Miniature Daffodils on Sunday

Last spring I went to a Broker Open House and the realtor was giving out pots of miniature daffodils instead of having a luncheon for the agents. I rushed home and divided the pot into three clumps and they are such a source of joy in these trying times.

They are planted near my hellebore.

I am still overjoyed with having this hellebore in my front garden. The window in my pantry where my laptop lives, overlooks this area behind my birdbath and I can see it from my living room too.

This intense shade of yellow is stunning.

My front yard photographed in the late afternoon yesterday. The governor officially closed down New Jersey last night to all non-essential travel and we are to stay home in order to prevent further spread of Covid-19. Stay put and be safe. I will continue to checkin and post frequently. xo

My Bluebirds are Building a Nest and MORE

It's a good day when the first thing you see when you first wake up is a bluebird sitting on the edge of a birdbath. His mate was entering my birdbox and they both have been busy since then setting up housekeeping. I couldn't be more thrilled. There are birds of all kinds scurrying around the lawn looking for worms, mostly robins. I have seen bluejays, cardinals, house wrens, mourning doves and chickadees too. The photo above is from Instagram and I've been saving it on my phone because I love it.  See my previous posts about bluebirds here.

My oven is preheating, the oatmeal is soaking, and I'm almost ready to stir up another batch of Oatmeal muffins that are getting rave reviews. I added 1/2 cup raisins this time.

This recipe really is forgiving. Somehow I turned off the oven when turning off the timer for the 15 minute soak. When I was ready to put my heavy vintage blue enameled cast iron muffin pan in the oven, the temperature registered 176° but I put them in anyway and turned the oven on and set it to 425° and set the timer to 25 minutes. They turned out fine and I took them out before the timer went off. I left them in the muffin pan for 10 minutes just in case. They are so good with the raisins!

This made me laugh.

Found on Instagram @retrieverloverz

Oatmeal Muffins Using Minimum Ingredients

Here is a photo of one of my oatmeal muffins on a cupcake stand, a Christmas gift from Stacey Snacks long ago. Here is the muffin recipe I found online. I really like it because it is so flexible for these times. It uses a minimum amount of sugar and oil and there are numerous substitutions if you are out of anything. Uses no baking powder, only baking soda. Almost all of the ingredients you will probably already have on hand plus there are many add-ons too for variety. This is just the basic recipe and my muffin is a basic one too, but delicious.

Ingredients: start preheating oven set to 425°
1 cup milk (almond, soy or rice milk works great too) I used my homemade soymilk yogurt.
1 cup quick-cooking oats or 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (off-brand works perfectly and they are no different from the name-brand) I used old-fashioned oats
1 egg (or 1/4 cup of mashed banana or 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of water) I used an egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil or 1/4 cup canola oil I used Avocado Oil. Otherwise I would have used oiive oil.
1 cup all-purpose flour (or wheat flour) I used whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar I used organic sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon I also added 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°f (220°c). Grease or spray 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. I just oiled my muffin pan with avocado oil and a pastry brush.
In a small bowl (I used a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup), combine milk and oats. Soak for 15 minutes. I used this same cup for the other wet ingredients after the 15 minute soak to save dirty bowls.
In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. I never sift anything but stir with a wisk. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.
Bake in preheated 425° oven for 15-25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. 20 minutes was perfect in my oven.

300,000 Free eBooks: Free w/ Library Card

read entire message here

There's good news for all the e-bookworms out there. The New York Public Library released an app today that allows anyone with a library card (and an iOS or Android phone) to "borrow" any of the 300,000 e-books in the collection.

It's called SimplyE and will allow you to read books on your phone, but beware, there might be a wait list for some popular titles, including the Game of Thrones series. (Check out the Harry Potter books, quick!) The online collection will continue to grow, and there are Kindle and web browser versions in development. But, for now, take a break from Pokemon Go and read to your digital heart's content.

All you have to do is download the app called SimplyE

I have already downloaded it from The Apple App Store. So this is what the IOS version looks like. If you have an android phone you can download it too. I think you have to do it thru Google Play. 

I hope Audio books come next. Take care and stay busy. xo

Help is On The Way

Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba. is donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million protective face masks to the United States. The Chinese billionaire already has pledged 2 million protective masks to European countries.

Read the article in the link below.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/14/21179624/alibaba-co-founder-jack-ma-coronavirus-test-kits-masks-us

The Washington Post has a daily free newsletter on coronavirus. I signed up for it and it's very good. I cannot find a link devoted to the newsletter alone but it appears on today's Washington Post article. Look closely and sign up. It's got all the information most of us need.

Look for a black box with the words Sign Up and a circle with a red envelope indicating email and the wording below:
Get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter

Receive the most important developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

Sign up

I put my outerwear out in the sun to disinfect after I went food shopping yesterday. I put my phone outside too. It's raining today and will be again tomorrow; I'm so glad I went out when I did. There were lots of empty shelves but I got everything on my list. There was no bread and absolutely no canned goods and not much cereal. I keep trying to sign up for InstaCart for home food delivery but I can't make it do what I want so far. The things I want don't seem to come up on the list. Will keep trying and keep you informed.

I am a homebody at heart and I love being at home anyway so my life seems much the same. Friends are checking in with me and that's comforting in case I need them. Be well and hang in there. xo

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming operas FREE during coronavirus closure. Read more here.

Free Digital Concerts - Berlin Symphony. Read more here.

I just found a really darling video of an Australian shepherd giving advice on how to protect yourself from this virus. Follow @my_aussie_gal showing you how. You will have to click on the arrow to start the video. She is the smartest dog ever.

Nine, Ten, A Big Fat Hen

A Big Fat Hen

to brighten your day

via

Best Carriage House Ever!

Best Carriage House Ever!

Photo from Real Estate Listing via GSMLS

The main house in Madison, NJ is amazing too.

Still Life Saturday

Still life with raspberries and cherries
Eloise Harriet Stannard (English 1829-1915)
via

Still life at my kitchen sink.
Posted on Instagram here.
*Baby pilea plant.
*Antique opera glasses for looking out my kitchen window in style.
*Antique porcelain funnel.
*Old one-cup porcelain coffee filter.
*Happy Easter rabbit dish picked up at a resale shop.

Happy Saturday and have a great weekend. xo