12 Tree Roots Extend To The Mainland For Nutrients       #13 Life Finds A Way     #14 Ta Promh Temple In Cambodia     #15 Never Give Up!     #16 Someone Hung His Skates On A Small Tree. The Tree Grew Around Them         #17 A Tree Growing On Another Tree     #19  As Tree Grew Out Of The Stump Of A Dead Tree  -- Then The Stump Rotted Away         #20 A Tree Grows From Third Floor Window     #21 A Lone Tree Found a Way to Live Surrounded by Rock   #22 A   Tree Grows Out of a Rock     #23 A Floating Island Grew At The End Of A Sunken Tree     #24 A Wooden Chair Sprouted Leaves #25 This Tree Grew Through A Piano   #27 This Tree Refused To Accept Winter     #28 This Tree Is Eating A Fence     #29   This Tree Grew Through A Fence     #30   Trees Will Find A Way   It goes to show that when we are determined to survive and persist , despite the impediments , we can do it. Like birds, let's leave behind what we don't need to carry...grudges, sadness, pain, fear and regrets. Fly light. Life is beautiful .

The Roadhouse

Today we finally ate out for the first time since the quarantine.  I read on Facebook, The Roadhouse in South Surrey opened up their restaurant.  They didn't offer take out service during the quarantine.  

Tables are 2 meters apart

The doors were wide open and there were directional arrows on the floor.  

I didn't take a picture of the new seating, but now there is a lot of space between tables

There are three sections to the restaurant.  This picture was taken before they reduced the capacity of the restaurant.  This section is full of memorabilia.   We sat in the new section at the front of the restaurant.  They also have an atrium with tables.  It's a unique restaurant.

When we went to sit down, the waitress told us the chairs to take, so she had a clear path to put the food down.  All the staff wore masks.  If you want a coffee refill, you push your cup to the edge of the table.  Got the rules and nice to see them back open.  

Cream of Mushroom with garlic bread

This picture doesn't do the soup justice.  It's the best cream of mushroom soup I've ever eaten.  Today, it was the soup of the day!  We love all their home made soups.  The burgers are fantastic and their dinners are excellent.  On the weekends in the evening, they have wonderful entertainment.  

It's family owned and been in business for 23 years.  It's a great place for a home made breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Happy Monday

I like this look!

I didn't get the cat until I saw the cat food.  Yes, the cat is eating!

Looks like my neighbourhood

This song isn't funny, but I love the timely pictures of the artists.  

Yesterday when I was young:

Great Truths

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED: 1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.. 2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair. 3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always Catch the second person. 4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato. 5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.. 6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.. 7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time. 8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. 9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. 10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:   1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jello to a tree. 2) Wrinkles don't hurt. 3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts. 4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground. 5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside. 6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD   1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. 2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get. 3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there. 4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster. 5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions. 6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician. 7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

Things are opening up

On Thursday, I was on a Zoom meeting ready to start.  I watched helplessly as my laptop froze, the picture turned into a beautiful rainbow and I could do nothing.  I quickly picked up my cell phone and joined the zoom meeting.  It's not easy holding a cell phone and I couldn't read any of the presentation, but at least I heard it.

The screen is fine when it starts up, so it's not the screen.  The geek in me thinks it's the mother board.  Not that I would fix it, the computer is old but it's my friend.  It's sad to lose a friend.

Off to Best Buy in Langley as we needed something else at a store in Langley.  I didn't know it but it was the first day Best Buy opened to customers and the Langley store was the first to do this.  I found one I liked, but thought it best to check out Staples, London Drugs and the internet.  I didn't see anything I liked at the other stores so back to Best Buy.  Best Buy, South Surrey is NOT open, we went back to Langley to buy the computer.  

We waited this time to get into Best Buy.  They had a sign that said only 21 people in the store.  The store is huge so I didn't need to put on my mask.   All three computers I tried to buy were out of stock as parents cleaned out the stock when home schooling started.  So, my new laptop will be delivered by Canada Post.  Two hours after purchasing it, I got notification and an airway bill number.  Now that's great service!

Before we entered, Best Buy asked us if we felt sick, saw someone who was sick or left the country in the last 14 days.   No, no, and I wish.  Hand sanitizer at the door and arrows on the floor.

I also had a mani and pedi!  That was well needed and much appreciated.   Plexi glass separation and I take home my own files etc and bring them back every time.  Smelt the bleach when I walked in.  It always was clean but now it smells like a swimming pool!  

It's nice to see these businesses opening up.   It's also nice they haven't closed.  

Puns for educated minds

1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference.
He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye-doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.

3. She was only a whiskey-maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber-band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering

7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist-camp wall.
The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana

11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other:
'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14.A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts.
In feudalism it's your count that votes.

19. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20.If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine

21. A vulture carrying two dead raccoons boards an airplane. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'

22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall.
One turns to the other and says,'Dam!'

23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft.Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says,'Are you sure?'
The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

25. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root-canal?
His goal: transcend dental medication.

26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.
No pun in ten did.

  Please stay safe and keep well.

Pictures tell it all

Women in three pictures:

Men in three pictures:



ANY QUESTIONS?
I thought not.