The View From Here – So Much To Catch Up On

Where do we start?  First of all – are you following the “Where’s Kate?” drama in the Royal Family right now?  I saw a comment online that said something along the lines of “I was never much into conspiracy theories until now”.  I feel that because that’s me.  I mean, normally, I get my drama, rumours and conspiracy theories from my daily dose of The Young and the Restless.  It’s why I watch.  The storylines are absurd and the perfect escape from the real world.  (smile)

Something doesn’t feel right. I get it, privacy should be respected.  Princess Catherine had planned abdominal surgery in January and nobody has seen her since.  I understand it takes time to recover after surgery.  It takes time to heal and get back to normal life.

But this isn’t normal life or a normal family and Kate has never been the one we have worried about.  Until now.  When Prince William backed out of a family engagement citing ‘personal matters” many people first worried about King Charles (who is undergoing cancer treatment) and then people wondered if anything had happened to Kate.  Nothing was said other than the Palace basically reminded us “we told you she wouldn’t be doing any outings until Easter”.   Now things are spinning out of control faster than anybody can keep up.  The photoshop disaster.  Kate released a photo on the Royal Family social media account and people were quick to jump on it and point out so many errors in the picture and the fact she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.  She apologized for the misunderstanding, explaining she liked to play with editing using photoshop.

Now a video has surfaced that shows a couple shopping at a market.  They claim it’s William and Kate.   She’s walking quickly.  She’s carrying her own bags.  Seems odd after taking so much time to recover from surgery.  I don’t think it’s them.  To me, it doesn’t look like them and the whole thing feels “off” somehow.

Would love to know your thoughts on this.  I’m not sure what’s going on there.  It feels wrong and I hope I am wrong.

Can we talk about Spring?  I can’t wait for warmer weather.  I can’t wait for colour!  Green grass and flowers in bloom.  I can’t wait to get back in the garden and sit outside listening to the birds as I drink my morning coffee.  Spring cleaning is a thing that I have been actively participating in for over a month now.  March Break vacation I even took a vacuum to our ceiling.  Popcorn ceilings are the WORST for keeping clean.  Any tips appreciated.  And someone please tell me the best cleaner/ product for a ceramic stove top.  I feel like ours always looks streaky and dirty and I’m determined to fix that.

On this #TastyTuesday I thought I would share one of my fave recipes.  It’s for homemade granola.  I am seriously addicted to this stuff.  Great on yogurt or just by the handful.

1 1/2 cups dry old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (I leave these out)

40 raw pecan halves, chopped

1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3 tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tbsp + 1tsp ghee, melted (I used butter)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp sea salt (or Himalayan salt)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 dash ground nutmeg

Preheat over to 300 -F.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Set aside.

combine oats, cranberries, pecans, pumpkin seeds, coconut, maple syrup, ghee, extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl; mix well.

Spread mixture evenly on prepared pan. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until dry and lightly toasted.

As always – reach out anytime – cbuchanan@blackburnmedia.ca

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan