A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - A Roman Sick Day

I went back to see what I was doing on December 29, 2012 (the year we spent Much of December in Italy) and I note that I was sick so I had a quiet day wandering 'our' neighbourhood. This was our fourth visit to Rome. We were staying on we're staying on via bianchi nuvoi which is part of a string of streets which runs from the Piazza Navona to the Ponte Sant'Angelo. I don't believe that we had ever been in this area much before that trip.

The street our apartment was located on was a beautiful street of Renaissance and Baroque pallazi (what is the plural of pallazzo anyway?) turned into apartments, shops, and restaurants. Our huge apartment was located in a 16th century palazzo with some of the original wooden ceilings and frescoes still exposed. Just thinking of it, and the coffee outside the courtyard where they quickly came to know my order and had it ready as soon as I walked in, has me yearning for a return visit.

Here are some of the shots I took on my Roman 'sick' day.

 

A COVID-19 Christmas

I hope that those who recognize Christmas had a great holiday. There is no doubt that things were a bit different in the pandemic world we find ourselves in . . . there is a part of me that thinks that COVID has reinforced for us the things that really matter.

Just before the holiday, in the face of out of control cases, the government announced new lock down restrictions that were to come into effect on December 26th. Even though it wasn't required they suggested that we try to follow the guidelines before the 26th.

If course we did (which further fuels our rage at those who did not. LOL).

We were allowed to socialize with our own household. We could also socialize with single people who live alone and who don't actively interact with other groups of people. This is exactly what we did. Paul, myself, m mom, and a family friend made up the big gathering. :-)

We decided to try and support local restaurants and bakeries as much as possible, particularly as they are headed into a full lock down. If I could I ordered prepared food and picked it up in the 24th. There was a happy offshoot of this support for struggling local businesses -  there was a little as possible for me to do on Christmas day!

Mom stayed over for three days. We used to go to her house for Christmas Eve and then have Christmas Day at our house but it just became too much for all of us. Now we pick her up on the 24th and she puts dinner together with our help. Then she is at our house for a relaxing Christmas.

When we woke on Christmas morning there was a layer of fluffy white snow. It was the perfect white Christmas - enough to layer the ground with a clean and pure layer of white but not enough to make shoveling an onerous chore and driving a hazard. We shoveled quickly, took the obligatory pics and waited for mom to wake up.

We were getting a bit antsy and thought about slipping 'bad' Jake into her room to wake her when we finally heard some stirring from the spare room. FINALLY!

When mom got up we opened our stockings (apparently the 'let's cut back on the candy and chocolate' rule was forgotten by all). I served assorted pastries and a lemon cranberry loaf cake for the stocking opening.

After we had dug through our stockings an cleaned up a bit it was time for brunch.

Quiche,  fruit, peameal bacon (AKA Canadian bacon for my American readers who won't recognize it based upon when we have seen passed off as Canadian bacon and sold in American grocery stores), fried potatoes, and sparkling wine with pomegranate juice.

Delicious and filling.

I didn't have to cook a thing!

Once we had everything cleaned up it was time to open presents!

YEAH

It was weird trying to shop and stuff this year. Normally we buy things all year and tuck them away for the big day. It was hard this year because we weren't out wandering, visiting craft shows, or going into stores. Instead, almost everything under the tree was purchased online. Luckily many of the craft shows we'd normally visit and the artisans we usually buy from created online shopping portals.

By now we were tired so it was time for a nap!

We had a zoom call with my sister and her family at 2:00.

I'll admit that as much as zoom tires me out for work it is nice to have it available to connect with family this way. It was great to talk to and to see everyone down east.

Our friend Leslie was arriving at 4:00.

Before she got there we tidied up and set the table.

When Leslie arrived we set appetizers (leftover from Christmas Eve - shh, don't tell anyone we served leftovers on Christmas Day LOL) while I heated dinner up.

Dinner was all prepared by a restaurant. We started with an amazing winter salad (no pic) followed by lamb, potatoes, and roast carrots. For dessert we had Buche de Noel, cookie platter (about half of which we had baked), Christmas cake, and mincemeat tarts.

Even in the midst of the pandemic we managed to enjoy an amazing Christmas. We are lucky - none of us had lost work, been ill, or been seriously negatively impacted by COVID (knock on wood) beyond the regular inconveniences of restrictions and lock downs. We appreciate that this affords us with considerable privilege. I was happy that we could use that privilege to support small local businesses that are struggling.

I think the theme for Christmas 2020 was finding joy and happiness amongst the chaos of the pandemic!

For Those who Struggle with Gingerbread Houses

There is plenty of pressure to create a perfect gingerbread house in the Instagram era.

Here is a solution for those who just can't manage to create a structurally sound house.

Travel Tuesday - Christmas in Rome

I've been AWOL for the past week . . . busy retiring. More on that later.

For Travel Tuesday this week I am heading to Rome. These pics are from the year we spent Christmas in Rome.

Travel Tuesdays - Christmas in Florence

We had a short stopover in Florence the year we spent December in Italy. While the visit was short the memories were full!

Oh Christmas Tree

This is how it started . . .

This is how it ended . . .

One more thing checked off of the Christmas 'to-do' list.

2020 Gave to Me . . .

This seems about right  . . .

Travel Tuesdays - Christmas in Bologna

Here are some festive shots from the year we spent Christmas in Italy.

Look Who's 80?

Today's is mom's 80th birthday!

Here she is blowing out the candles on her cake last night during our family zoom chat.

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

This is another of those dead easy sheet pan dinners. The ingredient list seems long but it isn't really - don't be intimidated! This is basically chicken, veggies, tossed in olive oil and a spice mix. It does not get much easier than that.

We both thought that the fajitas were delicious.

It would also be great as a fajita salad!

It makes a lot. Tonight we are enjoying sheet pan fajita mix used in the basis for baked enchiladas.

Enjoy!

Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
6 (8-inch) flour or corn tortillas, warmed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper.

Place chicken, bell peppers, onion and garlic in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Stir in olive oil and chili powder mixture; gently toss to combine.

Place into oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through and the vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in cilantro and lime juice.

Serve immediately with tortillas.