The Coffee House-Come & Chat With Us!(April 2020)

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I can't believe that it is almost 5 pm. Today has flown past. It must the new habit of breaking up my day with my walk.

I haven't even done any housework either.:woo:

I just had a bowl of blueberries and banana with maple syrup.
 
Unghshu decided that he has to do something. I believe that it's inappropriate and very very wrong that David is (sort of) deprived of fresh fruit and veggies. [Liza said that he had devoured the last cucumbers in the house]. He loves veggies and fruit so much, that being fed with so-called "baby food", even if it's plant-based, must be so hard for him. He's a true future vegan (maybe even raw vegan), and we have to protect him from ubiquitous meat & dairy (especially in these trying times).
So, Unghshu remembered that there are 3 bookmarks of good online veggie shops in my browser. I had spent quite a lot of time to find them back in the days. I've never used them, because i hate the idea of making payments online (considering multiple crafty scammers nowadays), but i do order things online. I really hope that Liza and Elijah come up with an idea of ordering veggies and fruits online. They are extremely stubborn, and they always pretend not to listen to anyone's advice and to reject any offers, but eventually, some offers take over their minds (if the offers are good), and it seems to them that it was them who made it up. Let it be so. I don't care how they come to this thought,- the most important thing is to make them think about it: "Water dripping day by day wears the hardest rock away".🐨
 
I have been reading a very interesting book today. I had to take a break from reading and had lunch. I ate my last Beyond Burger. :( I wish they weren't so expensive! The sun is trying to show itself among the many clouds. It is breezy and has stayed cool which is good for the electric bill.
 
Did a big shop today... The reason being that the shops are closed on Good Friday. I was going to go tomorrow .. Wednesday.. But ended up going today as had to get some goods on appointment.

I have a feeling that queues are going to be twice as long on Thursday, with people trying to get their shopping done before the Good Friday closure, and then also long queues on Saturday as many people who did not go on Thursday or fri would possibly be there on Saturday. so I don't plan on going out for groceries again until Sunday, if I can help it.
 
:hug: I imagine that is happening with a lot of people and families. I keep reading people saying they are stressed out with their kids at home.

I said to my husband that it is lucky that we are used to spending a lot of time with each other!

Thank you :heart: 23:laptop:
I'm finding that alone time is everything right now. I'm all peopled out! Must try to get into part of the garden this afternoon...
 
Did anyone get a vegan easter egg yet? I was going to order one yesterday with my cat litter and loo roll but didn't in the end. I got my husband to buy me some accidentally vegan chocolate from Poundland instead.🐣

Now Amazon is saying they could deliver some Booja-Booja chocs by Easter Sunday. Hmm, no, I can't be bothered.
 
I keep seeing ads on facebook for vegan milk chocolate. Of course, they make it look so good. I always click the links, add stuff to the cart, and then back away, lol. I ordered vegan chocolate a few years back from a small company. The reviews were good but when I received my order, the chocolate was not good at all. The chocolates were dry and old looking. Stuff like that gives vegan a bad name. I was very disappointed as you can imagine, it was not inexpensive. So I tend to be very leery of taking a chance again.

The best vegan chocolate I’ve had was from the Harbor Candy Shoppe in New Hampshire I think? Or maybe Maine? One of those cute places, lol. It was really good the first two times I had it but then the third time, again, the chocolate was hard and dry so I haven’t ordered from them again.

I had the same bad experience with Sirabella’s cheesecake. The first was so amazing. I ended up ordering one as a gift for someone. Then I ordered one this past thanksgiving and it was the worst ever. I had to contact the company and complain and I hate doing that. They said it must have been a “bad batch” and were surprised when they saw the photo I had taken of it.

I think I need to stop with these random purchases and just start making stuff myself since I’ve almost always had excellent results with my own baked goods. Chocolate, of course, is another story. I don’t think I want to try may hand at making chocolate. I don’t know where I’d begin, lol.
 
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I keep seeing ads on facebook for vegan milk chocolate. Of course, they make it look so good. I always click the links, add stuff to the cart, and then back away, lol. I ordered vegan chocolate a few years back from a small company. The reviews were good but when I received my order, the chocolate was not good at all. The chocolates were dry and old looking. Stuff like that gives vegan a bad name. I was very disappointed as you can imagine, it was not inexpensive. So I tend to be very leery of taking a chance again.

The best vegan chocolate I’ve had was from the Harbor Candy Shoppe in New Hampshire I think? Or maybe Maine? One of those cute places, lol. It was really good the first two times I had it but then the third time, again, the chocolate was hard and dry so I haven’t ordered from them again.

I had the same bad experience with Sirabella’s cheesecake. The first was so amazing. I ended up ordering one as a gift for someone. Then I ordered one this past thanksgiving and it was the worst ever. I had to contact the company and complain and I hate doing that. They said it must have been a “bad batch” and were surprised when they saw the photo I had taken of it.

I think I need to stop with these random purchases and just start making stuff myself since I’ve almost always had excellent results with my own baked goods. Chocolate, of course, is another story. I don’t think I want to try may hand at making chocolate. I don’t know where I’d begin, lol.

I remember you telling us about that cheesecake. Did you get a refund ?

Over here we don't get plant based milk chocolate and I'm not a huge fan of plain. In the UK you can get plant based milk chocolate in
the major supermarkets. They seem to have quite a large choice of Easter eggs :


 
Morning/afternoon y'all! The sun is shining brightly this morning! I have been sleeping past sunrise though which is disappointing because I like taking pictures of it. It is going to be much warmer today. I can't decide when to go to the grocery store. I think I am going to start going to a small produce vendor for some fresh items. I used to go there all the time but I haven't been in a while. It is a family business so needs support now.
A few years ago one of Jeremy's "beer friends" sent us some sourdough starter. It made some good bread. Jeremy was going to start his own but never got around to it and let that one die.
 
I forgot to post yesterday.
 
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Well, I ventured out. The little produce place was limiting people to 5 in the store at a time though I think there were more in there by the time I left. It is a tiny store. They had gloves and sanitizer at the door for you to use. I got some green beans and potatoes. They have a plexiglass at the front counter and the cashier had on a mask and gloves. Some customers wore masks, most didn't.
Then I went to Publix which I have been dreading. It wasn't busy and I was careful to keep distance between me and others. The shelves were really picked over though. I did manage to get the BOGO deals I wanted but other things were gone. For some odd reason, there were no canned black beans except the really expensive ones. I will get those at Walmart Market or the Dollar General for WAY cheaper. They actually had toilet paper and paper towels so I did grab another pack of tp though the price was higher than it should be. I just am really paranoid about stupid toilet paper! I will go to the Walmart Market in the morning and if they have any tp, I will probably get another pack. Then I should have enough to last me a while.
I am really hungry now and will fix a very late lunch!
 
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Can't believe my luck, we have in the last three months had an Artisan bakery open up in our little town. The government have allowed most bakeries to open under the clause of "essential services" as long as they deliver. The bakery charges all of $2 as a delivery fee They make heaps of different gluten-free bread as well as vegan doughnuts.
 
Despite the mess around me, Unghshu has had a good day, *knocking on wood*.🐨 :apple:
First of all, i'm glad that Liza and Elijah had finally made up their minds how to take David to the country,- because sitting in a tiny flat is an awful thing for a toddler. So they came to our place (Liza and David were sitting in the car), only Elijah entered our flat, mom gave him some food, stuff for David and beddings, and he left.
Also, i was very nervous about work (because we're supposed to work from home), so i called Annie. I know that she'd had problems: her mother and her 3 kids had been stuck at the country (in Toksovo county), so i asked her if she solved this problem. [Unfortunately, there are many infected people in those districts, and they are more restricted than others]. She said they'd made an entire rescue operation (at night(!), along desolate countryside roads, far away from police "blockposts") in order to take the kids and her mother home to SPb. Annie sounded very relieved. I'm so happy for her. Uugghhh...
After i talked to Annie, i started playing the piano: she gave me another task on recording some more music from the lessons. Mom was holding my phone above the piano, and i was making incredible efforts not to make mistakes and not to mess up with the rhythm, haha. Eventually, today we recorded 10 small pieces (for 10 movements). Then i had to slow down the rhythm even more in a special app on my phone. There are a lot more pieces to go... But not tonight.
Mom has stocked up on something!:bd: At first, she woke up at 8a.m. and headed to a tiny shop right below our windows. It used to have a weird name "Dream", so my ex-husband and i named it "Dream kennel", but then this "building" was bought by "Yermolino" holding. Now "Yermolino" shops (that are abundant over here) sell mostly dairy and processed meat, plus some other stuff (not the best quality). Mom had been craving dairy badly (she's a real dairy addict). She bought a lot of carnivorous stuff (for 3000+ roubles).🤦‍♀️ But for me, she only bought 2 packs of dried peas!! I started grumbling... So, later in the evening, she went to our small Azeri market (which is still working,- Azeri vendors are just sitting inside their kiosks) and she bought some produce!:clp: She got a big head of cabbage, a medium head of cauliflower, 1 bell pepper, a few bunches of greens, apples, plums, strawberries, and 2 very soft tomatoes (i'm supposed to devour them ASAP, otherwise they will fall apart). She also got prunes, dried apricots, dried figs, walnuts and cashews.
I took a long walk in the evening too. I went to a place that i subconsciously love, because i see it in my dreams very often! The matter is that it's close to our former house, where i spent first 4.5 years of my life. Some violently cut off river arms are located in that community. Mokkolovo peninsula is on the opposite side. Seagulls, dwelling on the field, are always looking for food in the water. I took a walk along (and around) those former Izhora arms, which are basically "dead ends" now, and took some photos. Here are a few:
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